TIME-SENSITIVE: COVID-19 Testing Information for Students

January 9, 2022

Baylor Students:

We look forward to the spring semester and in-person classes beginning Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Please read the IMPORTANT INFORMATION below regarding your return to campus IF:

You live in a residence hall (vaccinated or unvaccinated) and are required to test for COVID-19 within 24 hours of moving into your residence hall or
You live off-campus (unvaccinated) and are required to test twice weekly, beginning the week of Jan. 17-21.

If either of these apply to you and you tested positive over the Christmas break with an at-home test, please note the following and take action immediately:

If you tested positive for COVID over the Christmas break with an at-home test, you should immediately get a lab-verified test (both PCR and antigen accepted). At-Home test results are not accepted unless they have been monitored by a healthcare provider or recorded.
If you tested positive with a lab-verified test over the break or within the last 90 days, please use the Confidential Employee Medical Record Form available at www.baylor.edu/vaccine to upload your lab test results, or email your lab test results with your full name and student ID number to health_services@baylor.edu.

You still have to test upon arrival to your residence hall or once you begin your twice-weekly testing. However, a lab-verified test prior to arrival may exempt you from some or all of your isolation period. Updated on-campus testing hours/locations are available at www.baylor.edu/coronavirus/testing.

Why are we asking this?

Our goal is to avoid an unnecessary situation where a student tests positive upon returning to campus and is required to begin isolation when they have already been positive and completed their 5-day isolation period during the Christmas break.

The lab-verified test will provide a date, or a starting point, for isolation earlier than a campus test and save time in isolation once returning to campus, if not eliminate the isolation requirement altogether.

If you have questions, please see our list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions, or call our Baylor Information Call Center at 888-283-2158 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday-Friday. You also can email coronavirus@baylor.edu.