Information for Students

When students are placed in mandatory quarantine or isolation, they will receive an email from Student Disability Services that includes a five-day temporary academic accommodation notice. Students are asked to forward the message to their instructors and college student services office (Cornell Law students should forward the message only to the Law School Dean of Students, law.dos@cornell.edu), which serves as the official notification of their five-day accommodation and their inability to participate in in-person learning until their release date. The message also notifies instructors that students may need flexibility in attendance and alternative arrangements for assignments and/or exams.

Students must follow-up directly with their instructors to discuss the accommodations that can be made to support their ability to meet course learning outcomes. In turn, instructors will determine which temporary accommodations are most appropriate for their course. It is important that students communicate with their instructors to finalize arrangements (Cornell Law students should coordinate directly with the Law School Dean of Students and not engage directly with their faculty about accommodations.)

Faculty are not required to provide remote access to students who cannot attend class. In fact, for the majority of our classrooms, remote access is not an option because classrooms are not Zoom-enabled. Instead, faculty may, for example, choose to use lapel mic recorders to capture audio recordings to accompany other course materials. Faculty want you to remain engaged and have access to course materials, and they will determine the most appropriate and feasible way to help you stay on track based on the nature of the course. Also, it’s always beneficial for students to stay in regular contact with their faculty, TAs, and their college student services office during their quarantine or isolation period so that they can get the support they need.

While most people are in isolation for five full days, students whose symptoms are not improving by the end of the fifth day may need to remain in isolation a few days longer and should contact Cornell’s COVID-19 Concierge at 607-254-5600 or quarantinehelp@cornell.edu to discuss extending their isolation period.

If your instructor becomes sick with COVID-19, the instructor or their department will communicate any alternative arrangements that may be put in place, such as such as substitute instructors or alternative lesson plans.