Visitors, Community, and Travel Policy

We know that the St. Lawrence community is made up of so much more than the students, faculty and staff on campus. We also know we need to do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of everyone on campus and our North Country neighbors. Our policy on travel and visitors has been adapted to reflect this. While we have had to put some restrictions in place, we believe this policy still allows students, faculty, and staff to make the most of their time to safely experience all the North Country has to offer.

Visitors: Parents and Friends 

We maintain a strict “no visitor” policy except for business purposes by appointment and exceptions noted for Brewer Bookstore, Newell Fitness Center, and the libraries, with brief access to those facilities allowed for non-community members (see below), and approved speakers from the Associated Colleges. This policy includes prohibiting individuals that most commonly travel to campus: parents (other than move-in and move-out), young alumni, and other St. Lawrence students who are not registered for the semester that is currently in session. 

Visitors: Vendors and Delivery Personnel 

Vendors and delivery personnel whose presence on campus is coordinated by Purchasing, Facilities Operations, or Dining Services, abide by a work-safety plan that assigns designated drop-off places and requires all staff to wear masks. Contractors engaged by the University must abide by the same safety requirements expected of employees.

Visitors: Business Purposes 

We host visitors for business purposes in offices by appointment only and for necessary purposes, as virtual is the norm for all campus meetings. Events are held without spectators or in-person audiences and are livestreamed as often as possible.  For the spring semester, we will follow emerging guidelines about audience/spectator size and consider venues with social distancing, and limit audiences to only students or employees. Students are not allowed to have visitors from home or other colleges. Dining seating spaces are limited to students only between the 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. lunch period.

Brewer Bookstore, Libraries, Stafford Fitness Center, and Brush Art Gallery

We welcome community members in the following spaces and with the following requirements when the University's operating status allows: The Brewer Bookstore, following guidelines for retail; Owen D. Young Library and Launders Science Library, following library guidelines as articulated in the libraries’ work-safety plans; and members-only in the Stafford Fitness Center and other athletic facilities, following guidelines for fitness centers. The Brush Art Gallery remains closed.

Please check each entity's website for the most up-to-date information on hours of operation.

Travel Guidance for Students

(Note: Travel guidance for employees can be found on the Employee Information page.)

This guidance will be updated as circumstances change and, we hope, improve:

Students are allowed to participate in supervised travel for University-sponsored purposes and only if compliant with Safety Guidelines for Field Trips.

Personal travel by students is limited to St. Lawrence County in Phase 1 except in the case of a family emergency or as described in the September 20 Update, below.

If a family emergency arises, the student must advise Dean of Student’s office, agree to remain at home for 14 days, agree to be tested upon return to campus and to be quarantined until test results are back and test is negative. If the student leaves campus after April 1, the student should remain off campus for the remainder of the semester.

In Phase 2 and Phase 3:

Students may be approved for travel outside of St. Lawrence County if:

  1. they are submitting a request for a trip that is largely outdoors;
  2. the trip requires no more than 2 hours or 90 miles of driving (each way);
  3. they drive with the windows cracked to get air circulation;
  4. they take all necessary safety steps (distancing, mask wearing, hand washing if they stop);  
  5. they do not stop at bars or eat-in restaurants;
  6. the county to which they are traveling should have a COVID rate at or below that in St. Lawrence County; and
  7. they travel in the same car with people in their family unit.  

If the University has any positive student cases or if cases in the region rise, we may curtail all travel outside of the county. 

Applications for such travel must be submitted via this form, which will then be sent to Student Life and Safety and Security staff members for final approval.

We all recognize that this policy privileges those students who see outdoor activities as attractive and those with cars, and support all that the University can do to focus on safe activities on campus that provide socializing opportunities.

The Safety and Security Office, working with the Student Safe Travel Committee, has developed a safe transportation protocol for the use of University vehicles in compliance with NY Forward guidance.

We will be attentive to the cross-border requirements that will guide the schedules of our employees who live in Canada and commute to the United States.

September 20 Update: 

Students may be approved for travel outside of St. Lawrence County if:

  1. they are submitting a request for a trip that is largely outdoors;
  2. the trip requires no more than 2 hours or 90 miles of driving (each way);
  3. they drive with the windows down to get air circulation;
  4. they take all necessary safety steps (distancing, mask wearing, hand washing if they stop);  
  5. they do not stop at bars or eat-in restaurants;
  6. the county to which they are traveling should have a COVID rate at or below that in St. Lawrence County; and
  7. they travel in the same car with people in their family unit.  

If the University has any positive tests, we will curtail all travel outside of the county. 

Applications for such travel must be submitted via this form, which will then be sent to Student Life and Safety and Security staff members for final approval.

We all recognize that this policy privileges those students who see outdoor activities as attractive and those with cars, and support all that the University can do to focus on safe activities on campus that provide socializing opportunities.