In fall 2020, the first semester with students on campus since face-to-face classes were suspended, Fordham encountered significant challenges with on-campus testing procedures. With the spring semester already underway, the university has updated its testing communication and strategy.

Maureen Keown, the director of University Health Services, outlined a set of testing procedures for students returning to campus in an email on Jan. 26. Fordham requires one negative test result from students arriving from states contiguous to New York, including Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. 

Students from outside the named states must submit a negative COVID-19 test from three days before their departure and a test from their fourth day in New York to avoid New York’s 10-day quarantine requirements. 

In comparison, Keown’s email before the fall semester required students arriving from states on New York’s restricted list to conduct a COVID-19 test on campus after their quarantine. For students from areas outside those listed, Keown recommended a COVID-19 test two weeks before their arrival. However, she said that students could receive on-campus testing.

I was maybe in there for a total of two or three minutes because no one else was there, and I just went right in. It was pretty convenient. Reeya Vasisht, FCLC ’23

As of Feb. 21, 5,481 students have received tests, with 222 students testing positive for COVID-19 within the two-week period. Lincoln Center has conducted 1,005 of those 5,481 tests. Due to COVID-19 cases exceeding 100 students, Fordham’s Rose Hill campus has shut down for two weeks. 

A significant factor in this is Fordham’s issuance of a larger supply of tests than in the fall. “We conducted about 33,500 tests in the fall and have ordered 40,000 tests for the spring semester,” Keown reported. In comparison, SUNY Buffalo State College, which has a similar student population to Fordham, has conducted 11,577 tests since on-campus testing began. 

Students who received tests on campus have reported more positive experiences there than at testing clinics and hospitals at other locations in the city or their hometowns. 

Reeya Vasisht, Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’23, said getting tested was a simple process for her. “It was quick. I was maybe in there for a total of two or three minutes because no one else was there, and I just went right in. It was pretty convenient,” Vasisht said. This was Vasisht’s first experience with testing on campus — last semester she stayed remote.

About 40 minutes before the appointment, as I was about to head out to campus, I got an email from Fordham saying that the system was down and not to show up. Isabel Piazza, FCLC ’23

Some students reported issues before arriving at the testing center. Isabel Piazza, FCLC ’23, said Fordham canceled her appointments multiple times right before her test.

“Fordham required an appointment, and about 40 minutes before the appointment, as I was about to head out to campus, I got an email from Fordham saying that the system was down and not to show up,” Piazza said. “I had to schedule a test for the next day, but when I showed up, my appointment was not in the system.” 

When asked about the reasons for appointment cancellation, Jenifer Campbell, the dean of students at FCLC, said, “The primary reason for cancellations has been because of weather that impacts the ability for the courier to deliver the testing samples to the laboratory.” 

Also, at times in the fall, testing centers did not admit students without appointments. However, Keown assured that while it is preferred for students to make appointments to help spread out the number at the testing site, the health center will allow students to walk in during the operating hours.  

As the university provides mostly online and hybrid classes, many people have expressed interest in whether vaccines will allow a return to entirely in-person courses.

The current New York state rules prohibit individuals outside designated groups from receiving the vaccine, but vaccines will be available to students as soon as Fordham acquires them. “We have registered and been approved as a vaccination site but have not received any information about when we might receive vaccines. When we do receive it, we are required to follow the eligibility requirements from NYS (New York state),” Keown said. 

How vaccine distribution will occur across both campuses is unknown.