Penn State Behrend continues to work to ensure the safety and health of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
Questions and Answers
UPDATED: Monday, September 12, 2022, at 11:25 a.m.
For the most up-to-date information on masking and vaccination requirements, please see the Health and Safety section.
This site provides access to the most up-to-date information on Penn State's response to the coronavirus, as well as related campus-specific information. You also may find the following websites helpful:
KeepTeaching.psu.edu: Course instructors visiting the site will find information on effective teaching, technology training, webinars, and support as they update and teach their courses.
VirusInfo.psu.edu: Penn State's main website provides links to the latest news and answers to frequently asked questions about the University's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The site's resources page also contains links to dedicated resources for students and employees; information on testing, contact tracing, and monitoring for the campus community; classroom and office guidance; and policies on masking and social distancing.
Academic Information
Are classes being held in person?
Most classes are being held in person, although various course delivery options are being offered. As Penn State continues to prioritize the health of its students, faculty, staff, and local communities, in-person classes have built-in flexibility to allow the University to quickly respond to changing pandemic conditions, if necessary.
Where can I go to attend a remote class if I'm on campus?
You are free to use quieter public areas and classrooms that are not in use. You are expected to wear headphones.
To provide additional on-campus remote learning spaces, outdoor WiFi has been extended to the top level of the Burke Parking Deck and the Nick Lot. (Parking permits are required.)
Health and Safety
Are masks required on campus?
Masks are required in the Health and Wellness Center (both Carriage House and Burke Center locations). Masks are optional in all other locations on campus, and any individual who wishes to wear a mask indoors is encouraged to do so.
What should I know about vaccination?
All members of the Penn State Behrend community are encouraged to stay up to date with their COVID vaccinations, including booster doses, and to share their vaccination status with the University. Students can upload their vaccination records through myUHS.
For students and employees, local vaccine site locations listed by a ZIP code search can be found at Vaccines.gov.
What if I experience COVID symptoms when I'm on campus?
Any member of the Behrend community who experiences COVID-19 symptoms should immediately begin avoiding interaction with others and contact the Health and Wellness Center or a local provider for instructions to be tested. Before visiting the Health and Wellness Center, you must first make an appointment by calling 814-898-6217 or making an appointment online.
What if I test positive for COVID?
Students who test positive are required to isolate for a minimum of five days and a maximum of 10 days. At Day 5 or later, students are asked to retest to ensure they are no longer infectious before returning to campus.
Any student who tests positive is required to upload the result through myUHS. To upload a test in myUHS, students will need to log in and click on the first bullet, "Upload a POSITIVE COVID-19 lab result." This will take the student to a secure message where they can upload their test result as an image file (.jpg, .png, .bmp, .gif, or .tif). Test result images should be legible and include the patient’s name and date of birth, the type of test performed, the provider’s name, the collection date and result date, and the result. The student should also email [email protected] with the date of symptom onset and date and type of test taken or complete this self-referral form.
Residential students who have tested positive are encouraged to return home to isolate, if possible. When that is not possible, a limited number of on-campus isolation spaces are available.
Students living off-campus are asked to isolate in their home or apartment, ideally in a space where contact with other members of the household can be avoided. Isolation space is not available for off-campus students.
Employees who are symptomatic or test positive for COVID-19 should notify their immediate supervisor and isolate at home. Faculty and staff with a positive test result should email Occupational Medicine at [email protected] and provide the following information: the date symptoms started, date of the first positive test, first day of missed work, ability to work remotely. (Technical service employees should contact their supervisor, who will contact Occupational Medicine.)
What if I've had contact with someone who has COVID?
Per current Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and University guidelines, individuals are no longer required to quarantine after exposure to an individual known to have COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status.
Students identified as close contacts of another student who has tested positive will be contacted with instructions to mask for 10 days following exposure and to test on Day 5 or earlier, if they develop any symptoms.
