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STUDENT LIFE

JULY 27 MESSAGE FROM REV. JOHN P. STACK, OSA, VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT LIFE

Fr. Stack Header

July 27, 2020

Dear Students,

This email contains information you need regarding Villanova’s COVID-19 testing initiative and the opening of the fall semester. I ask that you please read the information below carefully.

Villanova is requiring all students, faculty, and staff who will be physically on campus this fall to be tested for COVID-19 before the semester begins. This testing will be accomplished in partnership with Quest Diagnostics and paid for by Villanova University. Students will not be able to begin the semester on campus unless they first have been tested through this program.

All students must follow the procedure below unless (a) they are not returning to campus this semester, or (b) they are coming to campus from overseas. Students coming from overseas will be tested once in the United States.

Procedure for Testing

  1. Click on the link https://my.questforhealth.com/mobile/welcome/home. On the landing page, go directly to the right side, and enter the registration key, which is: Villanova. You will then be asked to enter your Villanova email address and your date of birth. Leave the “relationship” field as “Employee.” Next, you’ll be prompted to create an account. IMPORTANT NOTE: Use as your username your Villanova-issued email address, which ends in “villanova.edu” or “law.villanova.edu” for those members of the Law School. Be sure to save the password you create to check your results. Registration includes confirming your current address to which the test will be sent and your current phone number. You will also need to update your gender from the default designation.
  2. Click on the Quest link as soon as possible to help ensure that you receive your test promptly. Once you register, you should receive the test from Quest in three days.
  3. The test will provide directions and everything you need to collect your sample. The test will be a nasal swab that is easy to accomplish. If you have questions, call Quest at 1-855-332-2533 (M-F, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. CST, and Sat. 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. CST).
  4. Tests cannot be shipped on the weekends and must be shipped the same day they are collected. Mail YOUR TEST AT THE NEAREST FEDEX LOCATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to get your test result before the semester begins.
  5. Test results will take five to 10 days.
  6. Time is of the essence. Tests must be mailed by Quest and students must immediately submit their samples to receive test results before the semester begins.
  7. Quest will communicate test results directly to the student.
  8. Quest will also notify Villanova of any positive test results. The University will be monitoring registration and test completion.

COVID-19 Test Results

If your COVID-19 test result is negative, we will happily welcome you to campus as planned. For residential students, you will move in on your assigned date and time through Residence Life.

If your COVID-19 test result is positive, you will need to stay home until:

  • 10 days have passed since the test sample was taken and
  • 24 hours have passed without a fever and without taking a fever-reducing medication.

Once 10 days have passed since the test sample was taken, and you have been fever-free for the last 24 hours, you may come to campus for the semester provided you have:

  • Communicated by phone with the Student Health Center (610-519-4070) about your planned return and
  • If you are a resident student, communicated with Residence Life at reslife@villanova.edu to schedule an updated move-in time, as needed.

Please note the following:

  • If it is time for you to return to campus BUT you have symptoms and/or 10 days have not yet passed since your positive test, you will need to stay home and begin the semester learning remotely until you are recovered or the 10 days have passed. Contact your professors if you will miss class time and need to arrange remote learning temporarily.
  • As outlined by CDC guidance, those who test positive do not need to take a second COVID-19 test before coming to campus once they are recovered (i.e., 10 days have passed since the test sample was taken and 24 hours without a fever).

Consent Form for Students Under 18 Years of Age

Students who are under 18 years of age must complete and return the attached consent form prior to being tested for COVID-19 by Quest. The form must include a signature from the student’s parent/legal guardian. All signatures must be in ink (typed/electronic/digital signatures are not permitted). Completed forms must be returned as soon as possible to the Student Health Center via email at studenthealthcenter@villanova.edu. If email is not possible, completed forms may also be faxed to the Student Health Center at 610-519-4047. Minor students who fail to submit the consent form to complete COVID-19 testing will not be permitted to return to campus.

Students Coming to Campus from Abroad

Students coming to campus this semester from abroad will not participate in the Quest testing initiative. They must email studenthealthcenter@villanova.edu now to arrange for COVID testing upon arrival in the US.

Important Reminders for Health and Safety

It’s imperative to remember that testing does not negate the need to be vigilant in wearing a mask, washing hands, and maintaining social distance. Each student is also asked to self-quarantine for 14 days prior to arrival to campus, and/or to wear a mask 100 percent of the time when it is not possible to be at home. Whether on or off campus, we must each act as though everyone we encounter has COVID. That vigilance will keep our community healthy and keep the number of COVID cases to a manageable level.

As outlined in the Health and Safety Plan, Villanova is prepared for cases of COVID on campus. Here’s a summary of our protocols in place for students once the semester begins:

  1. Each student, faculty, and staff member is expected to self-monitor daily for COVID symptoms. Students should not go out or go to class if they are symptomatic, but they should call the Student Health Center at 610-519-4070.
  2. The Student Health Center has a significant, though finite, supply of rapid point-of-care tests that will provide quick results when a student presents with symptoms.
  3. Students who test positive and whose permanent homes are within 300 miles of campus will be expected to return home until they have recovered and met the CDC guidelines above (currently, 10 days since the test was taken and 24 hours without a fever). They will learn remotely while isolating.
  4. Students who are not able to travel to their permanent homes will be isolated at the Student Health Center, the Inn at Villanova University, or their off-campus residence, depending on their circumstances.
  5. Villanova has a team of people who will monitor close contacts, and close contacts will be quickly identified and expected to quarantine for 14 days and learn remotely while in quarantine. Close contacts whose permanent homes are within 300 miles of campus will be expected to return home; other students will need to relocate temporarily to quarantine in designated halls on campus. Students who live off campus (undergraduate, graduate, or law students) will be able to self-quarantine at their off-campus residences.

As Father Peter has said, only by acting together in one another’s best interests will we have a successful semester. This is our commitment: Community First.

Finally, please understand that you are making a personal choice whether to return to Villanova for this semester under the current—and evolving—pandemic situation our country is experiencing. If you do not wish to return to campus and wish to learn online this semester, or take a leave of absence, contact your Dean’s Office as soon as possible to make those arrangements and adjustments to your class schedule. We support you in whatever decision you deem best for yourself.

Please send any additional questions you may have to info@villanova.edu.

Sincerely,

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Rev. John P. Stack, OSA
Vice President for Student Life