COVID-19 Practices

Know Before You Go

For All Courses

Our commitment to risk management practices guides our operations; and the health and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff is our priority.

NOLS has a long history of operating in environments with risks. These risks are essential to achieving our educational objectives. However, NOLS also practices thoughtful and effective risk management. Contracting COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, like other risks, cannot be eliminated.

Potential Course Risks:

• At times, students will be in close physical proximity to one another and/or instructors.

• There is potential for illness on a course. Communicable and other infectious diseases from insects, animals, or people such as diarrhea, flu-like or respiratory illness, and other debilitating or life-threatening conditions including COVID-19 and other diseases caused by coronaviruses may occur.

• The remote locations of our expedition courses are often away from medical facilities. Communication and transportation can be difficult and evacuations and medical care may be significantly delayed.

• The physical contact required in our wilderness medicine courses is an inherent part of learning first aid.

• Decisions made by the instructors, other staff (including volunteers), contractors, and students will be based on a variety of perceptions and evaluations, which by their nature are imprecise and subject to errors in judgment.

COVID-19 Course Operations

COVID-19 is an evolving situation and our practices change as we gain new information or as recommendations change. NOLS decides when and under what conditions our courses operate using health guidance from governmental agencies and our best judgment. Activities or locations of courses may be changed, potentially at the last minute.

Each country in which we operate may have their own entry and exit requirements or local guidance or regulations on COVID-19. NOLS will follow any local guidance or requirements that are more restrictive than ours. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization advise everyone to be up-to-date with their COVID vaccines, especially if traveling outside your home country.

Preparing for Your Course

In an effort to minimize the possibility of someone having COVID-19 on a course students need to exercise certain precautions prior to arriving at their course, regardless of their vaccination status, including the following steps.

Take steps to limit your exposure to coronavirus for 10 days prior to and while traveling to your course:

• Avoid crowded indoor spaces
• Avoid contact with people suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 or flu
• Increase space and distance from others 
• Wear a high quality face mask (KN95, N95, or KF94) indoors when in public and on public transportation
• Wash hands frequently
• Monitor for COVID-19 symptoms

Expedition courses:

• NOLS encourages  you to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and be up-to-date with any boosters you are eligible to receive. 

Wilderness Medicine courses:

• NOLS encourages you to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and up-to-date with any boosters you are eligible to receive.
• Wilderness EMT students are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and are strongly encouraged to be up-to-date with any boosters you are eligible to receive.

Important Considerations

Do not travel to your NOLS course if you are confirmed as having COVID-19 or have been a close contact of a COVID positive person in the 10 days prior to your course start date. We follow the CDC guidance for isolation and quarantine, which may affect your travel to NOLS. 

For those who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 as defined by the CDC, please carefully consider, in conjunction with your healthcare provider, whether to attend NOLS at this time.

As you make travel plans, please inform yourself and plan for any requirements on your itinerary that may apply (for example, additional COVID-19 testing).
 

During Your Course

You’ve arrived! COVID-19 and variants, are an evolving hazard and as we’ve said, the risk of contracting COVID-19, on NOLS field courses cannot be eliminated. We have identified mitigation strategies based on guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce that risk. Our field practices are subject to revision at any time as we respond to changes in the pandemic.

In Field Practices

For all field courses, regardless of vaccination status of course members, the following will apply during the first 10 days of the course:

• Face masks: Face masks might be worn at our campuses and will be optional once courses go to the field. Multi-layered cloth masks are acceptable in the field. 
• Hygiene: Hand hygiene, in particular, is an important mitigation measure to prevent flu-like illness that could be confused with COVID-19.
• Sleeping shelters: In most cases we will use shelters at their normal capacity. Shelters will be ventilated as practical. 
• Monitoring for symptoms:
  • All course members will be monitored for symptoms of COVID-19.
  • People with symptoms when they arrive may be asked to wear a mask indoors, and we will assess their condition. Anyone who is positive for COVID-19 cannot join their course. For semesters, people might be able to join after their isolation period, and they are feeling better.
  • Once in the field, anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 will be isolated and sleep in a separate shelter.
  • Evacuation decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
  • We follow CDC guidance for COVID-19 illness management.

For these measures to be effective, we need commitment and diligence from our students and staff. Students who, in our judgment, do not comply with these expectations may be removed from the course.

Unexpected Symptoms or Illness on an Expedition
If a course member develops symptoms of COVID-19, they will be isolated from the group and instructors will seek medical advice through our support teams and follow our COVID-19 illness guidelines that are based on CDC guidance. People with COVID-19 symptoms may be evacuated from the course. If a student is evacuated, it is unlikely they will be able to rejoin their course due to remoteness and logistics, though this may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

We have very limited ability to accommodate evacuees at our campuses. They will need to stay in local lodging at their expense until they are able or allowed, per medical advice, to return home. They will also need to make their own travel arrangements to return home. NOLS may be able to provide some assistance in finding lodging or arranging travel.
 

For Wilderness Medicine Courses

In-Classroom Practices

Enhanced hand hygiene and classroom hygiene

• Enhanced hand hygiene and classroom hygiene
• Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during educational activities with physical contact

For these measures to be effective, we need commitment and diligence from our students and staff. Students who, in our judgment, do not comply with these expectations may be expelled from the course.
 

Unexpected Symptoms or Illness on a Classroom Program

If a student becomes ill during their course or is asked by the instructor not to attend class based on screening, they should stay home and seek medical advice. Based on the medical advice they receive they may or may not be able to continue with their course. In alignment with our Cancellation Policy, we will not refund or transfer any students who are unable to attend a course within the cancellation deadline. We strongly recommend the purchase of trip insurance which includes coverage for COVID-19. While there is a range of available Tuition Protection and Travel Insurance providers, our preferred provider is MDM Group. Please read each policy carefully and discuss any questions with a policy specialist at the provider you select.

For more information, see our NOLS Wilderness Medicine Communicable Disease Mitigation Practices and Expectations for Students.