NHTI Appears to Violate Its Own Vaccine Policy

CONCORD— Students at NHTI–Concord’s Community College are being told they must take the COVID-19 vaccine if they want to complete the school’s radiologic technology program, even years after state officials declared the public health emergency over.

Emails reviewed by The Granite Eagle show a student questioned the requirement after reading the program’s policy manual. The student asked if every vaccine listed was mandatory, including COVID-19, and whether religious exemptions would be accepted.

In response, NHTI department chair Amy VonKadich made clear that the COVID-19 shot is still required because several partner hospitals continue to mandate it. “The vaccines are required by our hospitals, since our students are being placed at these facilities, we are adhering to the hospital policies,” she wrote.

But the school’s own official health requirements appear to conflict with that approach. NHTI’s policy document states that COVID-19 vaccinations are “not college requirements” and that students only need to follow the requirements of their assigned clinical sites

VonKadich added that because some hospitals maintain the mandate, the college must apply the same rule across the board, treating all students “in an equitable manner”.

In a separate email to VonKadich acknowledged the confusion, admitting that while some clinical sites no longer require the COVID-19 vaccine, NHTI is still mandating it for everyone. She explained the college imposes the requirement even on students at non-mandate sites because rotations or transfers could place them at facilities with stricter rules. VonKadich wrote that this policy “ensures that all students are treated in an equitable manner,” effectively overriding the site-by-site approach outlined in the school’s own handbook. She further suggested that those unwilling to get vaccinated consider a different program — the Limited X-Ray Machine Operator certificate — which does not require the shot.

That means any student who refuses the COVID-19 vaccine — for religious, medical, or personal reasons — risks being shut out of the clinical rotations required to graduate and obtain a license.

The policy effectively leaves students with a stark choice: take the shot or abandon years of schooling. Critics say this amounts to coercion, especially as the state itself has no COVID-19 vaccine mandate for college students.

For students caught in the middle, the message is clear — personal medical decisions take a back seat if they want a career in health care.

FORM_DMI_HealthRequirements.pdf

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