Dear Medical 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 various deadlines.

End of Spring Term 

The spring semester will conclude with a combination of required in-person and remote coursework. 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.

For students who plan to leave Providence at the end of spring semester, it is important for them to help protect their health and the health of the home and community that they are traveling to. 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 at the conclusion of the final Block on 5/20/21, should plan to reduce in-person contacts around May 10, 2021. 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 Testing

All first-year medical students will need to log into the MyBrown platform to enter important information about the semester transition. 

While we anticipate that most students will disengage with campus facilities following the conclusion of their final exam, we also know that many students may choose to remain in Providence to pursue summer research projects or other opportunities.  Regardless of your summer plans, between the end of the Spring semester and your anticipated return in August, we need you to confirm your plans. Students who will disengage with campus between the spring and fall and spring semesters will be paused from testing until they return in August.

Using the form in MyBrown, medical students should enter by Wednesday, March 31 the date when they plan to disengage for spring. (If you are not certain of your final date of engagement, please select the latest likely date.)  

Medical students with a summer semester on-campus status will also use MyBrown to indicate by Monday, Apr. 12, their return/arrival date for the summer term and return to testing. 

Students who 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 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.

Returning to Campus for Summer

Students traveling outside the Providence area between semesters 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 have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series and are two weeks from the second dose will not be required to quarantine upon their return to Rhode Island if they have provided Brown Health Services with appropriate documentation of proof of vaccination. 

Students who were on leave for the spring and will be returning for the summer semester will be required to agree to the Student Commitment to COVID-19 Community Health and Safety Requirements (Student Commitment) by July 15, 2021. You will receive a follow-up email with further information and an individualized link.

In Closing

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to care for yourselves and others through this unprecedented time. Please consult this FAQs page for questions about the semester transition 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,

Jack A. Elias
Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences

Eric Estes
Vice President for Campus Life