COVID-19 FAQs

All students, faculty and staff must complete the following before returning to campus:

• An online training and pledge agreeing to abide by CDC-recommended health and safety regulations.
• Daily self-monitoring and reporting of temperature and any onset symptoms, beginning at least 14 days prior to arrival.
• Get a COVID-19 PCR-based test and submit confirmation of your negative test result. Students should be tested within 10 days before arriving on campus and as close to their move-in date as possible.
• Review your personal dashboard to confirm your status in meeting COVID-19 return-to-campus requirements.

Once you have met the requirements above and are learning/living/working on campus:

• Students need to get retested (with a PCR-based test) as soon as possible upon their arrival and before in-person instruction begins. Those test results must be confirmed in return.umd.edu as well.
• Each day that you will be on campus, you must complete the symptom check survey from UMD confirming you have been symptom-free for at least 14 days.
• All students living on or near campus, and all faculty and staff coming to campus, are required to take a COVID-19 PCR-based test every two weeks.
• Wear a mask around others at all times both indoors and outdoors, except in your private residence. This is required both by the UMD and by Prince George’s County.

UMD Campus Affiliate and Visitor Guidelines during COVID-19
The University System of Maryland guidance only mandates testing for students and employees, but it requires "all visitors" to meet health and safety requirements related to face masks, physical distancing, compliance with local guidance on events and gatherings, hand hygiene, and daily symptom monitoring as stipulated by individual institutions. All visitors will be required to adhere to the University's current health-and-safety requirements, which may become more stringent and may include testing based on the amount of time these groups are on campus and the likelihood of close contact with UMD community members. Contractors and vendors must abide by UMD Contractor Requirements for Conducting Business During COVID-19, available at purchase.umd.edu.

UMD Campus Affiliate and Visitor Guidelines during COVID-19
Affiliates who plan to return to campus or a UMD facility are required to follow the same protocols as employees for COVID-19 testing and symptom monitoring. All affiliates must have a PCR-based test no more than 10 days prior to returning to campus or a UMD facility. Affiliates should confirm their negative test at return.umd.edu and begin daily symptom monitoring 14 days prior to arrival on campus or a UMD facility.

Contractors, including vendors, should abide by the Contractor Requirements for Conducting Business on Campus during Covid-19 which is available at purchase.umd.edu.

All members of our campus community will be required to follow these 4 Maryland healthy behaviors: 

• Wear a properly fitting mask over your nose and mouth around others at all times both indoors and outdoors, except for your private residence.
• Wash hands frequently and practice good personal hygiene.
• Practice physical distancing by staying at least 6 feet apart from others.
• Stay home if you feel sick, and report symptoms to the University Health Center and your personal doctor.

If you are seeing fellow Terps not following 4 Maryland behaviors, here's what you can do:

ON-CAMPUS

• Ask: If you feel comfortable talking to the person, respectfully ask them to comply with the 4 Maryland healthy behaviors. Consider saying something like "mask up 4 Maryland".
• Offer: If you are comfortable, provide the person with information or options, such as suggesting that the person can obtain a mask for free at the Stamp Student Union Information Desk or encouraging the person to move to a space more conducive to physical distancing.
• Leave: If they don't comply, calmly remove yourself from the situation.
• Report: You may report the incident to someone in authority (e.g. a Resident Assistant, a supervisor, a department head) or by using the UMD Compliance Reporting System.

To report a current campus gathering for immediate review and possible action, contact the UMPD non-emergency number 301-405-3555. Campus events and gatherings must follow the state and county executive orders that limit the size of gatherings.

OFF-CAMPUS

If you are off-campus, in the City of College Park, you can report large gatherings by calling the City's Code Enforcement 24/7 Hotline at 240-487-3588.

AMBASSADORS

In addition to the reporting options above, representatives from the Prince George's County Health Department, City of College Park code enforcement officers, UMPD Student Auxiliary unit, as well as a group of specially trained student ambassadors, will be assisting with keeping members of our community aware and accountable.

All students, faculty and staff will be required to take a COVID-19 PCR-based test —and submit a negative result— prior to returning to campus for the spring semester. Students should be tested within 10 days before arriving on campus and as close to their move-in date as possible. Students also need to get retested as soon as possible after arriving and before in-person instruction begins. 
Anyone physically coming to campus must get a PCR-based COVID-19 test every two weeks; review the date of your last COVID-19 test on return.umd.edu and plan ahead. 
All information regarding mandatory testing requirements, as well as dates and registration for free COVID-19 testing on campus is available on the university’s COVID-19 Testing Information website. 

The University Health Center (UHC) is preparing for a safe and efficient vaccination plan for the UMD community, including a Task Force on Vaccine Distribution. Initial allocation of vaccine doses that the state of Maryland receives will give priority to hospitals and long term care facilities. The UHC will share updates on the availability and distribution of a vaccine at UMD as more information becomes available.

The Task Force is working to:

• Make sure that staff, faculty, and students receive accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines 
• Answer questions using the best available scientific and medical information
• Follow all appropriate guidelines for equitable vaccine distribution
• Meet stringent manufacturer and government requirements 

Members of the Task Force include:

• Students, including a Student Government Association representative 
• University Health Center staff 
• School of Public Health faculty 
• Campus Emergency Operation staff 
• Division of Information Technology staff 
• A Prince George’s County Health Emergency leader

TerrapinSTRONG masks are available for free at the Stamp Student Union Information Desk. No matter where you are or who you are with, always model correct mask-wearing behaviors to keep each other safe and encourage others to do the same. 

Departments are responsible for providing masks to employees; visit the Printing Services Digital Storefront to order. 

The university launched a public COVID-19 campus dashboard to provide our community with transparent and timely data about the prevalence of COVID-19 within our campus, based on UMD-administered testing. The dashboard provides critical metrics, including UMD tests administered by week and cumulatively; new positive cases by week; positivity rate for UMD-administered tests; campus density measures; and quarantine and isolation bed availability. The metrics will be updated weekly and are an important part of our ongoing efforts to monitor and counteract the spread of the virus.

A key step in stopping the spread of COVID-19 is contact identification and contact tracing. Early contact identification is a step taken by the University Health Center upon learning of a positive case or that someone has symptoms of COVID-19. Contact tracing is conducted by the County Health Department. 

1. Early Contact Identification by University Health Center (UHC): When the UHC finds out someone has tested positive or has symptoms of COVID-19, Early Contact Identification steps will begin in order to find others on campus who may have been a close contact of that person. This will occur before or concurrently with the County Health Department’s contact tracing. The earlier these individuals are identified and interviewed, the sooner they can begin quarantine and avoid exposing others. To aid in early contact identification should someone test positive for COVID-19, we have developed a voluntary way for students, faculty, staff, and affiliates to provide the names and contact information for UMD community members they frequently interact with. Close contacts are individuals who you interact with regularly in-person while working, studying, or in residence on campus or in the greater College Park community. This system is optional and not required. Identify up to five close contacts here.
2. Contact Tracing by the County Health Department: When someone tests positive for COVID-19, the County Health Department is notified by the testing agency. The person who tests positive will receive a phone call from the County Health Department to see who else might have been exposed. This is official Contact Tracing. You can read more about the Maryland State COVID Link System.   

• Employees who are positive will be asked to remain home in self-isolation until one of the following:
  • For those with symptoms, it has been 14 days since the onset of symptoms and they have been without fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications, and symptoms are improved.
  • For those who never had symptoms, they must self-isolate for 14 days since their positive test.  
  • In either case, employees will receive specific guidance from their healthcare provider or the Health Department Contact Tracer and must bring documentation from their provider or the Health Department upon their return to work.  
• To stop the spread of COVID-19, the people who had close contact with the positive person will be contacted and asked to quarantine for 14 days from the last date of contact with the person who tested positive. The Health Department will not tell someone who potentially exposed them without permission.  
• At UMD, employees are responsible for letting their supervisor or their Human Resources representative know that they have received a positive COVID-19 test; the University is not necessarily notified by the County Health Department. Employees are not responsible for contacting coworkers and should refrain from doing so.

Please review the Facilities Management FAQs for information on cleaning and disinfecting of administrative and academic buildings. In addition: 

• We will ask instructors to be flexible and provide time for students to sanitize their work area before class and to similarly sanitize their own work area and whatever classroom equipment they plan to use in teaching. 
• Classroom seating will be arranged or marked to indicate safe seating distances. 
• Hand sanitizer stations will be available in proximity to classrooms for students, staff and faculty to use before and after attending class. 
• Instructors will be expected to deliver handouts and other types of course material digitally through ELMS-CANVAS and minimize exchange of papers and or any other type of instruction materials. 
• Signs will be posted to direct one-way traffic within campus buildings and to indicate safe distancing to minimize the likelihood of congestion in hallways, entrances, restrooms, stairways and elevators, etc.

The university has been working in close partnership with the City of College Park and Prince George’s County to prepare for the return of our community to campus, and promote and enforce healthy behaviors off-campus. This includes daily and weekly calls with UMD representatives from student affairs, student conduct and UMPD; the City of College Park’s mayor, city manager and code enforcement officer; as well as the County health department, police and many others. 

UMD is planning to resume in-person classes for the fall 2021 semester and return to more normal operations, as long as conditions permit us to do so safely. Though we cannot forecast with certainty, we expect that the majority of our campus community will be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine before the beginning of the fall semester. We will maintain our focus on the health and safety of our campus community and adapt as necessary based on public health guidance.

Yes, whether you are residing in an off-campus house, apartment building/complex, townhome, or fraternity/sorority chapter house, all students are expected to adhere to University, local, state, and federal guidelines as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. Be advised that all gatherings - including those that take place in a private home, such as house parties - are still restricted by Prince George's County Executive Order to one person or family unit per 200 square feet.

Students who do not comply with these expectations will face appropriate disciplinary action which may include a written notice, an informal meeting and/or a formal meeting where disciplinary charges for failure to comply, and sanctions as appropriate under the Residence Hall Rules and/or the Code of Student Conduct may occur. Sanctions for non-compliance include but are not limited to; loss of privileges to attend campus events, housing dismissal, removal from all on-campus activities including in-person classes, and dismissal from the University.

The Office of Student Conduct is responsible for holding students accountable for adhering to community expectations. We want to be sure that students understand what is required of them. The Code of Student Conduct applies to all students, whether on or off campus.

Whether on or off campus, all students are expected to adhere to University, local, state, and federal guidelines as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. The City of College Park also follows guidelines and requirements set forth by the State of Maryland and Prince George’s County. Those requirements include social distancing, wearing masks and limiting gatherings. 

Prince George’s County restricts indoor gatherings to 20 persons maximum and outdoor gatherings to 50 persons maximum. Masks are now required for outdoor gatherings as well as indoor gatherings. Please visit the Prince George’s County government’s coronavirus information page for details.

• The schedule of classes is available on Testudo.
• Semester starts: January 25, 2021 with the first two weeks of undergraduate instruction delivered entirely online.
• Spring Break: March 14-21, 2021 with the first two weeks of instruction immediately following the break also conducted entirely online. A 9-day large-scale campus-wide testing event will be held and all students, faculty and staff coming to campus will be required to participate.
• Semester ends: May 11, 2021

UMD faculty and staff have been working hard to prepare a spring semester that will be academically productive, exciting and as safe as possible. An updated schedule of classes with course options is available on Testudo. Students who need further assistance should contact their academic advisers.

The Spring 2021 semester will be a blended learning environment. Undergraduate courses will be delivered entirely online for the first two weeks of the semester (January 25-February 5) and following Spring Break (March 22-April 2). 

For the remainder of the semester, courses may be delivered in one of three ways (the delivery method for each section of a course is indicated in the Schedule of Classes and Testudo’s Student Schedule):

• Face-to-face: The class meets together, physically on campus, for all class meetings. 
• Blended/hybrid learning: The class meets both in person and online.
  • Most blended courses physically gather in a classroom on some days and online on other days, as noted on the Schedule of Classes.
  • In a few blended courses, the class will be divided into smaller groups that alternate between face-to-face and online participation, such that on any given day, one group participates face to face while the other simultaneously participates online. In such cases, your instructor determines when each group will meet and how. These courses are indicated by the following note in the Schedule of Classes: “Alternating face-to-face/online class meeting. Please see instructor for details.”
• Online: The class meets online in one of three ways: synchronously, asynchronously or a combination of both. This is indicated with the following text on your Student Schedule: “This section is online.”
  • Synchronous: instructor meets with all students at a specified day and time, which will be reflected on your schedule and also in the Schedule of Classes.
  • Asynchronous: instructor provides content for students to review on their own, which will be reflected as “TBA” on your student schedule and on the Schedule of  Classes.
  • Combination: includes synchronous and asynchronous instruction.

About 25 percent of classes will be taught in-person for the Spring 2021 semester. View your Testudo Student Schedule to see the delivery method for each registered section for the Spring 2021 semester.

The university is using in-person and remote course options to maximize flexibility and equity of access and to accommodate the needs of students and faculty who may not be able to return to campus because of risks associated with COVID-19. Students who wish to take courses remotely can seek to build a schedule exclusively of online courses, as long as the courses of their interest are available.

• Students may opt in to courses that they wish to take on a pass/fail basis.
• A web portal for students to select pass/fail grading options will be made available shortly after the end of the schedule adjustment period.
• The deadline to choose a pass/fail option for a course is 10:59 PM EST on May 11, 2021.

Please consult the Keep Learning FAQs for more information.

The spring 2021 schedule of classes is now available on Testudo. The semester will be conducted in a hybrid environment, with about 25 percent of instruction delivered in-person. 

You can check back on the 4 Maryland pages for updates to:

• Health and Safety
• Education
• Student Life

Continuing for the Spring 2021 semester: Anticipating the potential for unanticipated absences during the pandemic, self-certified notes will serve as documentation for COVID-19-related absences or missed course expectations. In providing academic accommodations for students, faculty should consider alternative assignments and make-up work. These course policies should be noted clearly in the syllabus.

Faculty are asked to work creatively and compassionately with students who have experienced extended excused absences to find ways to allow course completion. If that is not feasible, students should consult with an academic advisor.

The expectation that every undergraduate course will have a final exam is waived for the Spring 2021 semester as it was for Fall 2020. Faculty are encouraged to use graded assessments throughout the course, in order that students can build their course grade cumulatively over the course of the semester. Students, please check with your instructors for each course to understand whether there will be a final exam.

Questions about the following can be found on the Office of the Registrar Service Modifications page found on the Registrar’s Office home page and on Testudo:

• Diplomas
• Residency
• Registration
• Transcripts

Please contact your adviser. Should you need assistance in determining who your adviser is, please use the list below.

All mandatory fees, as determined by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, will be assessed for Fall 2020 term. 

Certain fees were prorated during the Spring 2020 term in order to account for unforeseen modifications made in support of UMD’s COVID-19 response. For the 2020-21 academic year – regardless of the mode of course delivery (online, hybrid or in-person), full mandatory fees will be assessed, including, as applicable, shuttle, athletics, recreation services, Stamp Student Union, performing arts and cultural centers, student facilities and sustainability fees. In addition, should a shift to full online course delivery occur at any point during the fall 2020 term, fees shall not be prorated.  

All mandatory fees are published on a line-item basis to aid in transparency for students and their families to better understand the student services the fees support. Due to the significant cost of operating these facilities and services regardless of the number of students using them, the university must charge these fees based on the credit hours for which you are enrolled. 

Some of the services will be moved online to accommodate students who may have no physical presence for the Fall 2020 term, and in-person services will remain available for students to utilize whenever they access the campus.  

Additional information on Mandatory Fee Summaries (PDF) 

Certain courses may have additional fees, such as a lab fee, associated with them. The course fee list can be found here. 

Tuition charges will remain based on your residency status as determined by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents Policy on Student Classification for Admission and Tuition Purposes. The full policy can be found here.

Maryland taxpayers support instruction and university operations through state tax dollars; the nonresident surcharge helps to do the same for students from outside of Maryland. Current UMD students who are experiencing financial hardship should contact the Office of Student Financial Aid (umdfinaid@umd.edu) to determine grant and/or financial aid options.

In order for us to all have the safest possible spring semester, it is imperative that everyone practice and enforce healthy behaviors. All members of our campus community will be required to follow these measures:

• Wear a face covering at all times in all locations on campus and in the surrounding community, except for your private residence.

• Wash hands frequently and practice good personal hygiene.

• Practice physical distancing by staying at least 6 feet apart from others.

• Stay home if you feel sick, and report symptoms to the University Health Center and your personal doctor.

• Monitor your symptoms on a daily basis and submit them into the online reporting system located at return.umd.edu.

Faculty and staff members not in compliance will be subject to employee progressive discipline measures.