Message from the President to Students Returning to Campus for Spring Semester

The following email message was sent to all Randolph College students, faculty, and staff on January 25, 2022. Visit www.randolphcollege.edu/covid19 for more information about Randolph’s actions and responses to COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear students,

We are excited to welcome you back Jan. 31 and appreciate your patience and understanding with the delay of the spring semester. Though we do anticipate the possibility of a higher-than-normal number of cases in the beginning as students arrive back on campus, the surge of the COVID-19 virus seems to be decreasing at this time. With the cooperation and commitment of our entire community, we know that we can continue to successfully manage the pandemic and its effect on our campus. We look forward to a successful semester.

I would like to remind you of a few important items as you prepare to return.

Quarantine and Isolation Space

Because of the limited amount of quarantine and isolation spaces available on campus, we will be asking residential students who test positive for COVID-19 to isolate at home if possible so that we can ensure space for those students with extenuating circumstances that make it impossible for them to return home. Randolph’s isolation and quarantine policies for the spring semester may be found here.

Booster Reminder

This is a reminder that all students must receive their booster shot of the vaccine, if eligible, by Friday, Jan. 28, unless they have an approved religious or medical exemption. Please send documentation to rbryant@randolphcollege.edu. If you have had COVID-19 within the past 90 days, please contact Ruby Bryant, director of the health center, to provide documentation. You will be expected to receive your booster after the recommended 90-day wait is up.

Testing

Campus-wide testing will take place on Monday, Jan. 31 for all students, faculty, and staff from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in Smith Banquet Hall. This mandatory testing includes vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals. If you have had COVID-19 within the past 90 days, you do not need to be tested at this event. Please contact Ruby Bryant, director of the health center, at rbryant@randolphcollege.edu to provide documentation.

The PCR testing will be conducted by the same company that did the previous testing. As with that time, results will be ready within 72 hours. Any person with a positive result will be notified. If you have questions, please contact Ruby Bryant at rbryant@randolphcollege.edu.

Please remember to complete the online form and print the EREQ before the event. We know that there were issues printing from campus printers last time. We are working with IT to remedy these issues before the next testing event.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please go to the following link to fill out the necessary form for the event.  [Link Redacted]

• You MUST print and bring the form located here to the testing site.
• Please change the date to 1/31/22 on the form.
• Do not change any other pre-filled information (test type, payment, etc.).
• Fill in all demographics info to the best of your ability.
• When complete, CLICK CREATE EREQ at the bottom of the screen.
• Please PRINT out the EREQ and BRING THE PAPER FORM IN TO THE TESTING EVENT!! (Forms just on a phone will cause delays at registration!).

In addition, we will resume mandatory testing for all unvaccinated students. All testing will be conducted at the Health Center until further notice. Students will be tested on Wednesdays. Testing will be conducted by “walk-in” appointments from 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. on those days. More details on testing is available here.

Masks

With the extreme transmission of the current variant of the COVID-19 virus, it is even more important for our community to adhere to our mask and social distancing policies.

CDC guidance indicates that N95 masks are the best option, followed by KN95 and KN94 masks, followed by 3-ply procedure masks.

• Cloth masks offer the least protection. We understand that some of these masks are hard to obtain at this time, and we encourage you to wear the most protective mask that is available to you.
• No matter which mask you wear, make sure it is well-fitted to your face with no gaps. Masks with a nose wire provide better fit than those without a nose wire.
• Do not wear more than one procedure mask or respirator-style mask (N95, KN95, KN94).
• Cloth masks should have multiple layers and, when possible, be worn on top of a procedure mask (“double masking”).
• Do not wear masks with valves.

We know that you, like all of us, are tired of the pandemic and the effect the virus has had on our daily lives. However, we cannot let down our guard, and we must continue to work together to keep our community safe and healthy. We look forward to seeing each of you back on campus.

Sincerely,
Brad Bateman

For more information and updates visit www.randolphcollege.edu/covid19