Dear students:
Please read this message carefully, as there are important details to help you plan for your return! Once you have made your plans, fill out this important student survey on your plans to start the Spring 2022 semester. The survey is due by the end of the day on Thursday, January 13.
Follow this link to the Survey:
(Students have all been sent unique links to the survey)
As was announced on Friday, SUNY Potsdam has made the decision to delay the start of the Spring 2022 semester by two weeks, to give the campus community more time to prepare for a safe start to the semester.
Here’s where you come in, and here’s why:
Get your booster shot (if eligible).
Why?
- First, because it will protect you from COVID and severe symptoms.
- Second, because it’s required. New York State has issued new mandates requiring all SUNY and CUNY students who regularly access campus to receive the COVID-19 booster vaccination once you are eligible. If you aren’t a fully remote online student and if you don’t have an approved religious or medical exemption, you are required to get vaccinated.
- Finally, because getting boosted means you get to take part in all the classes and activities you’re here for. Under the latest New York State guidelines, if you are eligible for a booster but haven’t received one yet, you are no longer considered fully vaccinated. So if you end up being a close contact to someone who tests positive (like a roommate, classmate or teammate), you’ll have to quarantine for 5 days even if you have no symptoms—unless you are boosted.
Plan for your test before returning.
Why?
- First, to help stop the spread. Because of the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, we would like as many students as possible to get tested within 72 hours of arrival to campus.
- Second, because it’s required. Per New York State guidance, all students must get tested at the start of the semester. You can either complete a PCR test within 72 hours of arrival, or a rapid antigen test within 6 hours of arrival.
- Third, to avoid having to isolate here if you test positive. By getting tested at home, we hope to catch more cases before students travel, and maintain the availability of our on-campus isolation and quarantine spaces.
Let us know your plans, and let us know if you need help.
Why?
- Because we care, and because we need to prepare!
We apologize sincerely for any confusion and inconveniences that the changes to our semester schedule have caused. For more information about frequently asked questions, including about staying on campus or arriving early, assistance with changing transportation arrangements, and dining, please visit www.potsdam.edu/prepared.
Sincerely,
Eric Duchscherer
Dean of Students
SUNY Potsdam