Health and Safety

With the exception of bottled water, all food and drink consumption is prohibited in classrooms. Straws are recommended to minimize the time masks are moved aside for those drinking water. And you should also be especially conscious of physical distancing when drinking. For more information, refer to policy AD62 – Use of General Purpose Classrooms.

For more information about quarantine and isolation, including a list of resources and detailed FAQs, review the Quarantine and Isolation resource page on the Student Affairs website.

Students both on-campus and off-campus who have not shared with the University that they have been vaccinated will be notified when they have to test, and there will be significant consequences for noncompliance. Consequences for noncompliance include a process of warnings and sanctions up to and including suspension.

No. If you are not vaccinated, you are permitted in classrooms, advising, and other on-campus spaces without any requirement for distancing, but you must remain masked.

Everyone must wear a mask while inside buildings on Penn State campuses, effective August 4, 2021. This applies to classrooms, meeting spaces, and other shared public indoor areas. If you are alone in a walled office space, you may remove your mask.  

For the most up-to-date masking guidance, refer to the Health Guidelines page on the Virus Info website.

Vaccinations are not required but are strongly encouraged for your safety and the safety of others. Students and employees who have not informed the University that they have been fully vaccinated by August 9 will be subject to required testing during the fall semester.

Students at Penn State University Park, Commonwealth campuses, and Dickinson Law can upload their vaccination records through myUHS, and World Campus students can do so through Salesforce Health Cloud.

Everyone must wear masks indoors at all times in all University public indoor spaces. The University encourages everyone who is able to get a COVID-19 vaccination as the vaccines are effective at keeping you from contracting COVID-19, as well as protecting you from severe illness should you contract COVID-19.

It may take some time to reacclimate to classrooms and offices on campus. You should continue the use of practices that help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other seasonal illness such as flu (e.g., hand hygiene, wearing of masks, not coming to class when ill).

No. If you are not vaccinated, you are permitted in classroom, advising, and other on-campus spaces as all others are, but you must remain masked.

For the most up-to-date answer to this question, refer to this FAQ on the Virus Info website.

While you can ask a someone about their vaccination status, no one is required to share this personal information.

The Penn State Student Affairs website provides comprehensive information about COVID-19 including what to do if you feel sick, contact tracing, and quarantine/isolation.

Effective immediately, all students are strongly encouraged to complete a daily symptom checker to self-screen for potential COVID-19 symptoms before returning to campus. Students can access the COVID-19 symptom checker in the Penn State Go mobile app. Download Penn State Go from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. 

New users will be prompted to select their Penn State Go Experience when they start using the app. You can select from University Park, World Campus, or individual Commonwealth Campus Experiences in the app to view the Coronavirus Resources section for access to the daily COVID-19 symptom checker. 

Users who had previously downloaded Penn State Go will need to update the app to view the Coronavirus Resources section for access to the daily COVID-19 Symptom Checker. 

For more information, visit the Penn State Go website and learn about its features.