March 26, 2021

Return to Campus Information

Dear Goucher community,

We are thrilled to welcome students back to campus this weekend. Our students already in residence on campus this semester have done a fantastic job of adhering to COVID protocols which has allowed us to proceed with our plans to welcome even more students back to campus. Approximately 50 student-athletes returned at the beginning of this month, and we look forward to the return of approximately 100 students more in the coming days. We do have a few COVID cases on campus. However, those students are in isolation and monitored by Student Health Center staff. We continue to track trends and adhere to best practices to keep our community healthy. We request that everyone become active participants in following our health and safety guidelines and review the updated FAQs and COVID testing dashboard. We’ve provided a few updates and reminders below.

Campus Access

Goucher College Access may be granted to students who fall within any of these four categories only:

  • Residential Students – students currently residing on campus. Students wanting to reside on campus must submit a housing agreement and proceed with housing selection requirements before coming to campus.
  • Student-Athletes – NCAA athletes in-season competition or training with their respective coaches
  • Students in Hyflex courses – Students registered in Hyflex courses and confirmed with the Office of the Registrar that they will be attending in-person.
  • Provost Special Permission - Students can apply to access campus for specific individual academic purposes through the Office of the Provost. Please use this form to request this exception.

Health & Testing Protocol

  • All residential students must show proof of a negative PCR test result within the prior 72 hours to be allowed to move onto campus.
  • Residential students are tested 7-10 days after arrival and must adhere to a modified quarantine protocol until they received their post-arrival negative test result. This includes students who are vaccinated.
  • Student athletes, both residential and commuter students, will be subject to increased weekly testing in adherence with NCAA testing protocols
  • Students registered for Hyflex courses must be tested if attending class in-person. Students with Provost Special permission are also subject to testing.
    • If a student wants to change from virtual to in-person attendance they should contact the Student Health Center to schedule testing prior to attending in-person or obtain a PCR test on their own and report those results to the Student Health Center.
  • Once the Student Health Center clears a student, they will share that information with the Office of the Provost who will inform the appropriate faculty member(s). Students participating in Hyflex courses in-person will be placed into the surveillance testing pool for regular testing.

Important note: If the students mentioned above (residential, athletes, in-person hyflex, and Provost permitted) do not adhere to their regularly scheduled COVID19 testing, their campus access may be revoked by the Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students as a direct violation of the COVID19 amended student code of conduct.

 Reminder: Everyone coming onto campus must fill out the Campus Clear questionnaire daily and show their Campus Clear Fast Pass confirmation at the gatehouse before being allowed on campus. If a student reports symptoms, a Student Health Center staff member will be in touch for follow-up.

We look forward to seeing more students on campus very soon. Planning continues to welcome all students back to campus in the fall. Adhering to our guidelines now and throughout the semester will give us the best chance to have a safe and healthy rest of the semester.

As always, please reach out with any questions.