Wearing Masks at CU Denver to be Optional Beginning March 7

Feb. 28, 2022

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

When making decisions about campus protocols related to COVID-19, we’ve consistently looked to the latest data as well as the guidance of federal and state public health organizations. Now, with a continued significant decline in COVID-19 cases, test positivity, and hospitalization locally and across the state, Chancellor Marks has decided that CU Denver is changing its masking protocols. Our Auraria Campus partners are also changing their protocols.

Beginning Monday, March 7, CU Denver will make face coverings optional for our community while indoors on campus. This change in policy does not eliminate our responsibility to act with courtesy, kindness, and common sense. We ask that you respect the choices of your colleagues and peers who continue to wear masks, or who may ask that you wear a mask while closely interacting with them. For further details, please see our updated FAQ page. As we have during the entire pandemic, faculty and staff who may need additional workplace modifications to continue in-person activity because of medical or other issues should work with their supervisors and/or submit a request through Human Resources.

Lifting the mask requirement will allow members of our Lynx community to engage with each other more freely — a critical part of the CU Denver experience. This decision is in line with all metro Denver counties, other higher ed campuses, and Denver Public Schools, which have recently dropped their indoor mask mandates for offices and other businesses. Please note that a federal mandate to wear masks on public transportation – including airplanes and RTD buses/rail lines – continues through March 18.  

While ending our mask mandate represents a relaxation of our COVID protocols, we urge you to continue the practices that put us in position to make this decision: staying up-to-date on your boosters, getting tested when you don’t feel well or think you may have been exposed, staying home when you’re sick, and self-reporting if you test positive. 

We are proud that 97 percent of our faculty and staff and 94 percent of our students are vaccinated. Furthermore, case rates have dropped significantly since January. Within Denver County, the 7-day case rate is dropping precipitously below 100 cases per 100,000 and test positivity is below 5%. To ensure the safety of our community, especially as we re-adjust to living, learning, and working together without masks, CU Denver will continue to offer vaccines and boosters, free testing, and KN95 masks. You can learn more about our resources and follow the latest updates by visiting our COVID-19 response website. 

As always, we will continue to monitor the latest COVID-19 data and public health guidance to make policy decisions that allow learning and working to carry on — while keeping our community as healthy and safe as we can. Should public health trends change, we will update our protocols accordingly.

Thank you for your continued patience and resilience.

Sincerely,

Chris Puckett  
Managing Associate University Counsel & Co-Chair, Lynx Together Task Force 

Pamela Jansma 
Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences & Co-Chair, Lynx Together Task Force