Fall Student Arrival Procedures and Requirements

Dear Students,

We are excited to welcome the first students on campus for the fall semester in just a few days! We’re writing with some information about what to expect during the arrival process, including some new requirements. Please be certain to read this message carefully to determine which of these requirements applies to you. 

Arrival 

All students returning to campus must be in compliance with our COVID-19 vaccination and prearrival testing requirements as outlined below. Students must not come to campus if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to arrival, or if they are sick or have symptoms associated with COVID-19. Students with an exposure or symptoms should contact Health Services at 802-443-3290 or healthservices@middlebury.edu for further instructions. 

Arrival Dates

The residence halls will open for returning students on September 11 at 9 a.m. All returning students should proceed directly to the Arrival Center in Proctor Dining Hall between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 11, or Sunday, September 12. Incoming new students will receive separate arrival instructions from the MiddView orientation team. 

Testing and Quarantine

Please read this section of the message very carefully to determine which arrival protocol applies to you. Note that for the purposes of this message, partially vaccinated students are considered unvaccinated. 

Prearrival PCR COVID-19 Test Required for All Students

You must obtain a PCR COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours prior to arrival on campus, and submit the negative result in printed form upon arrival at the Arrival Center in Proctor or to your program leader or coach (if you are preapproved for early arrival). Some students arriving early (between August 23 and 27) will receive a separate prearrival testing message given the relatively short notice around this new requirement. If the result of your test is positive, do not come to campus, and please contact Health Services immediately at 802-443-3290 or healthservices@middlebury.edu for further instructions.

Students Who Have Tested Positive for COVID-19 within 90 Days of Arrival

If you have tested positive for COVID-19 via a PCR test in the 90 days prior to your arrival on campus, please contact Health Services at 802-443-3290 to provide them with documentation of the positive test and the test date. Health Services staff must provide clearance for you to return to campus. You will need to provide clearance documentation (e.g., printing an email) in lieu of a negative PCR test result upon arrival. There are no arrival testing or quarantine requirements for these students.

Fully Vaccinated Students

If you are arriving from a domestic point of origin, proceed directly to the Arrival Center at Proctor, where you will provide your negative PCR COVID-19 test result and be checked into your room to gain access to your touchpad code. There are no other arrival testing or quarantine requirements at this time.

If you are arriving from an international point of origin

Proceed directly to the Arrival Center in Proctor with your negative prearrival PCR COVID-19 test result. You will be given an arrival test and instructions for scheduling two follow-up tests. You will then be checked into your room and will gain access to your touchpad code. You are not required to quarantine. Students approved for early arrival should contact Health Services at 802-443-3290 to schedule an arrival test. 

Unvaccinated Students

This includes those less than two weeks past their final dose, those who were administered vaccines that are not approved for emergency use by the FDA or World Health Organization (WHO), and those with religious or medical exemptions, regardless of point of origin.

Proceed directly to the Arrival Center in Proctor with your negative PCR COVID-19 test result where you will be given an arrival test and instructions for scheduling follow-up testing. Students approved for early arrival should contact Health Services at 802-443-3290 to schedule an arrival test. After completing the arrival process, proceed directly to your room and begin a seven day room quarantine. During quarantine you may only leave your room to go to the dining hall to pick up a grab-and-go meal, participate in a vaccination clinic if it is part of your vaccination plan, or eat or exercise outside alone on campus. Upon receipt of your negative Day 7 test result, you may end quarantine. Until that time, you are required to wear a face covering any time you are inside and not attending to personal hygiene needs in the bathroom, or when sleeping. Quarantining students arriving on or after September 6 should contact their professors to make academic arrangements until they can attend classes in person.

Those Who Have Recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 Days Prior to their Arrival  

Students who are unvaccinated, but have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 90 days should follow the guidance above and do not need to quarantine.

Declaring Your Point of Origin

It is essential that we know from where you will be travelling to campus. All students are therefore required to declare their point of origin using this form. Please note that we do not anticipate that last year’s COVID-19 conduct policy will be needed this year. However, in accordance with our overall conduct policy, completing this form with false information will be considered a serious conduct violation and referred to the Office of Community Standards. 

Personal Evacuation Plan and Emergency Contact Information

All students are required to have a personal evacuation plan on file. It is essential that you immediately create one if you have not done so, or review and update your plan if you already have one. If an evacuation becomes necessary, you will be expected to implement your plan. Students are also required to provide up-to-date emergency contact information. Updates to existing evacuation plans and emergency contacts may be made by logging in to BannerWeb and selecting the Personal Information tab. Incoming new students can enter this information via the prearrival checklist process shared by the orientation team.

A Special Note to Immunocompromised Students

The CDC now recommends that people with moderately or severely compromised immune systems should receive an additional dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after the initial two doses. You can read more about this in the CDC’s statement. Ideally, the third dose of vaccine is acquired prior to coming to campus. Additional doses are also available at some pharmacies in Vermont and more availability will be announced through the VT Department of Health. 

Behavioral Expectations

In addition to all standard conduct expectations outlined in the Middlebury College Handbook, the following expectations apply from the time of arrival on campus until rescinded by a change on the Campus Status webpage. Face coverings are required for everyone indoors except when consuming food or beverages, or in the bathroom attending to personal grooming. 

Students will:

• Not come to campus if they are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, they have tested positive for COVID-19, or they have been exposed to someone they know or believe has had COVID-19 in the last 10 days. Immediately contact Health Services for further instructions at 802-443-3290.
• Immediately contact Health Services if they receive a positive test result from a non-Middlebury administered COVID-19 test.
• Immediately contact Health Services or MiddTelehealth if they are already on campus and experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. 
• Comply with any quarantine or isolation requirements, including not visiting others when they are in quarantine or isolation. 
• Cooperate fully with any confidential contact tracing.
• Comply with any required COVID-19 testing.
• Comply with booster vaccine requirements (unless students have a medical or religious exemption), once authorized by the FDA and when available.
• Comply with all COVID-19-related health and safety requirements as announced on the College’s website and/or in communications to students.

Thank you for your attention to these important updates. We look forward to seeing you soon on campus.

Sincerely,

Derek Doucet

Dean of Students