COVID Testing

The entire UTC campus community must work together toward everyone’s health and safety. All students, faculty and staff, regardless of where they live, must perform daily self-health screenings.

COVID-19 testing will be available for all students, whether they live on or off campus.

COVID-19 testing won’t be a blanket requirement for all students, faculty and staff to be on campus in the fall semester, unless there is an outbreak of the virus in a segment of the campus community. If that case, the University would conduct large-scale testing.

Summary

• If a student has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, has symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or has been in a setting where others who tested positive for COVID-19 are, the student will be tested as needed.
• Housing and Residence Life is holding designated rooms for residential students who may test positive for COVID-19 and those who need to self-isolate due to potential exposure.
• Students, faculty and staff with COVID-19 exposure or diagnosis must have medical authorization to return to campus at the end of their isolation/quarantine period.
• University Health Services provides many resources covered by the student health fee and can help with filing medical insurance if necessary.

Symptoms and Testing

COVID-19 testing will be available on campus at University Health Services (UHS) and can be scheduled by calling the office at 423-425-2266. Students also may go to the health care provider of their choice or the local health department where they live.

Depending on testing method used and testing volume at a site, the amount of time to receive test results varies. Barring extenuating circumstances, UHS anticipates most test results to take 24 to 48 hours.

Students tested through UHS will provide health insurance information which will be sent to the lab running the test, and the lab will file the test with insurance carriers. For those without insurance, options for reduced-cost or free testing will be provided. Tests offered through the Tennessee Department of Health are free.

University Housing residents who are being evaluated for COVID-19 will be placed in an isolation space until cleared by UHS officials to return to their on-campus residence. Parents will not be consulted prior to these arrangements, but after consultation with the student, parents may be notified by the Office of Student Outreach and Support within a reasonable amount of time.

Positive Diagnosis or Exposure

Housing and Residence Life is holding designated rooms for residential students who may test positive for COVID-19 and those who need to self-isolate due to potential exposure. It is recommended that a student who lives on campus and tests positive or is exposed to COVID-19 remains on campus to isolate/self-quarantine.

The University can’t prohibit a student from leaving campus, but for the protection of those in other community settings—including a student’s family—and in the interest of limiting the spread of the virus, students who may test positive for COVID-19 are encouraged to remain on campus.

If a student who has tested positive goes home, the student will be expected to remain in quarantine/isolation—which means not interacting with family or friends, staying alone in an isolated room, not eating with family and using a separate bathroom if possible. Students who choose to quarantine/isolate off-campus will need to continue to follow-up with the appropriate health care provider or resource and must have medical authorization to return to campus at the end of their isolation/quarantine period.

Isolation/Quarantine

Students in isolation/quarantine on campus are required to remain in their rooms and are not permitted in other campus buildings.

A student placed in isolation will receive three meals a day delivered to his or her door plus access to basic supplies—such as snacks, over-the-counter medications and fresh linens. Students in isolation also will have access to the technology required to contact family and engage in course work online.

A student should submit a Maxient COVID-19 Illness/Travel Form which will trigger a notification to the Office of Student Outreach and Support. A case manager from that office will contact the student within 24 hours and provide academic notifications to faculty teaching the student’s classes as appropriate.

Students will be checked on by officials from a variety of campus resources including health care providers. Telehealth will be part of the care plan to monitor symptomatic students. In addition to the Office of Student Outreach and Support, the UTC Contact Tracing Team will be in touch with affected students, as well as Housing and Residence Life in the case of students who live on campus.

Students, faculty and staff with COVID-19 exposure or diagnosis must have medical authorization to return to campus at the end of their isolation/quarantine period.

University Health Services

Visits to University Health Services (UHS) are by appointment only. Walk-ins are not permitted.

Many UHS resources are covered by the student health fee. If a student has a rapid diagnostic test such as for strep, flu or a urinalysis, there are charges for those services. A list of fees is available to students when clinical steps are discussed with a practitioner. Lab tests performed during a visit are sent to PathGroup, the UHS- contracted commercial lab. Medical insurance information the student provides to UHS will be forwarded to PathGroup, which will file the student’s insurance with the carrier.

Frequently Asked Questions