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Accessing Campus

Steps in front of diana center

General Campus Access

The campus generally remains closed to the public, with the main gate at 117th and Broadway providing the primary entrance. 

  • Following the College’s health and safety protocols, faculty, staff and students, and approved visitors (those conducting essential business and registered prospective students and their guests) are allowed to enter campus.
    • Faculty, staff and students accessing the Barnard campus are required to swipe their Barnard ID upon entry to campus at the main gate, and show a“green screen” result of a daily screening using the app CoVerified (they must complete the initial campus pledge and entry testing first).
    • Vendors can access campus through the submission of the vendor log/verification form. The form should be submitted by the cognizant manager supervising the vendor’s work.
    • Prospective families must register with Admissions and complete a Visitor form. Self-guided walking tour booklets are available at the front gates but official student-led tours and information sessions with Admissions staff are not yet available. Visitors are asked to tour outdoors only. In addition, the Office of Admissions and the Office of Financial Aid are not open on campus but can be reached by phone and email.
  • Individuals should carry their ID with them at all times while on campus.
  • There are several reservable spaces on campus where students can study or meet with faculty and staff in a socially distanced manner. 
  • For the safety of all on campus, to allow appropriate distance and reduce density across areas of campus, those who are utilizing campus are to use their own office/department space or reserved seating space and minimize access elsewhere on campus.
  • Buildings are open on reduced schedules. Swipe access is required for Diana Center and Milstein Center; and Milbank and Altschul Halls will be unlocked Monday through Friday from 7am-9pm and 10am-6pm (updated as of April 6th). There are also now card readers to access at the 'link' glass doors to Altschul or Milbank lower levels. Access outside these hours will require assistance from CARES Community Safety. Classrooms and other shared spaces will be locked unless specific arrangements are made.
  • Prospective students and families are also encouraged to visit our virtual visits to learn more about Barnard’s campus.
  • All public and external events will be held virtually until further notice. 

Student Campus Access and On-Campus Space Reservations

Entrance to Barnard’s Campus

Until further notice there will be a single access point to Barnard’s campus through the main gates at 117th and Broadway. To enter the campus at the main gate, all students (including Columbia students) will be required to swipe both their ID and their daily screening “green screen” (Barnard students through the CoVerified app and Columbia students through ReopenCU app).

Access to the campus through the Claremont entrance of the Milstein Center, the 119th street gate, and the side entrance of Milbank on 120th Street is no longer permitted at this time, and ID-swipe access at these locations has been deactivated.

Students who plan to access Barnard or Columbia’s campus/facilities will need to first have an initial negative COVID-19 entry test before access to the campuses will be permitted. Students are also required to provide documentation to Barnard's Primary Care Health Service of having received a flu vaccine(after August 2020).

Student Reservations for Space on Campus

In October, the College began opening several spaces on campus where students can study or meet with faculty and staff in a socially distanced manner. To help manage campus density, certain spaces will need to be reserved ahead of time. 

Students may begin to reserve limited and physically distant seats for the Spring semester on the Barnard campus beginning January 25th (students can begin booking reservations on the 20th) by following the link to a reservable location below. When you select a space, have your UNI and BC/CU email ready to complete your reservation. Once you make a reservation you will receive a confirmation email. Upon arrival, scan the QR code next to your space or click the link provided in your confirmation email and enter the check-in code provided in your confirmation to check-in/out of your reservation

The following outdoor and indoor spaces are available for use without reservation but please follow the College health and safety protocols around 6 ft physical distancing at all times:

Arthur Ross Courtyard (The Quad), Tables outside of the Barnard Annex, Diana Center steps

Futter Field, Krueger Terrace (Patio outside of Liz's Place), Benches outside of Sulzberger Hall

Diana Lower Level 2 Lobby, Diana First Floor Lobby, Diana Second Floor Lobby

Testing Program Requirements for Students

  1. An Initial COVID-19 Arrival or Entry Test
    Students who plan to access Barnard or Columbia’s campus/facilities will need to first have an initial negative COVID-19 entry test before access to the campuses will be permitted. For Barnard students who wish to access Columbia buildings, they must complete the ReopenCU app and folllow Columbia guidelines. Barnard informs Columbia of students who have satisfied the Columbia gateway test requirement by completing a Barnard entry test and documentation of their required flu vaccine; no further action is needed from students. Their negative test result is uploaded into the ReopenCU app.
    • Residential students received information about move-in that outlined arrival and entry testing on Spring 2021 under “Move-In".”
    • Non-residential students schedule their entry test via CoVerified (note: a student’s first test at Barnard cannot be one used to end a required quarantine; such testing must be done elsewhere).
    Only testing done at Barnard satisfies Barnard requirements.

    If you have any questions review this information sheet or contact covidtesting@barnard.edu.
  2. Participating in Regular Testing
    Students who will be accessing the Barnard or Columbia campus/facilities this semester will be required to participate in regular testing and must test twice per week (based on our current protocols). Instructions for scheduling your regular tests have been emailed directly to students.
  3. CoVerified: Participating in a Daily Self-Screening Attestation
    All students will also be required to complete a daily self-screening on CoVerified app to enter the Barnard campus and on the ReopenCU app prior to entering the Columbia campus. Upon completion of the screening, individuals will receive a “green screen” which means that they may access campus, or a “red screen” which means as a result of reported symptoms or possible COVID-19 exposure access to campus will be denied. If you receive a “red screen,” do not come to campus. The following applies:
    • If the red screen is in CoVerified, you will be contacted by a Barnard administrator with further questions and instructions.
    • If the red screen is in ReopenCU, you should also input your information to CoVerified. A Barnard administrator will then be in touch.

Faculty Campus Access

All Barnard faculty have access to the Barnard campus, including offices, labs, and the scheduled use of classrooms following the College’s health and safety protocols. 
  
Campus access requires the following:

  1. Signing the Community Pledge
    All faculty are required to sign the Community Pledge. No faculty member will be allowed access to campus without a signed pledge, and failing to complete the pledge may result in the deactivation of your College ID. Any signatures from the fall will carry over into the spring.
  2. Completing Rascal Training
    Faculty members must complete Columbia's RASCAL training and provide their completion certificate to Human Resources. If a faculty member has already completed the training and needs to locate their certificate, click on “View certified test history” on the left sidebar of the Rascal webpage and then click on “Generate transcript”. Save the training certificate and email it to hr@barnard.edu. Certificates generated in the fall will carry over into the spring.
  3. Taking an Initial Entry COVID-19 Test
    Spring 2021:     Faculty who were not on-campus continuously during the winter break must have a negative entry test for SARS-CoV-2 taken in 2021 before access to campus will be permitted. Faculty who have CoVerified access should use that to schedule; otherwise, faculty should complete this form to make an on-campus appointment for a free entry test. The estimated turnaround time for results is within approximately 48 hours. Faculty who maintained a regular on-campus presence during the winter break must test again on-campus January 2-14. This test will reset the time period during which their next Barnard test must occur. More detailed testing information, including the process for submitting a non-Barnard PCR test can be found in On-Campus Test Information and Scheduling for Faculty and Staff document.
  4. Participating in Regular Testing
    Following a negative test result, faculty who will be teaching on campus, using their campus offices or campus facilities in the Spring semester, regardless of frequency, will be required to participate in regular testing on a monthly basis. Faculty who are having regular in-person interactions with students can expect to be retested once per week. All faculty are welcome to increase their testing frequency to once per week. More detailed information can be found in the On-Campus Test Information and Scheduling for Faculty and Staff document.
  5. Participating in a Daily Self-Screening Attestation at Barnard and Columbia
    For Access to the Barnard Campus:  Barnard faculty will be required to complete a daily self-screening using the app CoVerified. A “green screen” must be displayed on your smartphone for permission to enter campus. Note: Faculty can no longer access the Barnard campus using Columbia’s ReopenCU app. Review the Health and Safety webpage for health and safety protocols to access campus.

    For Access to Columbia University: Barnard faculty will be required to complete the daily ReopenCU app for access to Columbia University and Columbia University buildings, including Columbia University libraries, offices, and labs. Faculty will be asked to show the “green screen” from the ReopenCU app on the Columbia campus as neither the Qualtrics nor CoVerified “green screen” will be accepted.
  6. Entrance to Campus
    Until further notice, there will be a single access point to Barnard’s campus through the main gates at 117th and Broadway. To enter the campus at the main gate all staff will be required to swipe both their ID and show their daily screening “green screen” (and complete the initial entry test). If you receive a “red screen,” do not come to campus. The following applies: If the red screen is in CoVerified, you will be contacted by our clinician with further questions and instructions. If the red screen is in ReopenCU, you should also input your information to CoVerified. A clinician will then be in touch.

    Access to the campus through the Claremont entrance of the Milstein Center, the 119th street gate, and the side entrance of Milbank on 120th Street will no longer be permitted, and ID-swipe access will be deactivated.

Staff Campus Access

Staff are required to sign the Community Pledge and complete the Health & Safety Training.

Review the Health and Safety webpage for health and safety protocols to access campus.

Campus access requires the following:

  1. Signing the Community Pledge
    All staff are required to sign the Community Commitment and Personal Responsibility Pledge. No staff member will be allowed access to campus without a signed pledge, and failing to complete the pledge may also result in the deactivation of your College ID. Any signatures from the Fall will carry over into the Spring.
  2. Completing Health & Safety Training
    All staff are required to complete a Barnard COVID-19 health and safety training. The training can be found at the end of the Community Pledge (found under the COVID-19 Information tab) and will take no more than a few minutes. Any training done in the Fall will carry over into the Spring.
  3. An Initial Entry COVID-19 Entry Test Spring 2021
    Staff who were not on-campus continuously during the winter break must have a negative entry test for SARS-CoV-2 taken in 2021 before access to campus will be permitted. Staff who have CoVerified access should use that to schedule; otherwise, they should complete this form to make an on-campus appointment for a free entry test. The estimated turnaround time for results is within approximately 48 hours.

    Staff who worked on campus during the winter break must test again on-campus January 2-14. This test will reset the time period during which their next Barnard test must occur.

    More detailed testing information, including the process for submitting a non-Barnard PCR test, can be found in On-Campus Test Information and Scheduling for Faculty and Staff document.
  4. Participating in Regular Testing
    Following a negative test result, staff who will be on campus this semester, regardless of frequency, will be required to participate in regular testing on a monthly basis. Staff who are having regular in-person interactions with students, or who work regularly in residence halls, can expect to be retested once per week. All staff are welcome to increase their testing frequency to once per week. More detailed information can be found in the On-Campus Test Information and Scheduling for Faculty and Staff document.
  5. Participating in a Daily Self-Screening Attestation at Barnard
    All staff will also be required to complete a daily self-screening prior to entering campus using the CoVerified app. Upon completion of the screening, individuals will receive a “green screen” which means that the individual may access campus. If you receive a “red screen,” do not come to campus. The following applies: If the red screen is in CoVerified, you will be contacted by a Barnard administrator with further questions and instructions. If the red screen is in ReopenCU, you should also input your information to CoVerified. A Barnard administrator will then be in touch.

    For staff who reside in campus housing:  This screening should be completed each morning, whether or not they plan on accessing the main campus that day. 
  6. Entrance to Campus
    Until further notice there will be a single access point to Barnard’s campus through the main gates at 117th and Broadway. To enter the campus at the main gate all staff will be required to swipe both their ID and their daily screening “green screen”.

    Access to the campus through the Claremont entrance of the Milstein Center, the 119th street gate, and the side entrance of Milbank on 120th Street will no longer be permitted, and ID-swipe access will be deactivated.

Accessing Columbia's Campus

Barnard faculty, staff and students can access buildings and facilities on the University campus according to the protocols Columbia has set forth. Barnard students have the same access as Columbia undergraduates, including the Kraft Center. To access campus, individuals must complete all required training and testing and must abide by public health protocols that can be found on the following pages:

Columbia’s COVID-19 Resource Guide for Students

In order to access any buildings on the Columbia University campus, all students must provide documentation of receiving a flu vaccine this year, starting in August 2020. This will include access to Columbia’s campus through University Commencement at the end of this month. If Barnard does not have documentation of the required flu vaccination in a student's health record, the student will be unable to generate the required “green pass” in the ReopenCU app, which must be used when accessing the Columbia campus.

The steps for providing documentation to Barnard are as follows:

1.Complete the Barnard form that applies:
Influenza/Flu Vaccine Form
Influenza/Flu Vaccination Exemption Form (if a student is seeking a medical or religious exemption from receiving the flu vaccine)

2.Scan and email the form to pchstravel@barnard.edu

3.Once received, reviewed, and approved by Primary Care Health Services, PCHS will notify CUIT to update the student's Re Open Access CU app. This process usually takes 24 hours once the form is received by PCHS (not including the weekend).

4.If a student still needs a flu vaccine, they can call PCHS at 212-854-2091 and make an appointment to receive one.  

Students should NOT send any documents or information directly to CUIT or CU Health as they have no health records on Barnard students and can only accept information from Barnard’s PCHS for clearance of this requirement. 

If students have any questions, please email PCHS directly at pchstravel@barnard.edu


Columbia buildings will be locked and available only by swipe access, which will be granted only to community members who fulfill the above requirements. Faculty and students should have swipe access to the other buildings on campus that they can typically enter during the year, although some buildings may have limited hours or additional requirements in the Spring semester.

Note: students must reserve seats in the libraries in advance.

Shuttle Service to Campus through Columbia Transportation

Columbia Transportation is providing commuter shuttle service by reservation for Barnard faculty, students and staff on weekdays during the spring term. Routes are focused on key areas within the outer boroughs and Manhattan with easy connections to commuter rail and park-and-ride locations.

Students are eligible to use the shuttle services. In addition to the commuter shuttles this fall, the Intercampus Shuttle will be making stops at 96th Street throughout the day, and will offer a Manhattan East side route and Saturday service. Columbia also offers an on-demand Evening Shuttle, powered by Via, that runs between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. each night. For those interested in using Via outside of the Evening Shuttle service, Columbia affiliates can use the code “CU2020” to unlock 20% off all private rides. 

Columbia Shuttle Information

Shuttle Service to Campus through Columbia Transportation

Columbia Transportation is providing commuter shuttle service by reservation for Barnard faculty, students and staff on weekdays during the fall term. Routes are focused on key areas within the outer boroughs and Manhattan with easy connections to commuter rail and park-and-ride locations. Students are now eligible to use the shuttle services as of October 5th.

In addition to the commuter shuttles this fall, the Intercampus Shuttle will be making stops at 96th Street throughout the day, offer a Manhattan East side route and Saturday service is available following the Red Line. Columbia also offers an on-demand Evening Shuttle, powered by Via, that runs between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. each night. For those interested in using Via outside of the Evening Shuttle service, Columbia affiliates can use the code “CU2020” to unlock 20% off all private rides.

Admissions & Campus Tours

We are now offering self-guided walking tours of campus through May 31st. Space is limited and offered daily between 10AM-12PM and 2-4PM. We ask that you limit your party to two additional guests. 

We will provide walking tour booklets at the front gates but please know that we will not be holding official tours or information sessions. In addition, the Office of Admissions and the Office of Financial Aid remains closed at this time but the staff can be reached by phone and email. 

Prospective students can also visit Barnard through our Virtual Campus Visit Opportunities.

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