Testing Protocols

• All employees MUST fill out a new WPI COVID Testing Waiver in MyTechFlex for the fall and verify or update your home phone number and address in Workday. (Instructions for updating your contact information can be found here under "Update Home Contact Information.")
• Do not come to the test site before completing both steps. You can check that both are complete in MyTechflex. Contact helpdesk@wpi.edu for assistance.

• Unvaccinated employees must be tested at Harrington Auditorium before working on campus. Once you have been tested, you must work remotely, if possible, until you have received a negative result (usually in 24-30 hours). After being cleared to return to campus, please get tested again that week. After these two initial tests, you will participate in weekly testing.
• Fully vaccinated employees should test their first day back on campus and may work on campus while awaiting test results.
• The testing center is located upstairs at Harrington Auditorium; hours are below.

• Regardless of vaccination status, weekly testing is required for all students, faculty, and staff coming to campus for any reason during A-Term or the fall semester. We will continue to monitor our campus status and revisit our testing program as needed.
• The testing center is open 10 am to 2 pm Sundays and 8 am to 4 pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. There is no testing Fridays or Saturdays.
• You can schedule your tests here through the Hub.
• There are no assigned testing days: you may book your weekly appointments on a day and time that works for you. If you are unable to keep your appointment, contact Jennifer Russell, WPI’s COVID Data Coordinator, at jrussell2@wpi.edu.  Find out more about testing protocols here.
• You must have your WPI ID on hand when testing.

You must complete several steps before coming to campus to be tested. Do not come to the test site without first completing these steps. You will not be able to test or work on campus until you do.

• Complete your new hire onboarding and obtain a WPI ID card from ID Services. Instructions can be found here.
• Complete your Home Contact Information in Workday. Instructions can be found here, under "Update Home Contact Information."
• Fill out the WPI COVID Testing Waiver in MyTechFlex.
• After completing the above steps, fully vaccinated new employees must get tested on their first day on campus and may report to work while awaiting results. Unvaccinated employees must follow the instructions above.
• Schedule your tests through the Hub here.
• After onboarding, all employees must get tested weekly through A-Term/fall semester. 

This fall, WPI’s testing program will flex between individual testing and pooled testing, depending on our case load. In pooled testing, up to 10 individual samples will be submitted and processed together in one tube. If that “pool” is negative, all the individuals in that pool can assume that they are COVID negative. If a pool is positive, then those individuals will need to come to campus to be retested individually. You can read more about pooled testing from the Broad Institute.

• Whether testing is individual or pooled, you will receive your individual test results in your WPI.edu email from notify@notify.schooltesting.org. The first time you get this email, you will need to follow the instructions to set up your account. If you have trouble logging in, email testingcoordinator@wpi.edu for assistance. Going forward, you also may check your results by logging in here.
• If your individual test or pool is negative, you will receive a result that says, "NO FOLLOW-UP TESTING NEEDED."
• If your individual test or pool is positive or inconclusive, the WPI Public Health Team will contact you and schedule a rapid test at 27 Hackfeld Road, as well as an individual PCR test.
• If your individual test or pool was invalid (no human genetic material found) or your test could not be processed for some reason, you will receive a notification to retest at Harrington Auditorium at your earliest convenience.

• All community members coming to campus for work or school this fall, including people who are fully vaccinated, will be required to test weekly.
• If you are experiencing symptoms at any time: Students: Report any symptoms on the Symptom Tracker; someone from the Health team will reach out to you with next steps. Employees: Do not come to campus, or immediately go home if you already are on campus. Contact your primary care provider. Report any symptoms on your Symptom Tracker; a Health team member will contact you with your next steps.
• See the most current testing hours to schedule a COVID test.

• If you are experiencing symptoms at any time: Students: Report any symptoms on the Symptom Tracker; someone from the Health team will reach out to you with next steps. Employees: Do not come to campus, or immediately go home if you already are on campus. Contact your primary care provider. Report any symptoms on your Symptom Tracker; a Health team member will contact you with your next steps.
• Students who report COVID-like symptoms will be tested by Health Services. This cost will be billed to insurance.
• Employees who report COVID-like symptoms should work with their PCP on whether they should be tested. This testing would be billed to the employee’s insurance. Following WPI's Return to Work protocols, if you were experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms only, you will need both a negative COVID-19 PCR test and a note from a healthcare provider clearing you to return to work.
• Any community members who test positive through a clinic or other provider other than WPI’s testing partners or who are identified as a close contact of someone outside of WPI should report their status and the results of any COVID tests via the symptom tracker (see below).