The College is offering a new accommodation for students who need to be away from campus for an extended period and will be unable to get a required COVID-19 test during a given week.
New Paltz students who are not fully vaccinated – including those who have not completed or are not yet two weeks past a vaccination series, and those who have an approved medial or religious exemption – are required to get a COVID-19 test every week they are on campus.
However, if you know you will not be physically present on campus for a full week (from Sunday to Saturday), or if you were not on campus for a prior week, you can now request a testing exemption for that week using your COVID-19 Profile at my.newpaltz.edu.
Once you log in, just click “View your COVID-19 Profile,” then look for the “Request Testing Exemption” box at the top of the page. Complete the request with the specific week you’ll be away from campus, click “Submit,” and wait for approval. If your exemption is approved, you will not receive a testing violation for that week.
The Testing Exemption can also be requested retroactively. If you missed a required test earlier in the semester because you were away from campus that week, you may submit a request to have that testing violation waived.
How the Testing Exemption Request works
Step 1: When you log into your COVID-19 Profile, you’ll see this menu at the top of the page:
Step 2: Click “Request Testing Exemption” and you’ll be asked to input information on this form:
Step 3: Once your request is approved, you’ll no longer have a Red violation on your COVID-19 Profile:
Students who have already shown proof of full vaccination should not need to use this new Testing Exemption Request except in extreme circumstances.
Vaccinated students are required to get a COVID-19 test periodically (click here for the testing schedules), but if you’re planning to be away from campus during your assigned week you can simply test during the week before or the week after your time away from campus. Vaccinated students who are away from campus for three weeks or more can submit a Testing Exemption Request and test the next time they are on campus.
If you are fully remote, not physically present on campus this semester, and have submitted the attestation for online-only students, you do not need to complete this process.
The College is able to provide this additional testing flexibility to our vaccinated populations, as our surveillance testing process is strategically designed to monitor about 20% of vaccinated individuals each week. We are less flexible about our weekly testing requirement for unvaccinated people, as they have a significantly higher risk of being infected and spreading the virus to other members of our community.
Students who fail to test during their assigned period, or who submit false information through the Testing Exemption Request, are in violation of the Student Handbook and will be subject to conduct charges.
