In a presidential memo released before spring break, University of Idaho President Scott Green announced plans for COVID-19 testing upon returning.
Students are able to attend classes in person, without being tested, as soon as they arrive back on campus. Mandatory testing will continue throughout the week.
UI Director of Communications Jodi Walker said they’ve had different expectations moving into the spring. Following winter break, the university reported low case numbers and affirmed no cases of COVID-19 have been traced back to the classroom.
“The thing we learned most coming off of winter break was that we did not have a ton of positives upon return,” Walker said. “Everybody really did their part to come back as healthy as possible.”
Many students have taken advantage of the university’s HyFlex course delivery model, which allows them to choose their preferences for virtual or in person learning.
The format allowed Lizy Gomez, a junior majoring in architecture, to take a majority of her classes online.
“I don’t really have in-person classes,” Gomez said. “I definitely took full advantage of the HyFlex classes and just stayed home.”
Unlike the return from winter break, students will not have the opportunity to get tested on campus before classes begin in-person.
Testing slots at the Student Recreation Center are available March 22-24. Those who do not receive negative test results by the end of the week will be unable to attend in-person instruction, and professors will begin receiving lists of ineligible students.
“We looked at a lot of different options as we were preparing,” Walker said. “We feel confident we made as good a decision as we could with the information in front of us and have been able to, very quickly, isolate and contain any outbreaks we had throughout the year.”
There are thousands of testing spots available on each of the testing days, with the goal to accommodate all students within the three day time frame.
Tests must be administered March 22 or later to meet requirements, according to an email from the university’s COVID-19 Manager Seth Vieux, meaning students will not be able to complete tests before returning from their spring break travels.
Last semester, Gomez had difficulty reserving a testing slot at the SRC. She lived on campus and said that when there were outbreaks, it could be difficult to reserve an spot.
At one point, testing appointments at the SRC were so scarce, Gomez went out of town to get a test elsewhere.
“I had instances where, when I tried to make an appointment to get tested, there would be no slots available,” Gomez said. “It would usually happen the week after we get back (from break).”
While her classes are a primarily online, Gomez supported the idea of having a gap, allowing students to get tested before returning to classes in-person.
“I would email my professors,” Gomez said. “But I know there’s some other classes that require people to go.”
Testing slots after spring break can be reserved at https://gritman.secure.force.com/covid.
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq