As the Cal Poly community approaches spring quarter, students and staff are required to continue their compliance with consistent COVID-19 testing just as they did for the fall and winter quarters.
In a campus-wide email, the Executive Vice President and Vice President of Student Affairs announced that the presidential order will remain in effect throughout the end of the academic school year. The presidential order has been enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout the campus community through a mandatory testing requirement.
Enforcement of the order will begin immediately following spring break.
Students who fall into the circumstances of regular testing for on-campus activities must be tested twice per week. Those circumstances include students who will attend in-person classes as well as the obligation to work on campus.
On the first day of classes of spring quarter March 29, individuals who are out of compliance will lose access to their SSO (single sign-on), university applications including Cal Poly portals, Canvas and Zoom, as well as in-person classes and campus services, according to the email.
In order to regain access, students must complete a saliva test at an on-campus testing site or upload a negative result to their portals. Students will receive access again once they have completed testing, within about an hour of testing or an upload of a negative result.
The email states that it is the students’ responsibility to comply with the testing program and to notify instructors if they are to lose access to any university applications.
“Your instructor may or may not allow make-up work or extensions for homework, projects, quizzes or exams that may be impacted,” the email states.
There is an ongoing testing schedule posted within the COVID-19 Info tab found in the student portal. Students are able to determine their status within the info tab such as the requirement to participate or when to schedule their next test.
“I personally really like the testing requirements on campus because it is nice to almost always know your COVID-19 status,” nutrition senior Julia Ronaldo said. “I think it is much more effective to get tested twice a week rather than once every other week, which is what we had to do last quarter.”
For some students, the requirement to test twice a week has infiltrated their routines. One student who had classes on campus during the winter quarter and will be continuing to work on campus through the spring said she has certain days that she tests.
“I like to schedule my appointments in the morning and go every Tuesday and Sunday. Recently I have just been getting tested at a local testing center instead of the PAC since we got that email about the false positives from Avellino,” agriculture and environmental plant sciences junior Annie O’Neill said. “I also like the local one because it’s not a self-administered test and I feel more comfortable when a nurse administers it since I don’t want to mess it up.”
The testing and compliance webpage states specific rules and requirements if students are unsure of their status. If students find that they should be following testing requirements, a form located on the COVID-19 Info tab within the portal should be submitted as soon as possible, according to the email.
An exemption process is made available for students who are unable to participate in testing. Submissions to be exempt from the process can be located on the info tab of students’ portals. Students should also be enrolled in a fully virtual schedule and meet an exemption that is listed in the exemption policy to apply.
If students are expecting to travel outside of San Luis Obispo for spring break, a test should be taken and results should be submitted before returning back to the area just as they would for previous quarters.
The email said that the campus community is there to help students and signed the email with a link that transferred to the student testing page.
“You’ve got this, Mustangs,” Executive Vice President of Student Affairs Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore and Vice President of Student Affairs Keith Humphrey said. “Thank you for your continued flexibility and for doing your part to ensure the health of our community.”