Health and safety have remained the top priorities in determining all details of this plan. We have also used the results of student, faculty, and staff surveys, which indicated that a majority of our campus community members would prefer to be on campus if they could.

A big part of ensuring health and safety on campus is getting everyone to follow our established health and safety protocols all the time. The pledge is really your individual commitment to do everything you can to keep everyone here safe and COVID-free.

People quarantine by staying away from others if there is a chance they were exposed to COVID-19. Isolation happens when people are sick with COVID-19 and they’re separated from people who aren’t infected. Here’s a good resource to learn more:

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/quarantineisolation.html

Contact tracing is an important tool for slowing transmission. Learn more from the CDC here:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/contact-tracing.html

University students who plan to participate in any on-campus or University sponsored experience must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or obtain a University System-approved exemption. Booster shots are strongly encouraged for all students as a way to prevent severe cases of COVID-19. Students are required to submit proof of their COVID-19 vaccinations on the UMS online portal or request an exemption by August 31, 2022 (UMPI provides for medical, religious, and online-only exemptions). 

To upload vaccine/booster information, head to the UMS online portal, select “Enter My COVID-19 Vaccination Information”, and click the upload button to upload an image of your vaccination card with booster information included. This will add your image to the portal, not replace your existing vaccination information.

In general, face coverings are optional and welcomed across the University of Maine System, indoors and outdoors for all persons regardless of vaccination status. There are many important exceptions, including in classrooms, where face coverings will be required unless waived by the relevant instructor, and in individual office spaces, unless waived by the primary occupant. Should this change, an update will be shared with campus.

Starting Aug. 29, the University will no longer conduct weekly PCR (Asymptomatic testing). Symptomatic testing for all students, faculty, and staff will be available at the Health Center in Emerson Annex. There is no cost for the Rapid Test and, when arriving for testing, visitors are asked to please don a mask.

As part of move-in, all residential students must get tested for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their arrival. They will be required to show proof of the negative test at the check-in desk (antigen or PCR test is acceptable). At the time of arrival, all residents will be given a rapid antigen test before they receive the keys to their room. These rapid antigen tests will be administered in the lobby of their assigned residence hall (Emerson or Merriman). If positive, students will need to return home or isolate on campus. Tests will be required regardless of vaccination status.

All UMS employees must provide proof of vaccination on the UMS online portal or confirm a medical or religious exemption. In addition, faculty and staff are eligible for two hours of paid administrative leave time to obtain their booster.

To upload vaccine/booster information, head to the UMS online portal, select “Enter My COVID-19 Vaccination Information”, and click the upload button to upload an image of your vaccination card. If you’ve already uploaded your vaccination information and are adding your booster information, this will add your new image to the portal, not replace your existing vaccination information.

Starting Aug. 29, the University will no longer conduct weekly PCR (Asymptomatic testing). Symptomatic testing for all students, faculty, and staff will be available at the Health Center in Emerson Annex. There is no cost for the Rapid Test and, when arriving for testing, visitors are asked to please don a mask. For more details, contact Fred Thomas at frederick.thomas@maine.edu and 207-768-9580.

Employees began returning to work in July 2021. If you would like to continue a remote work situation or your situation has changed, please speak with your supervisor or dean. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Human Resources. For more information from HR about returning to work, you can check out these Remote Work Guideline resources.

All students should work with their faculty and professional advisors on their class schedules to ensure their classes are in the modalities that work best for them, whether on-site, blended, online, or hyflex. Advisors will be reaching out to current and new students to help with any questions. To see the full list of course modalities and details on how they work, please check out this definition table. We have this short video explaining the differences as well.

Yes, though there may be some exceptions for students who need to complete specific on-site classes to make degree progress. In these instances, advisors and faculty will be working to find appropriate alternatives. There are also certain courses that will need to be done in-person, such as labs and studio courses, though most programs have an option for degree progress completely online. Please contact your advisor or faculty if you have questions about a specific course. Your advising team will work with you if changes are needed to continue your progress toward your degree.

Yes.

Arrival testing will occur as part of move-in efforts at the start of the semester. See the Students section of this FAQ for more information.

Starting Aug. 29, the University will no longer conduct weekly PCR (Asymptomatic testing). Symptomatic testing for all students, faculty, and staff will be available at the Health Center in Emerson Annex. There is no cost for the Rapid Test and, when arriving for testing, visitors are asked to please don a mask.

For more details, contact Fred Thomas at frederick.thomas@maine.edu and 207-768-9580.

If you get a positive result from a test taken outside of the University of Maine System (e.g., a home test, a test through a healthcare provider or pharmacy, etc.), please reach out to Fred Thomas, at frederick.thomas@maine.edu and 207-768-9580, and fill out this self-reporting form.

When you quarantine, you separate yourself from others in case you become sick because you were exposed to an individual or individuals with a contagious disease. When you isolate, you have a contagious disease and you separate yourself from people who are not sick. While they are different, in either situation, you can expect to be separated from others: in your room if quarantining or isolating for on-campus residents, or at home if you live off-campus. Per CDC guidelines, individuals should complete a 5-day quarantine or isolation and not be exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms when they leave quarantine/isolation. An important exception is that those who have their booster shot, or are within 5 months of receiving their Pfizer or Moderna shot or within 2 months of their Johnson & Johnson shot, are exempted from quarantine requirements.

On-campus residents can expect the following to happen if they need to complete quarantine or isolation:

• Daily breakfast, lunch and dinner (or brunch in some cases).
• Daily outreach from a University employee to check on their well-being and needs. Wi-Fi for access to coursework to continue learning as well as for access to entertainment and communication.
• Continued access to the virtual student life activities on campus.
• Identification of one or more specific University staff who can be contacted if needed.
• Timely release from quarantine or isolation.

The University of Maine System has expanded its wastewater monitoring efforts to include UMPI. Samples for analysis will be collected twice per week and tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 at the Wheeler biosafety lab in Orono. Results of the testing will be published weekly on the Together for Maine website that also tracks asymptomatic screening results.

Wastewater testing is a method of sampling untreated sewage and testing for the presence of infectious disease. Quantitative SARS-CoV-2 measurements in untreated sewage can provide information on changes in total COVID-19 infection in the contributing community. Research also suggests that increases in viral material in community wastewater occur before signs or symptoms of COVID-19. This can help to provide an early warning of an increase in the number of infected people within a specific community, including those who are infected but don’t develop symptoms. Wastewater observation works because infected people may start shedding virus in their stool a few days before they show any symptoms of disease, or even if they never show symptoms.

Wastewater testing is increasingly being used to understand the spread of COVID-19 in specific communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with agencies throughout the federal government, initiated a National Wastewater Surveillance System in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More information on that effort and additional background information on wastewater surveillance is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/wastewater-surveillance.html

In general, face coverings are optional and welcomed across the University of Maine System, indoors and outdoors for all persons regardless of vaccination status. There are many important exceptions, including in classrooms, where face coverings will be required unless waived by the relevant instructor, and in individual office spaces, unless waived by the primary occupant.

Face coverings are required for indoor events of more than 75 people unless proof of vaccination or a negative test is required as a condition of entrance, in which case face coverings can be optional.