Dear Graduate Student,

We hope that you are safe and healthy. This message contains important updates and provides details on some essential actions required of you so that the University can successfully prepare for the end of Spring 2021 and the start of Summer 2021. Please read this email carefully and note the deadlines and steps you should take in MyBrown to enter your location of study for summer.

End of Spring Term

The spring semester will conclude with a remote reading week and remote final exams. Students must maintain their current frequency of COVID-19 testing for as long as they are either using campus facilities or interacting in-person with other members of the Brown community.

End-of-Semester Travel

For students who plan to leave Providence at the conclusion of in-person classes or the end of spring semester, it is important for them to help protect their health and the health of the home and community to which they are traveling. We encourage students to reduce in-person contacts and practice strict social distancing and mask wearing for 10 days prior to their date of departure — especially if they plan to travel by airplane, train or bus. For example, students who plan to leave Providence on April 9 (prior to the start of the remote reading period) should plan to reduce in-person contacts around March 30. We also encourage you to check with local boards of public health regarding travel restrictions that may be in place for your destination. Additional information on travel restrictions can be found on the CDC website.

Semester Transition and Routine COVID-19 Testing

All graduate students must log into the MyBrown platform to enter important information about the semester transition and Summer Location of Study.

Using the form in MyBrown, all graduate students who will be active in the summer should indicate their location of study and contact level/status for the summer semester term by Friday, April 23. Status options include:

• High Contact Status: Graduate students who will be on campus three or more days per week and/or have regular contact with students, faculty and staff will be tested twice per week.
• Medium Contact Status: Graduate students who are on campus two days or less per week and have less regular contact with others will be tested once per week (although they may opt in to be tested twice a week if they prefer).
• Low Contact Status: Graduate students who are on campus less than half a day per week, are accessing their department building only, and have minimal contact with others may request low contact status, which does not require participating in testing (although they may opt in to be tested once or twice a week if they prefer). Students in this category should be included in their department's Return To Campus Plan.
• Remote Status: Graduate students who have chosen the remote study option may not be on campus and therefore will not be tested.

Graduate students who are not planning to be on campus between the end of the spring and start of the summer term must enter the date they plan to disengage with campus facilities. (If you are not certain of your departure date, please select the most likely date for your departure.) Graduate students with a summer semester on-campus status must also use MyBrown to indicate by April 23 their return/arrival date for the summer term and return to testing.

Students who continue to utilize campus facilities while they have paused testing will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards.

If you have questions about testing or need to make changes to your departure plans after March 31, email the Student Testing Call Center at studenttesting@brown.edu or call 401-863-6500. For additional resources, please consult the information on the Healthy Brown website, especially the information on the student testing page.
 
While all graduate students should continue to work with their departments to include them on their departmental Return to Campus plans for the summer, the MyBrown system will be the system of record for students’ enrollment in COVID-19 testing.

Returning to Campus

Graduate students traveling outside the Providence area between terms should follow all Rhode Island Department of Health guidelines for travel upon their return, as well as all applicable guidelines for states to which they are traveling. Additional information on travel restrictions can be found on the CDC website.

Students who pause their testing will be re-enrolled in testing on the date they indicate and at the testing frequency they elect in MyBrown, as outlined above. Students returning at any point must update their status in MyBrown in order to restart testing before accessing campus facilities.

Students who will be enrolled in the summer will be required to abide by the terms of the Student Commitment to COVID-19 Community Health and Safety Requirements (Student Commitment) that they signed in the spring. Students who are changing their contact status may be required to sign a new commitment for their newly selected status.

Summer classes will begin remotely on May 12; classes with a hybrid option will begin meeting in-person on May 19 (provided that the University is at Campus Activity Status Level 2 or above). Students returning to Providence need to plan their return to allow adequate time for quarantine per Rhode Island Department of Health guidelines — those in effect in May — in advance of in-person classes. Graduate students who are not engaging in coursework but are engaging campus for research, instruction, or for other reasons should similarly plan for a quarantine period prior to using any  campus facilities.

In Closing

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to care for yourselves and others through this unprecedented time. Know that there are many resources and people who are here to support you as you work through your various decisions and planning. Please consult this FAQs page for questions about the End of Semester Information form. For questions about testing, email the Student Testing Call Center at studenttesting@brown.edu or call 401-863-6500.

Best wishes for the final weeks of the semester.

Sincerely,

Andrew G. Campbell
Dean of the Graduate School

Eric Estes
Vice President for Campus Life