Your Spring Semester Checklist

The bust of Damien in the CC Lobby wears a white mask
The bust of Damien in the CC Lobby wears a white surgical mask.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Feb. 2, 2021) — Welcome back, Great Danes. As vaccines are administered across the country and right here on the UAlbany campus, we have great hope for a return to some semblance of normalcy this year.

As you get settled into your schedule for the Spring 2021 semester, it’s important that all students abide by the University’s expectations outlined in the UAlbany Cares Pledge, which you were required to sign, as well as additional policies outlined on the University’s COVID-19 website. These expectations include mask wearing, physically distancing of six feet or more and completion of daily health assessments. They also outline updated rules, such as the Residential Life guest policy and off-campus gathering policy. 

In addition, all students who are studying, working or visiting any of UAlbany’s campuses — regardless of whether they live on or off campus or have been vaccinated — must participate weekly in our pooled surveillance testing program. It’s safe, free and helps to ensure the health and wellness of your friends, family and the community.

Students living on campus will receive a kit from Residential Life. For off-campus students coming to campus, you can pick up a testing kit at Waterbury Hall, located on Alumni Quad, today from noon to 6 p.m., and then again on Friday, Feb. 5, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 6, from 1 – 5 p.m. While supplies last, students can also pick up kits at the:

Campus Center West Information Desk, located near Starbucks

  • Kits are available at the information desk between 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends

University Police Department (UPD) lobby

  • This location is accessible 24/7

Students enrolled in fully online classes who do not live on campus and will not come to campus for the duration of the spring semester may seek for a waiver/exemption from this testing requirement. 

To help our campus community stay on track, the University has launched a testing compliance system. If you come to campus, you should expect to receive a series of automated communications from [email protected]. Participating students are eligible to win a $500 OneUAlbany Award each week, which can be used to pay for non-tuition expenses, such as fees, on-campus housing and/or meal plans. However, failure to participate in surveillance testing may make you ineligible to attend the University during the spring semester, have access to University services and/or result in serious disciplinary action.

Students who fail to attend at least two scheduled diagnostic or surveillance testing appointments, without sufficient excuse, or who fail to submit their daily health screening via the campus’s portal for at least three consecutive days, will face sanctions. To avoid these sanctions, learn more about Student Expectations & Sanctions under "Failure to Comply with Campus Health Protocols" on the University’s COVID-19 web site.