Important requirements for spring 2022 semester return

Mark Parisi, director of counseling and health services, sent the following message to students today, December 17, 2021, regarding requirements for the spring 2022 semester. Employees of the College also received an email detailing their testing dates.

Dear students,

As we look toward the spring semester, we’re sharing our return-to-campus requirements for January 2022. The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has created new challenges, but our aim is to take all steps necessary to keep our campus healthy while offering an in-person learning environment.
If you are eligible and have not yet received a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, please consider doing so during the winter break. It’s not required, but we’re strongly encouraging the booster, as health experts say it’s the best line of protection.

Here’s what is ahead for the spring 2022 semester (keeping in mind it is subject to change as public health guidelines or mandates change):

Testing requirement

We’re requiring all students and employees – regardless of vaccination status – who will be coming to campus for the spring 2022 semester to be tested on campus at the beginning of the semester. We will use the same saliva testing we employ for asymptomatic surveillance testing throughout the academic year.

Resident students: You will receive a test kit the weekend of January 16 through 17 from your RA. You will provide your saliva sample on your own the morning of January 18 and drop your sample in a collection bin. We will let you know where the bins will be located when you return.

Commuter and graduate students: You will pick up a test kit from the Student Development office on January 18 between 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., provide a saliva sample and drop it in a collection bin. Some early-arrival students, such as some student-athletes, resident assistants, and nursing students, will be tested prior to these dates. Please keep an eye on your Saint Rose email as the semester nears for further details.

If you prefer to use your own test provider, you may be tested 72 hours before their arrival. You should submit test results to covidresults@strose.edu. Those who do not come to the testing after repeated requests or do not submit their own test results will have their IDs turned off as of January 21.

Surveillance testing

Random weekly surveillance testing will be done in the spring semester for all asymptomatic students and employees, regardless of vaccination status. This means that about 25% of our campus community will be tested weekly (reaching all members monthly). We’re expanding the population selected for surveillance testing given what we now know about COVID-19 and new variants. Students and employees will receive a weekly email with a link to sign up for this testing.

Symptomatic testing will continue to be available through Health Services.

You will continue to be able to view the current number of cases at the College on our COVID-19 Dashboard.

Vaccine mandate

All new students and employees are required, like the rest of our population, to be fully vaccinated unless they are granted a religious or medical exemption. (Those requests are made to healthservices@strose.edu).

I’m pleased to report that 97% of our employees and 95% of our students are fully vaccinated. Those who received religious or medical exemptions were placed in the weekly testing pool.

Mask mandate

We’ll continue the indoor mask requirement in College buildings. Masks do not need to be worn outdoors.

Daily health survey

You will still be required to fill out the daily health survey through Navigate.

More booster clinics

We were happy to see our booster clinic earlier this month reach capacity. We will hold another booster clinic in January or early February for those who are not eligible for the booster now.

Events

The events policy we shared recently stands, but please keep in mind things may change based on the state of the pandemic.

Please enjoy your holidays and remember to protect others and yourselves by taking important precautions like wearing a mask in indoor public spaces, washing your hands frequently, getting the vaccine booster when you’re eligible, and staying home when you’re sick. We look forward to a healthy and happy spring semester.

Sincerely,

Mark Parisi
Director of Counseling and Health Services