Courtney Balcombe

News Editor

clb6264@psu.edu

The return to in-person classes through Penn State came with many questions since the COVID vaccine was not mandatory to return to the campus. Instead, students and faculty were encouraged to get the vaccine.

However, no matter what your vaccination status was, all students and faculty were told to wear face masks, and those who were not vaccinated were required to get weekly COVID testing done through the Reed information desk.

Penn State’s Virus Info website states that during the semester, all students enrolled at a residential campus and taking in-person classes or web courses — living both on and off-campus — who remain unvaccinated or do not submit confirmation of COVID-19 vaccination to the University will be required to test for COVID-19 weekly throughout the semester unless they share with the University that they have been fully vaccinated.

On September 1st, after one week of classes, Dr. Ken Miller, Senior Director of Administration and Student Affairs, sent out an email addressing students of this.

“I wanted to quickly share the importance of completing the weekly covid-19 testing requirement.” Dr. Miller’s email read. “Students who fail to test by the deadline face escalating consequences including interim suspension after the 3rd missed test.”

The email continued to say, “Please, don’t risk interrupting your college education. Read and respond to emails from PSUCOVIDtesting@psu.edu which detail the steps to take to complete the testing.”

Students will receive reminders in order to prevent missing their third test. The first email will inform them when they were supposed to get their test originally. Currently, the three testing periods have ended as of September 13th.

If a student’s results come back positive, they will be referred to isolation and the University’s contact tracing process will be initiated. Unvaccinated students who are identified as close contacts of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be referred to quarantine.

Missing the second test will result in a registration hold on the student’s account preventing future enrollment and the Office of Student Conduct will be notified about the student’s non-compliance status.

After the third missed test various negative consequences including removal from housing, classes, and the campus as a whole will occur. The best way to avoid the consequences of missing COVID testing requirements, Penn State includes the following steps in their non-compliance email:

Step 1: Pick up a test kit at the RUB desk, located on the ground floor of the Reed Union Building between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Step 2: Follow directions in the mail-in kit.

Step 3: Place the test in the UPS drop box located outside the Reed Union Building or another UPS location.

Step 4: Watch your email for results

Step 5: Check your email weekly and repeat as necessary

Students who have questions about testing, please call the COVID Response Center at 814-865-2121.

There will be additional accountability for students who continue to disregard their testing obligations after their third instance of noncompliance. At the conclusion of a formal student conduct process, the student may face consequences up to and including immediate suspension from the University.