MCC Daily Tribune
SUNY Increases Frequency of Mandatory COVID Testing to Weekly Testing of All Students, Faculty, and Staff
Yesterday, Jan. 24, State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras joined SUNY Oneonta Acting President Dennis Craig and local officials to reopen campus for the spring semester. As students move back to campus housing for pre-semester COVID testing and quarantining before the SUNY-required push back of the Spring Semester start date of in-person classes on February 1st [for most colleges], Chancellor Malatras announced that all SUNY campuses will increase the frequency of SUNY’s mandatory COVID testing to weekly testing of all students, faculty, and staff who regularly come to campus. SUNY Oneonta is set to do so. Healthcare students who have volunteered to help with COVID response will be made available to campuses to help administer tests. To date, approximately 2,500 students have signed up to volunteer.
Chancellor Malatras also reaffirmed spring semester guidance, which was announced last November, and includes pre-testing of all students prior to the start of the semester, mandatory pre-semester quarantine of students, mandatory mask wearing at all times, even when socially distanced, no spring break, uniform compliance and enforcement standards, expanded mental health and wellness services, and a student’s bill of rights for greater transparency. Since the 2020-2021 academic year began in August, SUNY has conducted 723,891 tests with a 0.57 positive percentage rate. Preliminary data suggests in-person instruction has not been a vector of the spread.
Yesterday's visit with campus and local leaders, students, and faculty is his first in 2021 as he resumes regional campus visits for the spring semester.
“As our campuses are beginning their spring semesters, we are both excited for our students, and also aware of the challenges that still lie ahead because of COVID,” said Chancellor Malatras. “That is why we have developed comprehensive reopening plans to put the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff first. And, it is the reason we have already increased the frequency of testing on our campuses, and why we will continue to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances, like new strains and higher levels of cases.”
“It’s good to be back at SUNY Oneonta as they begin their spring semester. After the difficulties in the fall semester, the Oneonta community, under the leadership of Acting President Craig, worked tirelessly to get to the point of reopening their campus today. With the vaccine, increased testing, uniform comprehensive reopening policy and the dedication of our students, faculty, and staff at Oneonta and across the system, I’m looking forward to a successful semester.” Chancellor Malatras added. ...
Also, as part of SUNY’s spring guidance, campuses are sharing a “What Students Should Know” plain language informational notice, or bill of rights, so all students know what to expect at individual campuses, such as how many courses will be online, hybrid, or in person. ... SUNY will revisit the 100 percent weekly testing requirement depending on the positivity rate in the state and regions throughout the course of the semester. ...
All SUNY campuses will continue to report positive cases daily via SUNY’s COVID-19 Case Tracker. The database tallies tests and active cases by campus and provides trends and positivity rates in rolling three-, seven-, and 14-day intervals, allowing people to understand the trajectory of the virus at any given time. SUNY will be announcing additional upgrades to the COVID Tracker in the upcoming days.
The full release is available online.
About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. As of Fall 2020, nearly 400,000 students were enrolled at a SUNY campus. In total, SUNY serves about 1.3 million students in credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide were more than $1.0 billion in fiscal year 2020, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.
Rosanna Yule
Government and Community Relations
01/25/2021