Ann Z. Branchini, Interim Dean of Academic Services, wrote that students who are in COVID-19 isolation or quarantine will be offered assistance with navigating quizzes and tests, according to an email sent out to the student body on Sep. 27. There were no such accommodations offered in the past academic year with remote learning.
According to the email, “Student Accessibility Support (SAS) together with the School of Arts and Sciences have created a protocol for special support.”
This idea behind the protocol is to “preserve the health of the Brandeis community, while assisting students to meet the demands of their coursework.” With midterm season coming up, there is an increase in the number of students who need to take quizzes and tests while being in COVID-19 isolation or quarantine, according to the email.
Since the start of the semester, an average of 4.5 students per week have been testing positive for COVID-19 according to the Brandeis COVID-19 Dashboard. The university as of Sep. 26 had a 0.07 percent positivity rate for community members on campus including faculty, staff and students, according to the dashboard.
According to the email, if a student has to go into quarantine or isolation, they will be contacted by a Brandeis Community Contact Tracer, who will then ask the student if they wish to “be placed on a list for assistance arranging an exam or quiz.”
Students have to say to the contact tracer that they would like help, otherwise, they will not be placed on the list. Afterwards, SAS will reach out to the student and their professor to “arrange alternate testing that will enable [them] to maintain isolation/quarantine as appropriate,” according to the email.
According to the Brandeis COVID-19 quarantine policies, on-campus students “should quarantine in their assigned residence hall room. Students can only leave their room to use the bathroom, pick up meals or visit the Health Center.”
If a student is already in quarantine/isolation and needs to arrange to take a quiz or test, they should contact Cara Streit, Director of SAS.
Students in quarantine housing have not tested positive for COVID-19 but have been contact-traced as a close contact to someone who has tested positive, according to the university’s quarantine FAQ page. Students in quarantine are allowed to stay in their own dorm rooms and have meals sent to their doors. Students on-campus who test positive are asked to move into isolation housing on campus, according to the university’s Testing Positive page. Isolation housing this year is in the 567 residence hall. Students in isolation housing are not allowed to leave their newly assigned room until they are approved to leave by the Health Center, according to the page.
