COVID-19 Review – Vaccination, Testing (Weekly & Random) and Campus Access- Update

Office of Human Resources

This memo briefly reviews some of the important University protocols related to:

  1. Mask Mandate Lifted
  2. Campus Access
  3. CUNY Expanding Availability of COVID Testing at CUNY Sites
  4. COVID Testing – Random
  5. COVID Testing – Weekly
  6. COVID Vaccinations

Mask Mandate Lifted

As specified by Chancellor Matos in his March 4, 2022 communication to the University community, effective March 7, 2022, CUNY has lifted the mask mandate that required all University employees, contractors and visitors to wear masks when inside office buildings, including non-enclosed spaces (i.e., cubicle or other open seating) regardless of physical distance from others.

However, the College's quarantine guidance related to wearing masks will remain unchanged in the following situation:

Employees, visitors, etc., who had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID and are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines and booster (if eligible) or if the employee, etc. had confirmed COVID-19 (tested positive) within the last 90 days, then they do not need to quarantine and can return to work provided that they are not exhibiting COVID/Flu like symptoms.  However, these employees, etc. will be required to wear a mask for 10 days after the date of their last close contact and then get tested at least 5 days after the date of close contact.

Campus Access

As of December 6, 2021, the College has discontinued the use of the V-22 identification sticker and the Excelsior Pass for campus access.  At this time, employees and visitors to the campus are required to utilize the Cleared4 CUNY Access Pass to gain entry to College Facilities.

Employees who have not yet completed their registration with the Cleared4 system should do so now.  Once registered for the Cleared4 system, employees can access or print their CUNY Access Pass by entering their personalized link into any web browser and selecting "Show Access Pass".  Employees can also display their CUNY Access Pass on their mobile phone or other smart device.

Employees who require assistance with registering for the Cleared4 CUNY Access Pass are asked to email their inquiries to  covidtesting@ccny.cuny.edu .  Please also see the December 2, 2021, communications from the College's Vice President of Operations on campus access with Cleared4.

CUNY Expanding Availability of Testing at CUNY Sites

Effective December 28, 2021, any CUNY employee who needs to be tested for any reason can  walk into a CUNY approved testing site, show their CUNY ID, register in the Cleared4 system and get tested. Results will be available as usual within 24 to 48 hours. For additional information, please read the Chancellor's communication dated December 21, 2021.

Random COVID-19 Testing for Vaccinated Employees

Effective November 17, 2021, CUNY implemented a random testing program for vaccinated employees. Fully vaccinated employees with approved vaccination information in CUNYfirst will be randomly selected to participate in the COVID-19 testing program. The following is a brief overview of the program:

  1.  Random testing is not optional and is necessary in order to obtain campus-wide results each week and thus help keep everyone safe.
  2. Each week, selected individuals will receive an email from  no-reply@cleared4.org  with subject line "Message from City University of New York (CUNY)".
  3. The email from  no-reply@cleared4.org  includes instructions for employees to complete their registration via a personalized link.
  4. The selected employees will have to test at a CUNY test site within 7 days of receipt of the email
  5. If the COVID-19 test result comes back positive, the employee's Access Pass will be disabled and the employee will be contacted by a Coronavirus Task Force Liaison for guidance.
  6. Test results will not be accepted from a Non-CUNY testing site.
  7. No appointment is necessary, however, if an employee plans to get tested during their work week, then they are expected to inform their supervisor and arrange to get time off for testing.
  8. Test results will be available within 48 hours and employees will maintain their Access Pass to CUNY facilities while the results are pending.
  9. If an employee does not show up to be tested within the required 7-day period, they will be contacted by a campus or program representative on next steps. 
  10. Employees who schedule a testing appointment at a CUNY testing site during their scheduled work week will be given 30 minutes of paid time if the testing site is on their campus or office location, and 45 minutes if they need to travel to another CUNY location.
  11. Employees should record the time taken to test on their timesheet as "Leave Type" COVID-19 Priority Testing (CPT).
  12. If you do not receive your test results within 24 hours (if taken on a weekday) or within 48 hours (if taken on a weekend), please contact the vendor's helpdesk: https://adclops.freshdesk.com/support/home

    Please note: When taking the COVID-19 test at a CUNY site, it is recommended that you make note or take a picture of the number on your sample kit; this makes it easier when following up with the help desk.
  13. A list of CUNY approved testing sites is available here.  For your convenience, the location and hours of the City College test site is provided below:

City College's COVID-19 testing site is in the Faculty Dining Room located in North Academic Center (NAC) Building.  The entrance is on 138th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

The hours of operation for CCNY's testing site are as follows:

  • Monday 2pm-5pm
  • Tuesday 2pm-5pm
  • Wednesday 9am-12pm
  • Thursday 9am-12pm
  • Closed on Fridays during the summer

For additional information and/or questions about COVID-19 random testing program, visit this FAQ or www.adnas.com/CUNYhelp or  humanresources@ccny.cuny.edu .

COVID-19 – Weekly Testing Pool

Employees who have not submitted proof of vaccination in CUNYfirst are required to participate in weekly COVID-19 testing at one of CUNY's designated testing sites.

The following is a brief review of some of the main points related to weekly testing:

  1. To participate in weekly testing, employees are required to register with CUNY's testing vendor, ADCL (Applied DNA Clinical Labs);
  2. Employees who are required to participate in weekly testing were sent an email (to their College Email address) with a personalized link from  no-reply@cleared4work.com .  Employees subject to weekly testing and who have not accessed their personalized link should do so now and follow the instructions provided to complete their registration.
  3. Employees who have questions or need help registering for weekly testing are advised to contact ADCL's support desk- https://adclops.freshdesk.com/support/home.  You may also send an email to  covidtesting@ccny.cuny.edu .
  4. Test results from CUNY's testing sites are sent directly to the employee's email address within 24 hours to 48 hours. If you do not receive your test results within 24 hours (if taken on a weekday) or within 48 hours (if taken on a weekend), please contact the vendor's helpdesk: https://adclops.freshdesk.com/support/home
  5. Test results will not be accepted from a non-CUNY testing site.  For your convenience, the list of CUNY approved testing sites is again provided here.
  6. Employees who test positive for COVID-19 will be subject to the College's contact tracing protocol.

COVID-19 Vaccinations

All employees entering the City College campus (or any other CUNY site) are required to do one of the following in order to enter the campus:

(1) show proof of full vaccination (defined as 14 days after receiving the final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine) or  (2) show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than seven days prior to the date the employee wishes to enter the campus.  Employees without approved COVID vaccination information in CUNYfirst are placed in CUNY's weekly testing pool  (See above  section on COVID-19 – WEEKLY TESTING POOL for information about COVID-19 testing.)

Employees are expected to upload their vaccination documentation into CUNYfirst.  The specific steps required to complete this process are provided in the link below: https://cunyithelp.cuny.edu/sp?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=9b2f65cb1b75b85014a8c99f1d4bcb9c

Employees receive paid time-off to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine or the COVID booster vaccine, if the appointment is scheduled during their work week.  Employees will be granted up to four (4) hours of excused leave per vaccine dose for a total of eight (8) hours for a two (2) dose vaccination.

Employees are expected to notify and obtain prior approval from their supervisor for paid time-off to obtain COVID-19 vaccine, if their appointment is scheduled during the employee's work week.

Employees should record time taken to get vaccinated on their timesheet as "Leave Type" CVL-COVID-19 Vaccination Leave.

Individuals can find a vaccination location near them by following the link below:

https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/

At this time, employees who are approved to work fully remote are not required to submit to the weekly testing (or show proof of vaccination).

Effective April 1, 2022, all full- and part-time faculty, non-teaching instructional staff (which includes, among others, Non-Teaching Adjuncts, College Lab Technicians and those in the HEO series) and ECPs are required to be fully vaccinated and these titles are required to have their proof of vaccination uploaded into CUNYfirst by April 1, 2022.  Requests for medical exemptions or religious exceptions will be considered and the employee process for submitting such requests will be communicated in the near future.

Should you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at  humanresources@ccny.cuny.edu .

Thank you.

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