January 11, 2022 Dear Students, We hope that you had a restful and enjoyable winter break. With your return to campus quickly approaching, we write to you today to inform you of several important updates to our approach for non-compliance with required COVID-19 asymptomatic surveillance testing. With the aggressive spread of the Omicron variant across the country and globe, the University anticipates high positivity rates in our campus community early in the resumption of the 2021-2022 academic year. Students are required to test when notified by University Health Services, as indicated in emails they receive from Dr. Douglas Comeau. Students who are unable to test because of legitimate extenuating circumstances must notify covidtesting@bc.edu with their reasons and upload the results of a new PCR test obtained externally in the required testing time frame to their patient record in Health Services and email covidtesting@bc.edu to inform them of the uploaded test. Students who do not test or upload an external PCR test result will receive multiple account holds, including a Canvas hold, on Saturday of that week. This semester, students will not be able to avoid a Canvas hold by testing the following Monday. Holds will only be removed after a student has tested (PCR) and completed an online educational module. Additionally, students who miss a required test and do not test and complete the required module by Thursday of the following week will be issued a Summary Suspension (see Code of Conduct Section 2.3 Interim Administrative Action) and, with the exception of the testing center, will not be permitted on campus (including all Residence Halls) until the requirements of testing and completing the module are met. Students who miss a test will continue to be referred for Student Conduct action, and those who miss two or more tests or have extended periods of time without testing as required will be issued sanctions including Housing Suspension and University Suspension. Boston College’s asymptomatic surveillance testing program is a critical component to the University’s operations and allows for fewer restrictions relative to COVID-19. If testing compliance is not sufficient, the University may need to take additional steps such as imposing gathering size restrictions, and/or suspension of gatherings/parties on and off campus. Everyone must do their part to keep the BC and surrounding communities safe and healthy. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, Shawna Cooper-Gibson, EdD Corey Kelly, PhD Division of Student Affairs |