Change in COVID-19 Testing Platform for August and September

To: Wellesley College Faculty and Staff
From: Piper Orton, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer
Re: Change in COVID-19 Testing Platform for August and September
Date: August 11, 2022

Last month, we communicated to the College community about a transition to the Color COVID-19 testing platform starting in August.

In a change since that communication, we have discovered that you can not complete the Color registration process in advance of coming to the testing center and activating the test kit. Because the initial registration process for each first-time tester with Color takes between five and ten minutes, to better manage the influx of newly arriving students to campus over the next few weeks we have decided to pause that transition until Monday, September 19.

Between now and then, the testing process will return to the previous procedure for individual PCR testing using your College ID, a platform developed and supported by Tufts University and the Broad Institute. For anyone who participated in testing this week or last week and already registered with Color, your registration information and test results will remain on the Color platform and you can pick up where you left off when we resume Color testing in September.

When students arrive on campus, they will self-test with a rapid test provided in their rooms and upload positive test results to the Toolbox. They will then complete an individual PCR test at the College Club within 48 hours of arrival. All students must complete an individual PCR test before the first day of classes.

Thank you for your understanding. Below is the upcoming testing schedule for the College Club, which will also be published in the Toolbox: