Students coming to campus in spring will be required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival at Beasley Coliseum. 

“If students are living in a residence hall or on-campus apartment, they will be required to do the arrival test before they’re actually able to even get their keys,” said Phil Weiler, WSU vice president for marketing and communications.

Once students get tested, they will need to stay isolated in their rooms until they get their results back, Weiler said. Students will receive their results within 48 hours. 

Students will receive their test results by email, said Kim Holapa, associate vice president of external engagement and strategic initiatives.

“If they are planning on using any of our university facilities, they will be required to show the date they did their testing,” she said.

There will be an indicator on a student’s phone to show they have taken the test, but Holapa said she is not sure how that is going to work.

If a student living on campus tests positive, they will need to move to McEachern Hall, she said. This hall is set aside specifically for students who need to be isolated.

Housing staff will be checking on students on a daily basis, Weiler said. Staff will help the students move between halls if needed, and will be providing food and other necessities.

“The hall we’ve set aside has many bathrooms, so we can minimize the number of people per bathroom,” he said.

Students living off-campus or in fraternities and sororities will not be required to take arrival tests, but are strongly encouraged to do so, Weiler said.

There will be different facilities where off-campus students can get tested, he said.

“For example, we will have a testing facility set up in what used to be the Stubblefield Bar and Grill for members of fraternities and sororities,” he said.

Between Jan. 4-6, student employees will be able to get tested on campus, Weiler said. There will be about 700 student employees on campus.

Testing will be available to students between Jan. 6-10, he said.

There will be around 1,000 students coming to campus for the first time, and they will be able to get tested between Jan. 8-18, he said.

The Greek community will be tested between Jan. 14-18, he said. There are tests available for about 1,500 students.

WSU is partnering with a company called Insight, Weiler said. Insight staff will be helping with the tests.

Students from WSU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Spokane will come to Pullman to help test students within the Greek community from Jan. 14-18, he said. They will be overseen by trained medical professionals.

“It will be nice to get our students some practical experience, but also be able to benefit our students in Pullman,” he said.