As Ball State University prepares for students’ return to campus for the Spring semester, we continue to focus our efforts on the safety of our campus community. With this in mind, and in keeping with current guidance from public health officials, students are required to submit a COVID-19 test result prior to arriving on or returning to our campus in January. 

All students must be tested for COVID-19 and provide a test result to the University. The test must be administered within seven days of arriving on campus in January. The submission portal opens on January 8. Specifics of the requirement, including any exceptions, are outlined in our protocols.

Submit Your Test Result

How To Submit Your Test Result

The video below provides instructions on how to submit your COVID-19 test result.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information about pre-arrival testing, please watch our video or read our FAQ's below.

All students are required to submit a test result. 

Exceptions are:

  • Any student tested positive for COVID-19 in the 90-day period prior to returning to campus for Spring 2021, and the positive test result has been provided to the University through IU Health, the health department or a self-report; or
  • The student is enrolled entirely online for the Spring 2021 semester, is not residing in the residence halls, and will not be physically present on campus in the Spring semester; or
  • The student is approved for an exception by the Director of the Health Center.

Students will be responsible for determining their own preferred location to be tested. If in-state students need help finding a location, they should visit the Indiana Department of Health. Out-of-state students should seek guidance with their state department of health. For on-campus testing options, please review our Get Tested website.

Students may submit results from a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or a rapid antigen test to meet the pre-arrival testing requirement in spring 2021.

A COVID-19 test must be administered within seven days of arriving on or returning to campus. Residence hall move-in begins on January 15. For example, if you plan to move in on January 15, you must be tested and provide a negative result to the University on or after January 8.For on-campus testing options, please visit our Get Tested website.

Students who have been tested but who have not yet received their test results should consider the following things:

  • Quarantine requirement: As a reminder, students must quarantine while they await their test results and must also quarantine during the time between when they receive their test results and when they return to campus.
  • Wait, if possible: If enough days are remaining, students should wait for their test result and then wait for it to be approved. Students will receive an email confirmation when their submitted test results are accepted.
  • Rapid Test: If not enough time allows for a student to wait on a result, the student could seek a second test of the rapid type, which generally provides results in just a few hours or less. The availability of rapid tests is limited, so students should contact testing sites to see if rapid tests are available. If a student can get a rapid test and it is negative, the student should submit that result, and, once approved, return to campus.
  • Remote Participation: If, for some reason, a rapid test is not an option or a student prefers not to be tested again, students may begin classes remotely while they await test results. Students who want to start classes remotely should:
    • Email the Dean of Students at View Email with your testing date and location, and explain that they are waiting on test results. Doing so will allow the University to keep the student from being locked out of Canvas on January 19, or it will restore the student’s Canvas access if they have already been locked out.
    • Communicate your status to faculty and course instructors and ask for assistance with meeting course requirements remotely in the interim. If a student needs help with this, they should email View Email.
    • Submit the test results via the submission link as soon as it is received. University staff will be diligent about reviewing results, but students must wait for the results to be accepted before attending class in person or moving into residence halls.
  • Return to Campus: Remember, students can not come to campus for on-campus instruction or move into the residence halls until the University approves test results.

If your test was inconclusive, you should get tested again.

Test results will be submitted electronically through the Ball State website. The portal will be published on January 8 and will be shared with students via email, social media, and other forms of communication. A link will be published on this page. For more information, please watch our video.

Any student who is exempt from the COVID-19 pre-arrival testing requirements will receive an email saying so. Without that email, students are required to participate. 

Yes. Students must quarantine at home between the time they are tested and the time they arrive on our campus.

Any new student beginning their education at Ball State in January 2021 who is taking at least one on-campus course or living in a residence hall will be required to submit a COVID-19 test result before arriving on campus in January.

Students who test positive for COVID-19 should submit their test results via the Ball State submission website and then will receive instructions for at-home isolation and instructions about when they can return to campus.

Students who are required to submit a test result and fail to do so will not be permitted to move-in to the residence halls and will not have academic access in Canvas until a test result is submitted. 

Students who tested positive for COVID-19 during a 90-day period prior to returning in January will not be required to get a new test.

Online courses will be listed as ONLINE under location. All other designations should be considered as an in-person course. Students should follow testing protocol and contact their faculty member for additional information about the class meeting times.

Students who have in-person classes but have been given permission by their faculty/instructor to be remote should email View Email. Notifying the Dean of Students is important so that student access to Canvas is not restricted.

In order to be considered for the exception, the University must have a record of your positive COVID-19 test. Your positive test result could be a direct report from IU Health, the Health Department, or a self-report that you submitted to the University.  In general, if the University received your positive test result on October 17, 2020 or later, you will receive a notice that you are exempt from the pre-arrival testing requirements. The University will notify all students who qualify for this exemption on January 8, 2021.  If you do not receive a note that you are eligible for the exception, you must be tested and submit your testing results as described above.

Only students who have received all required doses of the COVID-19 vaccination will be considered for an exemption. To be considered for a vaccination exemption, you must submit an email request to healthcenter@bsu.edu. Emails must be submitted from a Ball State email account and include the appropriate proof of vaccination and your Ball State ID number.

At this time, we will encourage, but not require, employees to be tested before returning to campus in January. Read more.
  • If a person has an in-person class, regardless of their affiliation as a staff person, they must meet the pre-arrival testing requirement.
  • If a student is only taking online classes, but will be on campus for other reasons, such as research, or an on-campus job, that student must submit a test result before coming to campus.
  • For questions about move-in or housing, please contact housing@bsu.edu.
  • For questions or help with uploading your COVID-19 test results and/or general questions about the pre-arrival requirements, please call the Help Desk at 765-285-1517.