Dear colleagues,
I have been asked to pass along this information on testing group assignments. A member of the CPCC will be at the faculty senate next week to answer any general questions you might have. Please share your questions with your departmental representative.
All best,
Orianne
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Dear faculty,
As you probably know, the Spring 2021 COVID-19 testing strategy relies on routine testing for all individuals who will regularly be on the physical campus. To accomplish this task, the COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee has assigned community members to designated testing groups. This information was shared with the UMBC community last week.
We know that many students and faculty have questions about their assignment and the testing group is actively working on processing requests for community members who believe they have been assigned to an incorrect group. We are particularly hearing from those assigned to Group B, which requires testing twice a week. If a faculty member or student will not be on campus two or more times a week, they should be in group D. It is our intention that no one should come to campus just to take a test.
As we work through this process, faculty can be helpful in these ways:
If you are teaching a hybrid or face-to-face course, please explicitly tell students what dates they will be expected to be on campus.
Faculty who wish to move their class to online only OR who wish to adjust their on-campus meeting dates - especially if you are not meeting until much later in the semester - should complete this form. This allows us to move the testing group of your entire class rather than have every student request a change.
If you think you have been assigned to the wrong group, submit this form. If you no longer need access to campus, please complete the opt-out process.
Please keep in mind that these changes will take time to implement and encourage your students and colleagues to be patient as we work through this process. Our goal is to have the majority of requests processed this week, as Group B testing begins on February 8.