Coronavirus Information (COVID-19)

Why isn’t Muhlenberg conducting mass testing?
Both the American College Health Association and the CDC are not recommending universal testing on College campuses. Our local public health experts are also not recommending that approach to us. Instead, we will be implementing a 3-pronged approach that includes symptomatic testing, outbreak rapid response testing of close contacts, and selective asymptomatic testing (see the Monitoring and Contact Tracing information above). We are fortunate to have close relationships with our local health bureau and the two Lehigh Valley health networks, with whom we are in regular contact for guidance. We also know that pooled testing for COVID-19 may be available in our region this fall, which might allow us to expand our testing strategies. We will continue to adapt our testing strategies as guidance evolves.

Our current testing strategy will be coupled with additional prevention methods such as a required daily symptom checker for students, faculty and staff, temperature checks in high-traffic areas and significant self-quarantine requirements for potential concerns.

How might antibody testing affect the need to be tested or quarantined while at Muhlenberg?
At this time, there is no definitive evidence about the clinical significance of antibody testing and how long—if at all—any potential immunity would last. Therefore, antibody test results will not be considered when determining the need to quarantine at Muhlenberg.  

How does asymptomatic surveillance testing work at Muhlenberg?
A random sample of 10 percent of our on-campus population (approximately 65 students) is randomly selected through a computer-generated program every Sunday. The selected students receive an email on Sunday night from Health Services to sign up for a test appointment on Monday. The College receives results from these tests within 48 hours, and students are also notified of results through their personal health portal. Once a student has been randomly selected for testing, they will not be selected again for this purpose until all students have been tested. Students tested through this process may be required to be tested at other times based on their symptoms or close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.

When do I need to complete the Daily Self-Assessment each day?
While at home before arriving on campus, students must complete the daily self-assessment each day before the end of the day. Once students arrive on campus, students should complete self-assessment by 10 a.m. daily. On move-in day, you must show your daily self-assessment upon check-in.

Do parents (and move-in helpers) need to complete the Daily Self-Assessment for two weeks prior to move-in?
Parents and move-in helpers should monitor their symptoms daily for the two weeks prior to arrival by using the Google Symptoms Checker here. Parents do not need to show the results or take any screenshots of the 14-day screening except on move-in day when they do need to show the results screen for that day only.

For students who don’t use electronics during certain periods, is there an alternative to using the app?
Yes, please contact Health Services for a paper version of the Daily Self-Assessment.

Are there specific guidelines that would lead the College to close campus during the semester?
The College is developing clear guidelines that will guide any potential decision to close campus. Guidelines include a combination of factors related to state and county regulations that could require us to close. In addition, there will be some internal indicators that we will monitor along with our local hospital partner and the Allentown Health Bureau, including: major outbreaks on campus; quarantine or isolation space being at capacity; significantly reduced test availability; or non-compliant social behavior by students.

Will the College report to the community each positive case on campus?
Reporting each positive case is not in line with the guidance we have received from any of our public health partners. Instead, we will create a way of regularly reporting trends, concerns and campus hot spots as it makes sense. These guidelines are currently being developed and will directly align with guidance from our Allentown Health partners.

If through contact tracing an individual student, faculty or staff member is determined to be a “close contact” of someone who has a presumptive positive case or has tested positive, they will be notified right away.

How does the Pennsylvania restriction of 25 percent of indoor capacity impact classrooms and dining spaces on campus?
The Pennsylvania Department of Health specifically communicated with colleges that classroom spaces and large cafeterias are not included in these guidelines. However, we have planned to be fully de-densified to allow for proper 6-foot social distancing at each chair/desk in a classroom and between all tables in the dining hall. These actions reduce our capacities in most instances down to 30-40 percent of normal capacity.

What is the housing deadline?
Any changes can be made to housing or your course selections right up to the first day of the semester, August 24. You will be fully supported in your choice to take courses remotely as well. We have invested significantly in our faculty this summer to prepare them to develop and offer remote courses effectively and if you feel more comfortable with that option, we fully understand.

If I sign an off-campus lease for the Fall but do NOT have approval from the College to do so, will I be made to move back on campus for the Spring 20201 semester?
If the College was to open back up for all students in the spring, any student that obtains off-campus/third-party housing for the Fall 2020 semester will be permitted to remain off-campus for the Spring 2021 semester. However, the College reserves the right to require any such student to live on campus if that student fails to treat neighbors with common courtesy and respect or fails to comply with the COVID-19 Policy, the Student Code of Conduct, all local, state, federal laws and policies, as well as City of Allentown noise, disorderly conduct, trash and recycling collection, and parking ordinances.

Will students need to pack everything up to take home with them in November?
When students depart for the November break, they will be required to empty their rooms completely. More information will be shared in September regarding a process for students who wish to request an exemption to keep their belongings on campus. We are strongly encouraging students to pack only what they need to reduce the time needed both for moving in and moving out of residence halls.

Please note, if we have to close campus abruptly during the fall semester, students will need to completely empty their rooms and move them to storage (we would likely be able to provide on-campus) and/or take or ship their belongings home. 

Are there guaranteed housing assignments for spring?
As Covid-19 is an ever-evolving situation, we cannot make guarantees today about what the spring semester will look like. We are saving all the scheduled Fall housing assignments and will honor those assignments for the Spring semester if we are able. We will be in touch with all upperclass students during the Fall semester to update you on the Spring and to let you know what those housing plans will be. If we cannot reopen the campus fully in the Spring, we plan to prioritize the senior experience on campus, but cannot guarantee any specific assignments at this time.

Are there additional conduct expectations in place for students?
All students are required to complete training modules before coming to campus. The new COVID-19 policy includes a series of items related to social gatherings on and off campus, masking, social distancing, travel to and from campus, visitor and guest policies for students, testing, contact tracing and quarantining requirements. This policy can be found here. Students will be required to sign a document clearly stating their understanding of and willingness to adhere to these policies in addition to regular social code policies. 

Students and groups who violate these policies can expect the following:

1. For on-campus students, this includes sanctions up to the immediate removal from campus housing; and/or immediate removal of access to campus including in-person classes, dining, entrance to buildings and in-person use of College services.
2. For approved off-campus students, this includes sanctions up to the immediate removal of access to campus including in-person classes, dining, entrance to buildings and in-person use of College services.
3. Off-campus social gatherings held by any Muhlenberg College students—including those living locally who are not approved for off-campus housing—will be limited under the COVID-related health and safety policies to 20 or fewer guests. Violation of these policies will constitute a violation of both our Student Code of Conduct and Disruptive Conduct Policy.
4. To the extent permitted under FERPA, all violations of the COVID-related health and safety policies will be sent to the address on file for the student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s).
5. Recognition of a student group and its ability to operate as an organization can be suspended immediately without the ability to regain that recognition for the academic year.

What happens to my financial aid if I take a Leave of Absence, gap year or defer my admissions?
Financial aid is not affected by leaves. Muhlenberg awards merit and talent-based scholarships for up to 8 semesters, but students DO NOT need to be enrolled consecutive semesters to receive these awards. Need-based aid is reapplied for every year. Grant aid is increased or decreased depending on the level of need.

For incoming first-year and transfer students, please see the admissions FAQ about deferring admissions.

What happens if students must leave campus and finish the semester remotely?
Fall 2020 Room and Board Refunds For Remote Learning

Why isn’t Muhlenberg reducing tuition?

• Muhlenberg is reducing tuition by 3.8% to 2019-20 levels and waiving the student activity fee for students living off-campus.
• Many are assuming that Fall remote learning will look like the Spring, but that simply isn’t the reality. The Spring semester was developed for in-person learning and faculty had to pivot to remote learning within a few days time. Fall academic coursework and student programming has been planned to be optimized within a remote framework, whether we were on campus or not. This involved significant investments by the College in faculty development and technology resources.
• All students will have access to academic services they have come to expect in residence—tutors, learning assistants, writing center, academic support, and the library and librarians—as well as co-curricular activities like clubs, organizations and student life programs.
• Online learning is a human—not a technological—endeavor. We will be working hard to build human, community connections within students’ academic courses.
• Courses students will take are being developed by faculty who are experts in their field and are designed to fit within the curriculum and, as with on-campus courses, are small, allowing our faculty to know and interact with their students. Remote courses carry the same weight toward degree completion as in-person courses.
• The decision to reduce tuition back to 2019-20 levels was made in recognition of the economic circumstances facing all Muhlenberg families. The counseling staff in our Office of Financial Aid can assist families experiencing exceptional financial impact (finaid@muhlenberg.edu or 484-664-3175).
• Students facing significant financial hardship can also access emergency grants made available through College dollars and the generous donations of alumni and friends of the College. While these grants cannot be applied to the cost of attendance items such as tuition, room and board, these grants can support students’ personal, academic, technological and medical urgent needs at any time.

Why am I being charged the health and wellness fee if I am learning remotely?
Over the past decade, the need to think differently about health, safety and prevention efforts for students over and above what is included in the cost of tuition has shifted dramatically. Our student body continually evolves and government regulations, parental oversight, mental health concerns and concerns about sexual and physical violence in schools have all increased. Therefore, the College is expected to provide stronger support, education and intervention with regard to alcohol and other drugs, mental health, gender-based violence and other critical health and safety issues.

Colleges have addressed this increased need in a number of ways including higher activity fees, outsourced services, visit limits, etc. In 2017, Muhlenberg moved to a Health and Wellness fee structure to support these growing concerns. Muhlenberg College’s health and wellness fee supports community-based intervention and education in a way that minimally impacts students’ overall cost of attendance and allows all students to equitably benefit from these important educational efforts and interventions. These additional support services and educational programs have a direct correlation to students’ academic success, overall sense of well-being and their long-term success after graduation.

With the funds generated by this fee, the College is able to:

• Increase staffing support and operational dollars to develop and oversee peer-education efforts related to mental health, alcohol and other drugs, gender-based violence, healthy relationships, mindfulness, etc. for all students. Peer education is shown to be the most effective method for reducing harm among college-aged students.
• Offer further faculty and staff development opportunities to support student mental health and behavioral intervention as needed in the classroom.
• Increase and strengthen access to clinical care, group counseling opportunities, and other proactive mental health outreach programs through the Counseling Center, as well as provide 24-7-365 on-call support to all students regardless of their location.
• Provide support through a licensed social worker in the Dean of Students Office who is able to help support students experiencing personal crisis or trauma and/or who are navigating multiple personal and medical challenges;
• Offer direct professional level student education, support and evidence-based prevention strategies related to issues of sexual misconduct, equity, bias and discrimination at the College.

All students have access and will participate in programs and educational offerings related to all of the efforts listed above, regardless of if they are studying in person or remotely.

Who is required to pay the Student Activity fee this semester?
All students living on campus will pay the activity fee this semester. Students who are not able to access campus will not pay this fee this fall. This includes off-campus students, commuter students, and members of ATO.

Why am I being charged the technology fee if I am studying remotely?
The student technology fee helps support all student facing technology. Whether in person or remote, technology continues to grow alongside the academic and student life of our students while on and off campus. Most significantly, the technology fee pays for critical campus licensed software (e.g, Canvas, Zoom) used by faculty and students for remote and in-person instruction. Our hope is that whether in person or remote, your Muhlenberg experience is enhanced by the investments made in the technology that help support the College mission.

• Sanitizing and cleaning will be part of our daily routine.
• Hand sanitizer will be prevalent and more available throughout campus.
• Face coverings will be required for students, faculty, and staff in all classrooms, public shared spaces on campus and in areas where physical distancing provides challenges. This includes both indoor and outdoor spaces.
• There will be additional safety considerations for high-touch areas, such as touchless soap and paper towel dispensers, faucets and toilets in restrooms.
• To reduce physical contact with shared technology, all employees will receive a lanyard to hold their Muhlenberg ID and a stylus to operate items such as copy machines and ATMs.
• Our plant operations teams have ensured that every HVAC filter will be replaced and coils will be treated with disinfectant and that all water in each building has and will continue to be flushed.
• To promote physical distancing:
  • Plexiglass dividers will be installed in high-traffic areas and workstations as appropriate
  • Meetings will be held virtually whenever possible.
  • Large in-person meetings and events will be restricted
  • Our buildings, classrooms and departments will be redesigned to manage physical distancing through removal and separation of furniture and equipment
  • Movement on campus and inside buildings may be different to limit traffic flow, with designated stairs for up and down traffic and designated exits and entrances.
  • Elevator capacity will also be limited.
• Our preparation includes additional health and safety measures, including signs that remind our community:
  • How to identify and self-report COVID-19 symptoms
  • Of instructions on staying home if you are sick
  • The importance of handwashing
  • The many hand sanitizer locations
  • Of physical distancing requirements and
  • That water fountain use is limited to filling water bottles.

Surveillance Testing

The College recognizes that early detection of COVID-19 through testing is pivotal in reducing the transmission of the virus on our campus and through our community. Student Health Services will conduct COVID-19 testing regularly throughout the semester. Testing will be provided through both on-campus resources and established relationships with local healthcare networks and our community partners. Because the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to evolve rapidly, our testing strategy will be adaptable to the situation. The College will employee a three-pronged approach to testing:

Symptomatic testing: Students who show symptoms will be isolated immediately and will be tested for the virus, with appropriate follow-up afterward.

Outbreak Rapid Response Testing: At this time, in accordance with CDC, the American College Health Association and Pennsylvania state guidance, the College will test individuals who are deemed to be “close contacts” of a student, faculty or staff member who tests positive for the virus. This will help the College better determine the potential source of an outbreak on campus and take additional mitigation steps.

Selective asymptomatic testing (as available): As many college-aged students can be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, the College will do some testing of individual students or student groups participating in higher-risk activities (e.g.. Athletics, singing, large group activities, necessary College-sponsored travel, etc.) as we are able to and for which testing availability allows. In doing this testing, the College will be mindful of the use of testing and other medical resources (e.g., PPE) to ensure that we are not contributing to a greater scarcity of resources in our larger community.

In addition to our testing efforts, the College will also employ other strategies to keep our community healthy and to identify and isolate individuals with COVID-19 symptoms as quickly as possible. Other strategies will include:

Daily Symptom Monitoring Checker

Muhlenberg College will provide a platform for students, faculty and staff members to assess symptoms of COVID daily. The user will input symptoms (or lack of) into the identified platform, which will analyze the results and give the user a green check to use at campus facilities or red X signifying need for medical evaluation.

Students, faculty and staff will receive daily automated reminders to complete the symptom checker. Aggregate data will be sent to the Dean of Students Office, Human Resources and Health Services daily regarding community response rate, percentage of red and percentage of green. This will help guide our overall response efforts. Individual data will not be collected.

Temperature Monitoring:

Unlike most COVID-19 symptoms, body temperature can be objectively screened and verified. While temperature screening will not effectively identify asymptomatic cases, it still has the ability to catch positive cases and help prevent a potential outbreak. To avoid a false sense of security, it is noted that just because someone does not have a fever does not necessarily mean that the person does not have the virus. Many people who test positive for COVID-19 are asymptomatic, and all individuals should continue to take appropriate precautions and self-monitor and report the presence of any other symptom,

Touchless routine temperature screening will be conducted in high traffic areas, such as Wood Dining Hall and the Life Sport Science Center, and random checks will be conducted in other areas around campus.

Individuals with T≥100.0 (by non-contactless infrared thermometer) will not be permitted to enter the area/ building and an informational card with instructions for medical follow-up will be given,

Aggregate data will be collected regarding the number screened and the number of T≥100.0. Results will be given to Human Resources, Dean of Students and Health Services Offices daily.

How Does Asymptomatic Surveillance Testing Work at Muhlenberg?

A random sample of 10 percent of our on-campus population (approximately 65 students) is randomly selected through a computer-generated program every Sunday. The selected students receive an email on Sunday night from Health Services to sign up for a test appointment on Monday. The College receives results from these tests within 48 hours, and students are also notified of results through their personal health portal. Once a student has been randomly selected for testing, they will not be selected again for this purpose until all students have been tested. Students tested through this process may be required to be tested at other times based on their symptoms or close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.

Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is an integral component of the overall strategy for mitigating and containing COVID-19. The College will have staff trained to assist with contact tracing on campus. In collaboration with the Allentown Health Bureau, these staff will assist the college in systematically identifying “close contacts” of confirmed cases and notifying them as quickly as possible. Contacts will then be quarantined for 14 days from the last day of exposure. Any individuals who present with symptoms will be referred for health care evaluation and likely be tested (students) or recommended for testing (faculty/staff). For the purposes of our contact tracing efforts, a “close contact” is defined by the CDC as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.