Fordham University announced an updated COVID-19 testing plan for students returning to campus for the 2021 spring semester in an email on Thursday evening.

All students returning to university housing, in-person instruction or who wish to access the campus during the spring semester must test negative before returning to campus, according to the email sent by Jeffrey Gray, the senior vice president for student affairs. 

“You will NOT be allowed to enter campus or move into your residence hall without providing the negative test results in advance or bringing a copy of them with you,” wrote Gray. 

He also noted that, unlike the fall move-in process, students will not be allowed to be tested on the same day they plan to return to campus. Students must use an FDA EUA authorized saliva or nasal swab test, not a “rapid test,” for a negative result to be accepted.  

The email also included an update to the university’s quarantine requirements for returning students, in line with guidelines issued by the state of New York. These requirements vary based on where a student is traveling from.

Students coming back to campus from New York state or one of its bordering states—Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Vermont—will be admitted to campus as long as they test negative within seven days of their arrival. They will then need to test again by no later than Friday, Feb. 12. 

Those coming from any other state, or from outside of the country, must quarantine before being admitted to campus. Students can “test out” of the recommended 14-day quarantine with the following steps: provide the university with a negative test result administered within three days of their return to the state, quarantine for three days upon arrival to New York or a contiguous state or obtain another test on the fourth day of quarantine. If this second test is negative, students will be able to access campus and university housing, as long as they provide the university with both negative results. 

A visual aid outlining this quarantine and testing plan is available here.

Students returning from noncontiguous states will not be permitted to quarantine in university housing. However, their second test can be obtained on-campus. These students will also have to complete a Fordham Quarantine Form and the New York State Traveler Form. 

The email also announced that the on-going testing requirements for the spring semester will closely resemble the fall semester’s mandatory testing program. Students must be tested once a month, either on-campus or off-campus. Spring deadlines for this mandatory testing program are Feb. 26, March 26, April 23 and May 14. 

On-campus testing will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. until Dec. 21 and will resume on Jan. 4. Testing hours will be extended from Jan. 23 to Feb. 7, with on-campus testing available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. Standard hours will resume on Feb. 8. 

The university has not yet announced a detailed plan for the spring move-in process, but Gray indicated that more information will be provided via email before the end of the fall semester. Information about orientation programs will also be provided via email after the holidays, according to Gray.

“We will continue to monitor public health conditions,” wrote Gray. “If we are required to modify our plans for the spring semester, we will communicate with you in advance, and we ask for your continued patience and flexibility with any changes to our planning and schedule that become necessary.”