[Wsssc] Testing of Students

Matthew Campbell MCampbell at pierce.ctc.edu
Fri Dec 17 14:27:37 PST 2021


Good afternoon. We are not currently testing, though may need to begin at JBLM (following federal/base guidance).

We have discussed testing multiple times though the cost and facilitation processes have been daunting to contemplate, especially if there needs to be a time element (some tests take several days for results; and sometimes those having gone to a drive-through have had severely delayed communication of results; so a negative test that took 3+ days could be meaningless with regard to safety, though it may encourage some folks to get vaccinated rather than needing to go through a regular testing protocol).

We have rapid tests for athletics, though unless there is a substantially larger investment in the supply and availability of these tests, and without substantial funding it would be very difficult to undertake. I thiiink we could have students pay (many drive-through sites, of which we have one at a college, do bill insurance or their own access to CARES funding), though I believe if it was an employee requirement, the college would likely need to cover that cost.

With regard to “who do we test?”, we have considered a couple options, though in all of them we would only be testing those who are exempted. One option would be to regularly test anyone who has an exemption (say, once per week); and the other would be testing those in courses with higher transmission likelihood (e.g., performance (band, choral, drama, possibly speech), exercise, etc.). I could see us contemplating courses where proximity is much more difficult to regulate, like labs, though not discussed.

Finally, we do communicate that testing would be a possibility for anyone with an exemption (religious and/or medical). In those communications, we have been clear that these are not accommodations. The accommodation is to allow those exempted to attend in-person despite the state mandate and college policy. Testing would be a requirement in place to protect the health and safety of the individual and the college community. Our general message to exempted folks just prepares them for the possibility of testing. Here is an example of language we’ve used when folks have questioned that:
As a vaccinated college, students are required to be vaccinated per the law. The accommodations the college is providing to you as a part of a religious exemption allows the college to modify the state-mandated vaccination requirement to allow you to come to campus.

In doing so, the college is also responsible for providing for the health and safety of the college community and the college may invoke additional requirements to these ends. For participation in band, these include the daily health check prior to participating in in-person activities, may include testing, and could include different quarantine requirements per the Department of Health’s guidance. In addition, masking and social distancing standards may continue for exempted students if/when the college relaxes these requirements.

Hope that’s helpful!
Matt

Matthew Campbell, Ed.D. (he/him/his)

Vice President, Learning & Student Success

Pierce College Puyallup

p: 253.840.8419



From: wsssc <wsssc-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> on behalf of WSSSC <wsssc at lists.ctc.edu>
Reply-To: "Taga, Brendon" <btaga at olympic.edu>
Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 11:47 AM
To: WSSSC <wsssc at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: [Wsssc] Testing of Students

CAUTION: This email originated from outside Pierce College. Do not click links or open attachments unless you have confirmed this is an authentic message from sender and know the content is safe. If you are unsure, contact the Help Desk at 253-964-6373 or email Helpdesk at pierce.ctc.edu
Good morning WSSSCers,

Are any of your campuses testing students? If so, is this a college-level policy or framed as an accommodation? Is it for all students? Only those who suspect they have been exposed? Randomized across all students? Only for exempt students?

Thank you!

Brendon K. Taga, Ph.D., J.D.
Vice President of Student Services
(360) 475-7476 | btaga at olympic.edu<mailto:btaga at olympic.edu>

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