SPCS Coronavirus Response & Updates

Last updated: January 4, 2023

The School of Professional & Continuing Studies remains open for business. The University of Richmond remains in modified operating status and is operating in the Green stage of our Physical Distancing Framework. Review the content on this page, and if your question isn’t answered here, contact us at (804) 289-8133 or spcs@richmond.edu for assistance.

SPCS follows the University’s lead and public health guidance to monitor conditions to ensure continuity of instruction. The health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff are our priority throughout the pandemic.

The resources below apply to SPCS audiences. They link to and supplement the University’s official COVID-19 response page.

Spring 2023

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  • Testing

    We strongly recommend that all students test for COVID-19 and receive their test results before coming to campus. If you test positive, isolate, and do not come to campus until six days after the date of your positive test. In such case, please email Tom Shields, associate dean for academic and student affairs, at tshields@richmond.edu, and he will provide guidance.

    Once you come to campus, you must wear a mask for 10 full days following the date of your positive test.

    Once the semester begins, and throughout the semester, self-test kits will be available on campus at no cost to any student, staff, or faculty member who is experiencing symptoms or concerned about a potential exposure. Self-test kits are available at the following locations:

    • Center for Student Involvement, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
    • URPD Communication Center in the Special Programs Building, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
  • Reporting Positive Tests

    Students are required to report positive COVID-19 test results by using this form. The form provides an efficient way for students to report and upload an image of their positive test, report the date of their test and the date their symptoms started, and list their close contacts. Once completed, the form will automatically route to our contact tracing teams, and those offices will follow up with students, as needed.

    If you test positive, you will be required to isolate, and you should also email your college dean and your professors. We are maintaining isolation spaces on campus that will be available to our residential students should they need to use them.

    Students identified as close contacts will be contacted and given follow-up instructions by the University’s contact tracing team via email, so please check your email regularly. We are continuing the test-to-stay approach we adopted during the spring of 2022, which is detailed here.

  • Masking

    Our mask policy remains in place. Universal masking is not required though anyone is welcome to wear a mask. Faculty and staff may require all students to wear a mask in their classroom, lab, or office, but they must notify students of this requirement in advance. Students are required to comply with direction from their instructors or staff to wear a mask. High-quality masks are available at no cost at the following locations:

    • Center for Student Involvement, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
    • URPD Communication Center in the Special Programs Building, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
  • Vaccines

    COVID-19 vaccines are an effective and critical tool to combat COVID-19 and help us protect ourselves and our community. Unless granted an exemption, all students, faculty, and staff are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The University’s vaccine policy is available here.

    You must also report your vaccine status to the University. MBA and SPCS students should report their vaccine status by completing this form.

    If you are fully vaccinated, we strongly encourage you to consult with your health care provider to get an updated booster as COVID-19 boosters protect against new variants, serious illness and hospitalization.

Campus-Wide Information

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  • COVID-19 Dashboard

    The University of Richmond has created a COVID-19 dashboard that provides updates on COVID-19 data specifically related to the campus community.

  • Virginia COVIDWISE App

    The Commonwealth of Virginia has developed a new tool to notify people if they are potentially a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19. C OVIDWISE is Virginia’s COVID-19 exposure notification app. The COVIDWISE app is tool that may serve to augment our campus community’s extensive prevention strategies. The app uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology to quickly notify users who have been within six feet of a person who tests positive for COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes and, as a result, may have been exposed to COVID-19. If the app notifies you that you may have been exposed, it will provide further instructions from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) on how to keep you and the people around you safe. VDH notes that the app does not track your location or identity, and it does not store location data. The University asks you to consider downloading the COVIDWISE app on your personal device to contribute to Virginia’s efforts to fight COVID-19.

  • Face Coverings

    The University’s policy on masks is consistent with prevailing public health guidance and updated as such guidance may change. The current policy is available here.

    We recognize that those who are fully vaccinated may wish to continue wearing a mask at all times, and we support your decision to do so.

  • Operational Updates & Interim Policies

    The University has announced a number of interim policies and operational changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Review interim policies on the UR COVID-19 response page.

SPCS Updates

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  • Information for Degree-Seeking Students

    All degree-seeking students are enrolled in the SPCS Student Online Support Community (AD878), an online student support site in Blackboard. Tools and resources are updated regularly, and discussions forums are monitored to provide quick responses to questions.

    To access the support site, log in to Blackboard and look under My Courses for “SPCS Student Online Support Community.”

    Getting Help with Technology

    Students in college-credit earning classes (course numbers ending with “U”) may contact the Information Systems Help Desk for assistance with access to online tools.

    Other resources that require UR network credentials (netID and password):

    Additional resources available to all SPCS students include the following:

  • Information for Professional Education & Lifelong Learning Students

    A number of Professional Education and Think Again programs and classes are being offered remotely. This includes, but is not limited to, the following programs:

    • GIS Professional Certificate
    • Political Campaign Management Professional Certificate
    • Grassroots Lobbying & Advocacy Professional Certificate
    • Coding, Cybersecurity & Data Analytics Boot Camps

    In most cases, registrants will receive a link to access the remote learning environment via email a few days prior to the start of class.

    Resources for Students

    SPCS students who do not have a University of Richmond email address may be provided access to Blackboard (you would receive a message from your program manager or instructor) along with links to live Zoom video conferences. 

    If you received Blackboard login credentials from a member of SPCS staff, please edit your profile after login to include an email address where you will receive messages. Otherwise you won’t receive important messages from the instructor.

    Zoom links to classes can be accessed without having a University account.

    Additional resources available to all SPCS students include the following:

  • Information for Osher Members

    Osher Institute classes are being offered in person or remotely. Pay careful attention to the latest schedule of classes to register for in-person or Zoom classes.

    Osher Institute staff have curated online resources available to Osher members. These include UR Osher recorded lectures, University of Richmond lectures and performances, OLLI National Resource Center contributions, and many more.