New Students
Our hope is that your years here at Calvin are healthy ones. Whether you have a health concern or wish to schedule a wellness physical, all students may use Health Services as their source of primary care while at Calvin University. We invite you to consider us your medical “home away from home.”
Health requirements
As a new student, there are health requirements that must be met to ensure that our campus remains healthy. Once a deposit is made to attend Calvin, a set of prompts and instructions will be sent to you, as part of the Enrollment process. This will include the request to complete and send the following documents to health@calvin.edu:
- Insurance Waiver Form or Insurance Enrollment Form
- Tuberculosis (TB) Screening form
- Vaccination records from your doctor’s office
- Authorization to Treat (parent/guardian signature required for students who will be under the age of 18 upon arrival at Calvin)
- Health history
More information on these requirements is provided below.
IMPORTANT! Please input your required health information prior to the start of your first semester to avoid a hold on registration and/or a $50 fine.
Please email health@calvin.edu if you have any questions about the steps to complete your enrollment requirements. Once you turn in the above forms, you will be sent an email from HFAlerts@NextGen.com and you’ll complete the remainder of your registration in our secured portal.
Requirements include:
All students are required to enroll in the student health insurance plan (SHIP) or to requests a waiver. Any domestic students who wish to request a waiver must submit a waiver request form before July 30th for fall semester or before December 1st for spring semester. To learn more about requesting a waiver, please visit our Insurances page.
International students are required to enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan. Do not purchase any independent health plans. They are not considered comparable, and do not meet Calvin University’s minimum insurance guidelines. To learn more, please visit our Insurances page.
Complete this screening form which determines which students are at high risk for Tuberculosis (TB). A TB test is required for students who meet certain criteria, such as international students, those who have traveled abroad, or students who have worked in a high-risk setting.
To fulfill this requirement, students may submit proof of a skin test or blood tests, including QuantiFERON® TB Gold or T-Spot® TB. These tests can be performed at Calvin Health Services upon arrival. The form is required prior to your arrival. Send this and the other required forms to health@calvin.edu
A hard copy of the student’s vaccination record, signed by a health care provider, is required for all incoming students. Vaccination records can be emailed to Health Services at health@calvin.edu or faxed to 616-469-1398.
Please visit our Immunizations page for a full list of what vaccinations are required for incoming students.
All requirements must be met by the deadline specified in new student correspondence from Health Services. Ideally, these are all met by the start of your incoming semester. Health Services does allow for a 30-day grace period, into the semester, before any fees or consequences are assessed. If you are not compliant by the deadline, you will be charged a $50, non-refundable, fee and your registration account will be put on hold. If a registration hold is placed, all requirements must be completely satisfied before this can be lifted.
All minors are required to have a parent or guardian print and sign this Calvin University Health Services Authorization to Treat document, granting permission for one of our providers to treat you, should you decide to see us for a medical need.
Although a pre-entrance physical is not required to attend Calvin we require all new students to answer a few questions regarding their health history, including past hospitalizations, surgeries, allergies, and current medications. This information assists our healthcare staff in knowing health conditions that the student has had, or is currently dealing with, so that proactive health care may be given. The Enrollment process will automatically prompt this step, but you may also request an invitation to your confidential Health File by emailing health@calvin.edu. The invitation will arrive in your Calvin email, and it will be from HFAlerts@nextgen.com – This invitation expires within 10 days of being sent so if you delay, you may need to request another invitation.
A physical examination is not required, but if you plan to participate in varsity athletics, please contact the Kinesiology department for guidelines and requirements for sports physicals. Please note that if you are a student-athlete, your athletics physical will not be accepted in lieu of the required forms listed above.