From the UNL Newsroom
By Troy Fedderson | University Communication
To offer in-person instruction in the spring, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is planning a multi-layered, mandatory COVID-19 testing program for students, faculty and staff.
Announced Dec. 9, the saliva-based diagnostic testing program will be managed by the university through lab space in the Veterinary Diagnostic Center. It will offer multiple collection sites on City, East and Nebraska Innovation campuses; expected 24-hour return time on results; and a smartphone app that will permit access to campus buildings.
The free testing program follows recommendations made by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department and is supported by the executive team of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska.
Chancellor Ronnie Green said the mandatory testing and related protocols will help the university build upon success realized while offering in-person instruction in the fall.
“We remain committed to safely providing in-person educational experiences and to continuing our critical research and creative activity, as well as our vital outreach across Nebraska,” Green said. “These additional measures will help make our spring semester even more safe and successful.”
The testing program is required for faculty and staff who plan to come physically to the Lincoln campuses; students attending in-person classes; all students living in Lincoln or Lancaster County, including those who are taking only online courses; and students, faculty and staff in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Lincoln-based nursing and dentistry program.
University employees not physically coming to the Lincoln campuses are not required to participate in the mandatory testing program. However, they must get tested within two weeks, ideally two to three days before, accessing any campus facility.
Exemptions will be available to those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous 90 days and to those who have a substantiated medical reason for an exemption.
All members of the campus community will be tested prior to the start of classes on Jan. 25 and every two weeks thereafter. Anyone who is required to take part in the testing program but fails to follow protocols will not have access to campus buildings and may face disciplinary action.
The university is working with Big Ten colleagues at the University of Illinois to finalize a smartphone app that will connect to individual testing results. Students, faculty and staff will use the app (or a printable option) to show a negative test result to wellness attendants stationed at campus building entrances. The wellness attendants will not grant access to any student, faculty and staff who are unable to show a current test result or those who test positive for the virus.
Students will also be required to complete the Spring 2021 Cornhusker Commitment, which is an affirmative agreement to adhere to the university’s testing program and health/safety measures. The updated Cornhusker Commitment is available for review online and will be available in MyRED for completion in January.
University leaders are also seeking members of the campus community who could temporarily redeploy and help staff testing sites, diagnostic center and conduct contact tracing.
“Standing up this capability is a major undertaking, and we need immediate staffing help,” Green said. “These are temporary assignments ranging from one to more than four months depending on the role and availability of the individual.”
Employees must get supervisory permission before pursuing a redeployment to assist with the testing program. Some positions are open to student workers. Learn more about the work and positions available.
Additional details about the spring semester’s testing program and app will be announced in January. Available information, including a list of frequently asked questions, is available on the university’s COVID-19 website.
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Message to UNL Students
Dear UNL Students, Faculty and Staff –
The recent Thanksgiving holiday gave us many reasons to be thankful. We successfully finished a fall semester with students on campus and in-person education, and our UNL community largely responded admirably to the restrictions and extra measures needed to keep our campus safe.
Yet, we can always improve. As the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified in Nebraska and globally, and as the colder weather forces us more indoors, we have thought about how to make our campus even safer next Spring when our students return. We will be instituting several new measures in January as we adapt to these growing challenges, including required, less invasive and faster testing for those in our campus community and an enhanced Cornhusker Commitment. Throughout the pandemic, we have had a close working partnership with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. These additional steps are based on their recommendations, with the support of our Association of Students of the University of Nebraska (ASUN) executive team.
New Saliva-Based Campus Testing
With the incredible support of UNL’s Veterinary Diagnostic Center, we will be able to provide saliva-based diagnostic testing on campus in the spring, with an expected 24-hour turn-around for positive or negative results.
Standing up this capability is a major undertaking, and we need immediate help staffing it. We are looking for members of our campus community who would be able to temporarily redeploy to help staff the testing sites, diagnostic center and conduct contract tracing. These temporary re-assignments range from one-month to more than four months, depending on the role and availability of the individual. If you are interested and have capacity to redeploy on a temporary basis next spring, please visit this website to learn more about the available roles and to apply.
Mandatory Testing / New Campus COVID App
With this new capability for simpler, rapid diagnostic testing – we will be instituting free, mandatory testing in the Spring semester for our campus community.
All UNL students residing in Lancaster County during the Spring semester will be required to be tested every two weeks. Any students residing outside Lancaster County who physically come to campus in the Spring semester will also be required to be tested every two weeks. All students will be required to be tested prior to moving into any campus housing or prior to classes commencing on January 25, 2021. Students will be receiving full information on these testing requirements and how to sign up for their initial tests in early January.
Faculty and staff who are regularly on campus will also be required to be tested every two weeks. Faculty and staff who are primarily working remotely and come to campus infrequently will be required to be tested within the two weeks prior to visiting campus, preferably 2-3 days in advance. We are working to determine the capability to provide enhanced testing to any UNL faculty and staff outside of Lancaster County; for now, those employees should follow the recommended testing guidance of the local health departments. If coming to Lincoln, those employees should be tested in advance.
We are also working with our Big Ten colleagues at the University of Illinois-UC for a unique campus app that will incorporate the results of the saliva tests to provide members of the campus community with a color-coded status based on negative or positive test results. A “go” status will be required to enter any UNL buildings on City, East or Nebraska Innovation Campuses. Alternatives for demonstrating a negative test and gaining access to campus buildings will be made available for any students, faculty or staff who do not own a smartphone. Information about the new app and how to download will be provided in early January.
Students, faculty and staff are exempt from testing if they can show documentation of a positive COVID-19 test in the prior 90 days, or a documentation from a health care provider that substantiates a medical reason for an exemption. Those wishing to seek an exemption will be able to do so through a portal that will soon be available on our COVID-19 website.
In addition to the mandatory saliva-based testing, we will continue to have symptomatic and on-demand testing available for anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19, who have been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 or who feel the need to be tested prior to their next scheduled saliva test. In the Spring, even if you recently had a negative saliva test, we ask anyone demonstrating symptoms to be tested at the TestNebraska site.
Enhanced Spring 2021 Cornhusker Commitment
As we expand our testing, we are also enhancing the Spring 2021 Cornhusker Commitment. For the Spring semester, all students will be required to sign an affirmative agreement in MyRed agreeing to adhere to these expanded health and safety measures. Each student will need to commit to being tested as needed and to practicing the necessary safety measures of wearing masks indoors or when social distancing is not possible outdoors, avoiding large crowds and social gatherings, hand washing, and other proper hygiene. Students will acknowledge that a failure to adhere to these safety precautions could jeopardize their ability to be on campus.
More information on the new safety measures being taken for our Spring 2021 semester is available on our UNL COVID-19 website. We remain committed to safely providing in-person educational experiences and to continuing our critical research and creative activity, as well as our vital outreach across Nebraska. These additional measures will help make our Spring semester even more safe and successful.
Ronnie D. Green, Ph.D.
Chancellor