Frequently Asked Questions

Call the Student Health Clinic COVID-19 hotline at 319-273-2100 between 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday to talk to a nurse to be assessed for a test.  

Call the Student Health Clinic COVID-19 hotline at 319-273-2100 between 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday to talk to a nurse to be assessed for a test.  

The Student Health Clinic is currently using the Iowa Department of Public Health testing guidance, which is for symptoms or an exposure. If a student/employee wants to be tested without these guidelines, they would schedule an appointment at TestIowa. 

The Student Health Clinic will assess you via telephone to determine if you are eligible for rapid testing. 

If a student receives a rapid test (as determined by the clinic’s healthcare providers), the clinic will bill the student’s insurance company $80 for the test. However, as part of our commitment to supporting students, the university will cover the cost for those whose insurance will not pay - as well as the cost for uninsured students. If for any reason the claim is denied, UNI will apply the cost to a student’s U-Bill, and then provide resources from the UNI Together Scholarship to cover the fee.

Remember, there will continue to be a free, standard (non-rapid) testing option for students, UNI faculty and staff. This testing process usually takes 48-72 hours. These tests are processed by the State Hygenics Lab in Coralville - the same process used by TestIowa locations. These have always been free, and will continue to be free for the remainder of the academic year. 

The Student Health Clinic will submit the $80 charge to the UNI Human Resource Services for any of the UNI faculty and staff who receive a rapid test. 

If you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive and you do not have symptoms, the clinic will advise that you be tested four days after the exposure. (It can take four days to have enough cells in the nose for a positive result. If a person is tested too soon, there is a strong possibility of a false negative test).

If you receive a rapid test, you will have the results the same day, and if you have a free non-rapid test, you will have results within 48-72 hours. 

You will need to complete the Panther Health Survey until you see a red stop sign.

The Student Health Clinic follows the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which indicates that data to date shows that a person who has had and recovered from COVID-19 may have low levels of virus in their bodies for up to three months after diagnosis. This means that if the person who has recovered from COVID-19 is retested within three months of initial infection, they may continue to have a positive test result, even though they are not spreading COVID-19.

Students, UNI faculty and staff test results can be found by going to the Student Health Clinic website and clicking on the patient portal icon on the left side of the page.  

You will need to complete the Panther Health Survey until you see a red stop sign which will take you to the Dean of Students survey for Faculty notifications. 

Yes, the Student Health Clinic can order the antibody test for students. The test will be processed through a reference laboratory, billed to your insurance and the student will be responsible for costs incurred. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention antibody tests check your blood by looking for antibodies, which may tell you if you had a past infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. Antibody tests should not be used to diagnose a current COVID-19 infection. An antibody test may not show if you have a current COVID-19 infection because it can take 1–3 weeks after infection for your body to make antibodies.

Contact tracing slows the spread of COVID-19 by letting people know they may have been exposed and should monitor their health for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. It also helps people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to get tested.  

As long as a student is healthy, they can schedule in-person therapy appointments. Everyone will wear masks and practice 6-feet physical distancing for in-person appointments.

As long as the issues can be safely managed with tele-therapy, we can continue care via tele-therapy.  If tele-therapy is not a safe way to deliver your care, your therapist will discuss an alternative plan with you.

The Counseling Center will be closed from Dec. 21 - Jan. 8, but appointments can be scheduled via tele-therapy outside of those dates. Whenever the Counseling Center is closed, students can still call 319-273-2676 and select option 2 to speak with a crisis counselor.

Following the guidance of public health organizations, UNI students, faculty, staff and visiting community members will be required to wear face coverings in all campus buildings. Exceptions in certain areas such as in residence hall rooms, private offices, or while eating will be posted individually in relevant campus spaces. Face coverings are required in outdoor settings when six feet or more of social distancing cannot be maintained. 

Cloth masks are the preferred and safest form of face covering and the primary recommendation from agencies like the CDC. We have made face shields available for individuals with medical conditions that prevent the use of a mask and other unique situations when a mask is not practical. Masks provide the best measure of safety so when you have a choice, you should wear a mask, or a mask with a shield. Students, faculty, and staff will receive complementary face coverings, which can be picked up by showing your UNI ID at the UNI Bookstore customer service desk.

Submit this COVID-19 absence notification form, and the Dean of Students office will help you notify faculty. Also make sure that you have called the Student Health Clinic for additional resources and support.

Isolation keeps someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 with or without symptoms away from others, even in their own home, dorm, or apartment. People who are in isolation should stay home until it’s safe for them to be around others. In the home,dorm, or apartment anyone sick or infected should separate themselves from others by staying in a specific “sick room” or area and using a separate bathroom (if available).

• At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and

• At least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication and

• Symptoms have improved

 

Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department. Typically the quarantine means that you should stay home as directed by public health officials after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19. The CDC provides guidance for specific scenarios to determine when you can end quarantine and be around others. Guidelines from the Iowa Department of Public Health say close contacts of COVID-positive cases will no longer need to quarantine if a face covering was consistently and correctly worn by both people during the exposure. 

• People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, excluding people who have had COVID-19 within the past 3 months.

• People who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to 3 months as long as they do not develop symptoms again.

• People who develop symptoms again within 3 months of their first bout of COVID-19 may need to be tested again if there is no other cause identified for their symptoms.

What counts as close contact?

• You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more

• You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19

• You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)

• You shared eating or drinking utensils

• They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

 

Contact tracing will be conducted for close contacts (any individual within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) of laboratory-confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients. For COVID-19, a close contact is defined 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.Close contacts will be placed in quarantine for an appropriate time based on their specific scenario.

COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact (within about 6 feet) for a prolonged period. Spread happens when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, and droplets from their mouth or nose are launched into the air and land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The droplets can also be inhaled into the lungs. Recent studies indicate that people who are infected but do not have symptoms likely also play a role in the spread of COVID-19. Since people can spread the virus before they know they are sick, it is important to stay at least 6 feet away from others when possible, even if you—or they—do not have any symptoms. Social distancing is especially important for people who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.  More could be added about Protecting Panthers, if you feel this is a good thing to add.

In order to observe continued social distancing guidelines, the university is developing social distancing logistics/procedures for each learning, living and communal space on campus. Classes will be taught in a combination of in-person and online, and all in-person classes will be scheduled in larger rooms to aid in social distancing. More specific information will be shared by academic departments closer to the start of the fall semester on how this will impact individual classes. This information will vary course-by-course, and will be sent by faculty members directly to their students.

Social distancing will also be critical in spaces outside of the classroom. For example, furniture in communal spaces will be rearranged to ensure social distancing is observed as much as possible.

At this point, we are asking all students and employees to self-check each day before coming to campus or leaving their dormitory. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you should stay home and contact the Student Health Center or other medical provider.  

This guidance could change later in the fall, depending on the presence of novel coronavirus in our community. The university will continue to use the Black Hawk County Health Department for contact tracing.

This spring and summer, UNI Facilities Management has increased cleaning and sanitization procedures. These increased cleaning schedules will continue throughout the fall.

Each department will be provided two transaction barriers (sneeze guards), a refillable hand sanitizer dispenser with counter stand (refills provided by Facilities Management), one bottle of hand sanitizer for each employee, and one floor decal reminding about standing six feet apart. This standard configuration will work for most departments. For those departments with more unique operational needs, they may submit a FAMIS request to complete a Certification of Hazardous Assessment for Departments to help identify additional needs or materials. 

In addition, every building entrance will have a hand sanitizer dispenser. 

While study abroad opportunities through UNI have been postponed through January of 2021, many of the university’s other off-campus educational opportunities will continue as planned, observing the protocols and procedures of those partner organizations and schools. If you have specific questions related to your planned internship, research project or student teaching assignment, please contact your adviser.

The university’s subcommittee focused on community engagement and outreach is working quickly to determine our approach to on-campus events as well as off-campus outreach. They also continue to monitor guidance from external partners such as NCAA and Iowa Department of Public Health. Detailed schedules and plans related to athletics, concerts, and other events - as well as safety protocols designed to protect the health of event participants - will be released in the coming weeks.

Tuition rates are remaining flat for fall semester 2020. Tuition costs are priced based on credit hours, and with the new academic calendar students will still be able to complete a full semester of coursework with the associated credit hours. The early start date and the removal of fall semester breaks to build in additional class days will allow us to offer a full academic semester, while also positioning the university to plan for a healthy and safe learning environment.

Housing and dining rate information is available on the Department of Residence COVID-19 web page.

Offices that provide services to the public are being provided transaction barriers, stickers and signs that provide physical distancing directives, and hand sanitizer. All employees and students are also required to wear face coverings. Office administrators can request additional supplies through FAMIS.

Yes. Face coverings are required in all public areas of campus buildings, including elevators, restrooms, hallways and corridors.

Drinking fountains and bottle stations will be available and will be disinfected daily.  

Custodians will perform one deep cleaning per day and at least one additional touch point cleaning per day in all restrooms. In cases where it does not impact privacy, restroom doors will be propped open to reduce touch points.

Classrooms will be cleaned and disinfected daily, disinfectant wipes will be provided in classrooms, the classroom capacities have been reduced, face coverings are required and we have made adjustments to the HVAC system in accordance with CDC recommendations.

Departments should follow CDC guidelines for these spaces. As part of department offices, these spaces will be cleaned by custodians two times per week.

We are using 40% of the designated capacity of classrooms to provide more space for students to spread out. Classes have been reassigned to new, larger rooms across campus and designated seating has been marked off to help people distance properly.