NYS Travel Advisory Information

New York state has guidelines for traveling, quarantine, and testing. The most up-to-date information is available on the New York state website.

In addition, RIT strongly recommends that students, faculty, and staff do not travel outside the Finger Lakes Region (Monroe and adjacent counties) unless absolutely necessary.

Quarantine Requirements and Options Ahead of Spring Semester

Students may be required to quarantine before arriving to campus for the Spring Semester. All students need to review the quarantine requirements set forth by New York state and RIT. Students with an RIT housing assignment who are required to quarantine before circulating on campus may choose to quarantine on their own independently or participate in the University Coordinated Quarantine option.

Learn more about quarantine requirements and options

New York State Guidelines

For any traveler to New York state from out of state, exempting the contiguous states, there are new guidelines for travelers to test-out of the mandatory 14-day quarantine:

For travelers who were in another state for more than 24 hours:

  • Travelers must obtain a test within three days of departure from that state.
  • The traveler must, upon arrival in New York, quarantine for three days.
  • On day four of their quarantine, the traveler must obtain another COVID test. If both tests comes back negative, the traveler may exit quarantine early upon receipt of the second negative diagnostic test.

For travelers who were in another state for less than 24 hours:

  • The traveler does not need a test prior to their departure from the other state, and does not need to quarantine upon arrival in New York state.
  • However, the traveler must fill out our traveler form upon entry into New York state and take a COVID diagnostic test four days after their arrival in New York.

Independent Quarantine

Students who have traveled out of state and need to quarantine must do so on their own. The quarantine could be done through independent housing, hotel arrangements, or through a friend or relative. Long weekends and breaks have been eliminated from the fall and spring schedule to discourage faculty, staff, or student travel during the semester.

Frequently Asked Questions

RIT is discouraging members of the community from leaving the state. Employees traveling for personal reasons to a location that will require quarantine are not eligible for paid leave if they have to quarantine on their return and cannot work.

We strongly recommend that students, faculty, and staff do not travel outside the Finger Lakes Region (Monroe and adjacent counties) unless absolutely necessary. If travel must occur, please remember to follow all safety precautions and refrain from participating in group gatherings where distancing and masking is not occurring.

RIT will work with students who live on campus and must travel to a restricted state for an emergency to see if quarantine space is available. If space is available, quarantine housing will be provided. Students can connect with casemanagement@rit.edu for post emergency travel quarantine options. Students living off campus will have to quarantine in their off-campus housing or make other arrangements.

Generally not as most RIT housing does not meet the requirements for quarantine as outlined by public health. However, the residence life and housing staff will advise if a regular assignment does meet the qualifications. Students can also make quarantine arrangements through independent housing, hotels, or a friend or relative.

All visitors are expected to comply with New York state travel restrictions, applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the requirements of the RIT Fall 2020 Reopening Plan, and the RIT Safety Plan. This includes utilization of the Daily Health Screen prior to coming on campus. For information regarding visitors, see the Visitors to Campus webpage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Students do not need to quarantine if they have not yet left a state that has been removed from the New York State Travel Advisory list. If a student reserved a slot in university-supported quarantine, they will be contacted by RIT to reset a regular move-in time. If students were planning to quarantine on their own and have not yet started quarantine, they are released from this requirement. However, if a student has already started the quarantine when it was required, they must complete that 14-day quarantine.

RIT has secured 600-plus rooms at local brand-name hotels within 15 miles of the RIT campus. The cost for the 14-day package is $780, which includes a room and three meals per day. For those partner hotels not providing meals, RIT will provide a $420 meal debit card for use at local restaurants and grocery delivery. You will not have to pay at the hotel. The charge will be posted to your student account this fall.

Completion of the mandatory travel form is required to start this process. Students with current university housing assignments from the affected areas will be contacted by RIT Housing to determine interest. Hotel rooms will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. We are asking for students to arrive ideally on August 12, but no later than August 18. A scheduled arrival time and hotel assignment will be sent to students in early August. Parents/guardians may stay in the room if they wish, but they would also be required to adhere to quarantine requirements. Once the 14-day quarantine is complete, students will make arrangements with RIT Housing to transition into their regular-year assignment.

We will share the names of the hotels after students sign up for the option. Hotel rooms will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Students without a negative test result will not be allowed to enter into the university-sponsored quarantine program held at area hotels.

There is no test required for students exiting travel quarantine before they resume campus activities. However, students who have completed travel quarantine are being randomly selected as part of surveillance testing to have a COVID test. When a student is selected for testing, their participation is considered mandatory.

Students traveling to the RIT campus from international locations, including Canada, on or after August 23 need to quarantine upon arrival. Students who traveled earlier and have already begun quarantine must complete the required 14 days.

Parents/guardians may stay in the room if they wish, but they would also be required to adhere to quarantine requirements. 

Students with financial hardship should email Ian Mortimer, Vice President for Enrollment Management.

Students selecting this option would begin their classes remotely. Faculty will provide access to the course materials necessary to meet the course learning outcomes to ensure academic progress.

All students with this option will be assigned an RIT staff member to serve as a point of contact.

If a student comes from a state that was recently added to the list, the student will need to quarantine for 14 days.

We do not recommend that students wait at home for their state to be removed from the New York travel advisory list. In order to retain their housing assignments, students must move in by August 23 or have started university-supported quarantine as assigned. In addition, we are not able to guarantee every student from a travel ban state a fully online option.

All students will continue to have access to telehealth and telemental health student services. Faculty will work with isolated or quarantined students to ensure they can continue their academic work. Students residing on campus will also be supported by meal delivery for their applicable on-campus meal plans, trash pickup, and laundry support.

If students experience concerning symptoms, they should call RIT Student Health Center at 585-475-2255. A health care provider is on-call and available by phone for urgent concerns when our RIT Student Health Center is closed.

Students pay an extra $780 to participate in the university-sponsored hotel quarantine. RIT’s expense to run the program per student is about $1,750 for the 14 days of hotel with meals. The student’s unused room and board is going into covering the difference.

RIT is not offering a formal refund on room and board. Instead, that money is being used to offset the difference between the total cost of the hotel with meals and Wi-Fi, which is about $1,750 for the 14 days, and the amount we are charging families, which is $780.

While amenities will vary between hotels, rooms will include wi-fi and a TV.

Students will complete their Daily Health Screen and any concerns will be reported to the Student Health Center.

Students interested in RIT’s hotel option should contact their hotel to ensure they are able to cancel without penalty.

No. We are requiring each student that has been offered hotel accommodations to go directly to the hotel.

Quarantine means that you will have to stay in your assigned quarantine housing for the duration of the incubation period: 14 days. You must monitor yourself for any potential symptoms of infection including cough, fever, chills or muscle aches, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, sore throat, or new loss of sense of smell or taste. You must check your temperature in the morning and evening, and report symptoms or elevated temperature to your health care provider. We expect all students to participate in our Daily Health Screen every day, throughout the semester.

If you are in university housing or university sponsored quarantine, you will report any concerning symptoms to our Student Health Center at 585-475-2255. You do not need to wear a mask when you are alone in your room.

No. You cannot go to work or school, participate in social activities, or visit any public places. You should stay in a well-ventilated room that is your own living space in a home or apartment setting, or a single hotel room. You should not be spending in-person time with friends or family.

New York’s travel advisory requires all New Yorkers, as well as those visiting from designated states with significant community spread of COVID-19, to take personal responsibility for complying with the advisory in the best interest of public health and safety. To assist our students in complying with their personal responsibility, we are increasing our educational efforts and have identified local options for our students to use when self-quarantining. In addition, all students will continue to have access to telehealth and telemental health student services.