Frequently Asked Questions about Student Testing

Dear Students and Families:

Over the last several days, many of you have reached out to us with very specific questions about the testing process, what is expected, how to submit results and so on. Although we can’t specifically address every student’s unique circumstances via an email, we want to provide the answers to the most frequently asked questions we are receiving about testing. We will also post the below questions and answers on Syracuse.edu/fall2020 and, as a reminder, all of the latest information about the University’s Fall 2020 planning can be found on that site.

To date, these are the most frequently asked questions from students and their families:

1. What happens if students don’t have the pre-test and are living off campus? Will the University turn off SU I.D. cards until they have a negative result?

Student campus access privileges are contingent upon proof of a negative test result taken within 10 days prior to returning to campus. The University will use the SU I.D. card system to track and enforce participation in testing protocols. Students who fail to provide a negative result will have their SU I.D. cards “turned off” until results are provided.

2. How can a student get a COVID-19 test if they are quarantining in an off-campus hotel?

Students have the option of getting tested on their own, in their community or from a provider of their choosing. For those who want to utilize the University at-home test kit option, students will be able to request their test be shipped to an address of their choosing through an online portal. Additional details on this process will be communicated soon.

3. When, specifically, does a student need to take a pre-arrival COVID-19 test?

Regardless of whether you are subject to quarantine, students need to provide proof of a negative test result taken within 10 days of their planned arrival on campus. The University will use the SU I.D. card system to track and enforce participation in testing protocols.

4. How can students get an SU-subsidized mail-in test kit?

Students will be able to request their test be shipped to an address of their choosing through an online portal. Additional details on this process will be communicated soon.

5. What will testing look like in the fall? For on campus students? For off campus students?

All returning students will be screened for the presence of COVID-19 infection. Specifically, over a staggered, four to five day return to campus schedule for students, the University will screen the entire student population using pooled sample saliva testing. That is, each student will provide a saliva sample, and those samples will be combined into a pool of between 20–25 students for testing.

Returning students will be grouped into pools (or cohorts) based on residence hall assignments. For off-campus students, these pools will be based on cohabitating students and off-campus student neighborhoods. Any pool sample that returns a positive COVID-19 result would then immediately trigger individual diagnostic testing of each student who contributed a sample to that pool.

The University is also implementing its own on-campus capability to conduct rapid COVID-19 tests at the Barnes Center at The Arch. This capability will be leveraged to confirm symptomatic cases, as well as to support individual-level testing given positive results from our pooled sample virus surveillance program. The University will implement this same population screening routine (pooled sampling virus surveillance) a second time, for the entire population, two weeks after students return. In addition, routine, random and ongoing testing of students will be conducted throughout the semester.

6. How is Syracuse University testing off-campus students “upon arrival” if they arrive in Syracuse in mid-August and won’t need to be on campus until classes begin? What is the detailed plan for that?

All returning students will be screened for the presence of COVID-19 infection. Specifically, over a staggered, four to five day return to campus schedule for students, the University will screen the entire student population using pooled sample saliva testing. That is, each student will provide a saliva sample, and those samples will be combined into a pool of between 20–25 students for testing.

Returning students will be grouped into pools (or cohorts) based on residence hall assignments. For off-campus students, these pools will be based on cohabitating students and off-campus student neighborhoods. Any pool sample that returns a positive COVID-19 result would then immediately trigger individual diagnostic testing of each student who contributed a sample to that pool.

The University is also implementing its own on-campus capability to conduct rapid COVID-19 tests at the Barnes Center at The Arch. This capability will be leveraged to confirm symptomatic cases, as well as to support individual-level testing given positive results from our pooled sample virus surveillance program. The University will implement this same population screening routine (pooled sampling virus surveillance) a second time, for the entire population, two weeks after students return. In addition, routine, random and ongoing testing of students will be conducted throughout the semester.

7. If they request a test kit, is the $49 covered by insurance? Will it be billed to a student’s Bursar account?

For students who choose to utilize the subsidized University testing option, the charge will be billed to Bursar accounts. Insurance companies have stated that they are not covering COVID-19 tests used for screening purposes. This is why, in part, Syracuse University decided to heavily subsidize this at-home option for students.

8. How will Syracuse University ensure that all students have complied with testing and re-testing—particularly if they live off campus?

Regardless of where students reside, the University will use the SU I.D. card system to track and enforce student participation in testing protocols. Campus access privileges will be restricted using this system if students are not in compliance with testing requirements.

9. What if a student has a test that was taken 11 or 12 days before arrival?

To access campus privileges, students must provide proof of a negative test result taken within 10 days of their planned arrival on campus.

10. Is Syracuse University testing students as they leave campus (for Thanksgiving or if the University determines the need to suspend residential instruction)?

Students will not be tested upon departure from campus.

11. If a student has test results, how do they submit them?

Students can submit COVID-19 test results/documentation by logging into the Student Patient Portal. Log in using your SU NetID and password, click “Upload Forms,” select “COVID-19 Documents” and follow upload instructions.

12. What if a student has tested positive recently? Do they submit their results now?

If a student has tested positive for COVID-19 within the past eight weeks, such test results should be uploaded to the Student Patient Portal. Log in using your SU NetID and password, click “Upload Forms,” select “COVID-19 Documents,” and follow upload instructions.

We will continue to provide important information via email and are working urgently to address questions and concerns posed by our students and their families.

We appreciate your ongoing patience as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times and prepare for our students’ quickly approaching arrival to campus.

Sincerely,
J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation

Amanda Nicholson
Interim Deputy Senior Vice President, Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience