Higher education decision on covid-19 vaccine mandate

Higher education institutions (HEIs) had a public health decision to make in fall 2021, whether or not to mandate a Covid-19 vaccine for all students. The aim of this paper is to study the factors that influence the student vaccine mandate decision. We employ a logistic regression with the dependent variable equal 1 if a HEI has a student mandate; 0 otherwise. We hypothesize that the student vaccine mandate decision is influenced by an institution's ranking, type, enrolment, competition, and political landscape. The results are consistent with expectations. Our significant finding is that top-ranked HEIs are more likely to have a vaccine mandate, with the probability of a vaccine mandate declining as the ranking declines. HEIs below those top-ranked are concerned about the financial implications of mandating vaccines, and this concern is heightened when students have alternatives. A national standard for a higher education vaccine mandate will internalize the positive externalities associated with a Covid-19 vaccine mandate, and overcome the reluctance of some HEIs to implement a vaccine mandate.