12/3/21 Regular Screening Testing Week 15 information

Dear JMU student, 

Important: If you are fully vaccinated, the COVID-19 testing team has not received your record, even if you provided it to the University Health Center. You must provide us a copy of your vaccine record to be exempt from testing. Otherwise you will continue to be issued fines and receive testing emails each week. If you have been recently vaccinated, you must continue to be tested for two weeks after the date of your final vaccine (second dose of Moderna or Pfizer and single dose of Johnson & Johnson).

Happy Friday from the Student COVID-19 Testing Team!

This email is for Week 15 (Dec. 6–10) testing. According to our records, you have submitted a Student Assumption of Risk Waiver or have not completed your COVID-19 documentation and therefore will need to complete COVID-19 screening testing. You are required to comply with this testing.

Regular Screening Testing will not be required for the week of Dec. 12-18. Open walk-up testing will be available Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to noon that week. Free take home self-test kits are also being distributed in Festival, D-Hall and SSC Dec. 13-16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Information regarding Spring semester will be sent to your @dukes.jmu.edu email so please check for further updates.

If you are currently in quarantine due to exposure, or in isolation from a positive result, please complete the Student Exemption Form. If you are experiencing symptoms call UHC at 540-568-6178 for testing. Additional exemption options are below. This exemption form must be submitted between Dec. 5 and Dec. 11.

The University reserves the right to fine, place a hold on your student account, remove JACard access, and serve other consequences as a response to a failure to comply. Please see the missed appointments section below. 

Testing Location
The testing clinic is in The Union (Warren Hall) 5th Floor, Room 502 (across from the Union Ballroom) and is open:

Monday 12:30–5 p.m.
Tuesday 12:30–5 p.m.
Wednesday 1–4 p.m.
Thursday 1–4 p.m.
Friday 12:30–4 p.m. 

Appointments   
You will need to sign up for an appointment and complete testing for week fifteen, which is Dec. 5–11. Please click this link to select one 30-minute time slot for your appointment. On-campus testing is available Dec. 6–10.

• Only sign up for one appointment.
• Use your JMU Dukes email.
• Only register yourself.

You must sign up for and attend the appointment using the link above. Results from the Open Walk-up testing will not be registered.

Please visit Regular Screening Testing - Appointment FAQs for more information on how to prepare for the appointment.  

Your JACard is needed each week to swipe in. This is how we will take your attendance. If you do not swipe in, your attendance may be counted as a "miss" for the week. Please swipe your card only once and you will see a green "yes" on the screen which means it has been processed. This will be in addition to the stickers you fill out to allow us to keep track of your attendance.

After Testing 
You will receive your results within an hour via the NAVICA  app. Students who do not have a smart phone will need to wait 20 minutes at the testing site to receive their results in person via a paper copy. 

If you receive a positive test result you will also be notified by phone call. If you are a student living on campus, you will be asked to return home. If you cannot immediately return home due to travel, you will work with Residence Life for temporary isolation placement. If you live off campus you will need to follow VDH guidance for isolation. 

Testing Exemptions
Please click this link to submit an exemption form if needed. The COVID-19 Response Team will review each request on a case-by-case basis. The following criteria will be considered for exemptions:

• You are under order by a public health official/provider to maintain quarantine or isolation. You will need to provide documentation of this order. 
• You completed vaccination and received your final vaccine dose at least 2 weeks before the testing date. You must submit proof of vaccination through the exemption form.  
• You have proof of a positive molecular (PCR) or rapid antigen COVID-19 test in the last 90 days. If you tested at the University Health Center, you must provide your results through this exemption form.
• You have completed testing elsewhere (outside of Warren Hall 502). This includes the University Health Center. You must submit documentation of your results for the current week Sunday, Dec. 5 through Saturday, Dec. 11 using the electronic exemption form. Please read the exemption form carefully. This must be an observed test. This include testing while away from campus.
• You are a student athlete. Athlete status will be verified with Athletics.
• Extenuating circumstances that must be approved by the COVID-19 Testing Coordinator. 

The exemption form must be completed within the week (Sunday through Saturday) of the invitation or you may receive consequences. Late exemptions will not be accepted. It may take up to 48 hours to process your exemption.

Failure to complete required testing  
Students who fail to sign up, attend or complete a weekly testing appointment or exemption will receive the consequences defined below. These consequences are not consecutive; rather, they will occur with each missed appointment and will be cumulative. For example, if you miss weeks 1 and 3 of testing, you will receive the consequences listed under “The first time a test is missed" and the consequences under “If another test is missed”. Therefore, if you miss week 3 after you previously missed week 1, you will receive two $100 fines, lose your access to all Athletic events, have your student parking pass and JACard deactivated, and receive a registration hold.

The first time a test is missed:

• $100 fine

This fine is non-refundable.

If another test is missed (at any point during the semester):  

• $100 fine
• JACard deactivated
• Registration hold

The hold will be removed and access will be restored with the completion of the next submitted COVID-19 test. The fine is non-refundable.  

If a third test is missed (at any point during the semester):  

• $100 fine
• Removal from all classes

You will be added back to classes with the completion of your next submitted COVID-19 test. The fine is non-refundable.  

All students who do not attend testing between Monday and Friday, or complete an exemption form for the given test week, will receive an email informing them that they are facing the above-mentioned consequences. You cannot retroactively go back and complete the exemption form or testing. If you believe you have received a repercussion by mistake, please email studentcovid19testing@jmu.edu with a screenshot of the results for the week you received the consequences. 

If there are any questions or concerns regarding Student Regular Screening Testing, please review Student Testing FAQs or email studentcovid19testing@jmu.edu.

Thank you, 

COVID-19 Testing Coordinator