Residence Life Coronavirus (COVID-19) Plan


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FAll 2020

 

Move In 

Scheduled to limit number of people in the room and building. This allows for proper social distancing and enhanced disinfection of the most high-touch areas within our facilities like door handles, knobs, buttons, switches, handrails, tables, etc.  

Fall Move-In

Staffing 

All staffing has been reconfigured to offer the safest possible environment for students and staff through a model of student outreach, mentorship, and engagement. 

Desk Hours

Days

Open

Close

Total

  

Monday 

8:00 AM 

10:00 PM 

14.00 

Tuesday 

8:00 AM 

10:00 PM 

14.00  

Wednesday 

8:00 AM 

10:00 PM 

14.00  

Thursday 

8:00 AM 

10:00 PM 

14.00  

Friday 

8:00 AM 

10:00 PM 

14.00  

Saturday 

 

12:00 AM 

 

Sunday 

5:00 PM 

10:00 PM 

5.00  

Weekly Hours 

 75.00  

 

Policies 

Arkansas Tech University Residence Life aims to deliver its mission while protecting the health and safety of our students and minimizing the potential spread of disease within our community. As a resident within ATU Residence Life, the 2019 Novel Coronavirus or similar public health crisis (“COVID”) will influence your housing experience as ATU Residence Life continues to make public health-informed decisions. The below policies and guidelines are incorporated into the residence life terms and conditions of occupancy and are applicable to all residential students. As always, we will endeavor to update you with timely information about specific health and safety guidance important for our residential students. 

  1. Health and Safety. We expect that all members of the ATU Residence Life community—residents, staff, and visitors—act in a manner that demonstrates respect and consideration for those around them, including respect and consideration for the health and safety of all community members.  
    1. All residential students are prohibited (ATU Student Handbook Article III, Section C, 12) from creating a health or safety hazard within ATU Residence Life and the University may sanction, reassign, or terminate a resident’s contract if their continued actions in the housing community poses a health or safety risk for community members.  
    2. All residential students are required to comply with health and safety laws, orders, ordinances, regulations, and health and safety guidance adopted by Arkansas Tech University or Residence Life as it relates to public health crises, including COVID-19.  
    3. This guidance will evolve as the public health crisis evolves and may include, but is not limited to: 
      1. Reduced occupancy in community spaces (lounges, laundry rooms, kitchens, lobbies, and computer labs)  
      2. Wearing a face covering 
      3. Participation in contact tracing 
      4. Disinfection protocols 
      5. Self-Isolation or Quarantine 
      6. Suspension of outside guests into residence halls/apartments 
      7. Complete an isolation and quarantine plan 
    4. Adherence to health and safety requirements applies to all residents, staff, and visitors and extends to all aspects of residential life, including bedrooms, bathrooms, community kitchens, lounges, computer rooms, courtyards, and other common spaces. 
      1. At any time, Arkansas Tech University may request or require a resident to leave ATU Residence Life when that resident’s continued presence in the housing community poses a health or safety risk for community members (ATU Student Handbook Article III, Section C, 12).
  2. Cleaning. ATU Residence Life will continue to implement and modify its cleaning protocols to address COVID or other public health emergency in the interest of minimizing the spread of disease. ATU Residence Life will educate and inform residential students on appropriate cleaning protocols within their assigned spaces to reduce the spread of COVID- 19 within residence halls. 
  3. In the event of a conflict between this Section COVID-19 and Public Health Informed Policies Addendum and the remaining sections of the Residence Life Terms and Conditions of Occupancy, this Section will apply. 

Community Space 

Laundry rooms, computer labs, student rooms, kitchens, and lounges. 

Facilities 

Bathrooms, stairwells, entrances, exits, maintenance, occupancy, etc. 

 

 

WILL MY RESIDENCE HALL CLOSE?

 

The Residence halls and dining remain open ONLY for those students approved for special circumstances including personal safety, access to Internet, no other available housing, academic distress or other legitimate reasons.

 

CURRENTLY ON CAMPUS?

If you are currently on-campus, you do not need to sign-up for a check-out time. You should begin moving out immediately and will need to complete your move-out by April 3, 2020. 

Students may petition for housing accommodations that extend past Friday, April 3 under special circumstances including personal safety, access to Internet, no other available housing, academic distress or other legitimate reasons. A Roompact form will be provided for exceptions asking for reasons emergency housing is needed and contact info (name and number).  This form should be completed no later than noon March 25, 2020. 

 

CURRENTLY AWAY FROM CAMPUS?

If you are currently away from campus, you will need to sign-up for a check-out time. A link will be posted on the main Residence Life website on March 20, 2020. 

  • You can sign up for a day and time between March 23, 2020 – April 3, 2020 to come and retrieve your belongings. 
  • All students who are not currently on campus must sign-up for a check-out time.
  • This process allows us to manage the number of students in the hall and practice social distancing.
  • ID cards will only be active during the window around your check-out time. 

 

SIGN-UP FOR AN EMERGENCY MOVE-OUT APPOINTMENT

 

ONCE YOU ARRIVE ON CAMPUS

Due to the number of students currently on campus and to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, we ask you to arrive at the time you selected. Arriving outside this time may cause access to be denied.

Once you arrive on campus, envelopes will be attached to your door for each student occupying the space. Additional envelopes will be available in the hall lobby along with the steps for checking out. You will proceed to remove everything from your residence hall / apartment space. 
 

  • Bring your own packing, moving, and cleaning supplies. 
  • Do NOT park in any disabled parking spaces or blocking a fire lane. Vehicles in violation will be ticketed and towed for safety. 
  • You will have one hour to move out. There are no expectations for cleaning or damage assessment. Please take your trash to the dumpster. No recycling and donation collection will occur – please keep your items and donate after you return home. 
  • Please complete the form on the front of the envelope, place your keys inside the envelope and sign the back.  Envelopes should be placed in the drop-off bucket / box in the lobby/community center.  Staff will wipe down pens between uses.  We will not provide moving carts during this time.   
  • There will be no room inspections upon check-out. However, overwhelming or intentional damages to the room may be charged to the resident. 

 

ALREADY MOVED OUT?

If you have already moved all of your belongings out and do not need to return to campus, please contact Residence  life at housing@atu.edu to make arrangements for returning your key and getting officially checked out. 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
  1. The number of students able to sign up for each check-out time is limited to five (5). Students will be allowed to sign up for a check-out time each hour at each residence hall between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 pm and 1:00p.m. to 5:00 p.m. beginning March 23rd – April 3rd.  
  2. Utilize this link to access the sign-up page: https://atu.starrezhousing.com/StarRezPortalX/   
  3. Please do not come to campus until your assigned time. Due to the number of students currently on campus and to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, we ask you to arrive at the time you selected. Arriving outside this time may cause access to be denied.
  1. Pick-Up the Check-out envelope attached to your door. 
  2. Turn in your Check-Out envelope via collection box/bucket located your residence lobby hall or apartment community center (University Commons Club House for University Commons and Vista Place Apartments)  
We ask that you remove ALL items, trash, and belongings. Do your best to clean your space with the supplies you have or bring with you. We will not be checking out cleaning supplies to limit germ transference from people handling the same objects.  
We will not be checking out carts to limit germ transference from people repeatedly handling the same objects. We recommend you bring dollies to get your belongings to your car.  
Dining options and information can be found at: https://www.dineoncampus.com/arkansastech.
  1. All residents should leave by April 3, 2020. 
  2. Students may petition for housing accommodations that extend past Friday, April 3 under special circumstances including personal safety, access to Internet, no other available housing, academic distress or other legitimate reasons. A Roompact form will be provided for exceptions asking for reasons emergency housing is needed and contact info (name and number).  This form should be completed no later than noon on March 25, 2020.  
  • Residents can mail their key back to Residence Life following the specifications listed below. 
  • Residence Life is not responsible for returned keys that are lost in the mail.  
  1. Key must be sent Certified Mail or FedEx. 
  2. Key must be placed in a sturdy envelope that cannot be easily damaged by the keys inside. It is recommended to utilize a bubble mailer/envelope.  
  3. Keys lost in transit are the responsibility of the resident. Failure to return your keys may result in additional charges for lock changes and key replacements. 
  4. Key must be mailed to: 

Arkansas Tech University Department of Residence Life 
Doc Bryan Student Services Center, Suite 211
1605 Coliseum Drive 
Russellville, AR 72801 

 
  • We will support social distancing by the check-out schedule we have developed. 
  • We encourage all students to practice social distancing during this time on-campus. 

We will not be able to provide housing to students who do not have a current contract. Additionally, please be advised that for continuous housing:  

  • Students must have approval by Residence Life to remain on campus after April 3, 2020. 
  • Only lock-out keys will be handled through the desk. All other operations will be handled via phone or email.  
  • No equipment check-outs will be available 
  • Report maintenance issues via the Maintenance Request site on the Current Student webpage of the Residence Life Website.  
  • There will not be any residence hall programming 
  • No guests will be permitted 
  • We recommend students limit their travel in and out of the residence hall. 
  • Do not congregate in groups of 10+ people or more. 
  • Please, no visitors or overnight guests. 
There will be staff on-call to support students and respond to emergencies. All hall offices will be closed. If a student needs a lock-out key, they will need to call the on-call number provided at the office.  

APPROVED HOUSING SOLUTION

The following prorated credits and refunds, as applicable, are approved for Arkansas Tech University students on the Russellville campus in good standing who will be moving out of the residence halls during the spring 2020 semester due to COVID-19:

• Students in good standing will receive a prorated credit for the spring 2020 semester only based on the date they check out of the residence halls. Students who voluntarily check out of their residence hall rooms by April 3 would receive a credit for residence life. This percentage will decrease on a prorated basis determined by their checkout date. The credit would be applied to the students’ remaining housing account balance starting on April 3. Any additional credit would be applied to a future housing term within the next 12 months.

• Students in good standing, who will complete their degree requirements in May 2020 and will no longer be eligible for student housing beyond the spring 2020 semester, will receive a prorated refund based on the date they check out. The refund would be applied to their student account.

This is not a waiver of any other contractual obligations of the student under the terms of the Residence Life Housing Agreement.

If other extenuating circumstances exist, a student may appeal following a COVID19 Petition for Refund process established through the ATU Department of Residence Life and available now through the housing portal. All appeals must be received no later than Aug. 1, 2020. Students who have applied to continue to live in the residence halls based on special circumstances --- including personal safety, access to the internet, no other available housing, academic distress or other legitimate reasons --- will continue to pay the residence hall fees.

APPROVED MEAL PLAN SOLUTION

The following prorated credits and refunds for food services, as applicable, are approved for Arkansas Tech University students who have meal plans and will move out of the residence halls and for commuters who will no longer come to campus for classes during the spring 2020 semester due to COVID-19:

• On-campus housing students in good standing will receive a prorated meal plan credit based on the date they check out of the residence halls. Students who voluntarily check out of their residence hall rooms would receive a meal plan credit for the remainder of the spring semester. This percentage will decrease on a prorated basis determined by their checkout date. The credit would be applied to the students’ remaining meal plan balance. Any remaining meal plan credit would be applied to a future meal plan cost during a semester term within the next 12 months.

• On-campus housing students and commuter students in good standing, who will complete their degree requirements in May 2020 and no longer be eligible for meal plans beyond the spring 2020 semester, will receive a prorated meal plan refund and any unspent declining card balance dollars will be returned based upon what is applicable for each student’s plan. The refund will be posted to each applicable student’s account.

• Commuter students in good standing will receive a prorated meal plan credit as of March 18, 2020, or later, based upon last usage of their spring meal plan. The credit calculation will be based upon a prorated percentage of unused meal plan weeks left in the spring semester due to Arkansas Tech’s move to online instruction. The prorated credits would be applied to future meal plan cost during the next 12 months.

• Students who use declining balance cards, other than those who completed their degree requirements in May 2020, and who are eligible for meal plans beyond the spring 2020 semester and who have unspent declining card balance dollars remaining by the end of spring semester will automatically roll their declining card balances over to the next semester. The rollover declining card balances will expire, if not used by Sept. 30, 2020.

This is not a waiver of any other contractual obligation of the student under the terms of the meal plan agreement. If other extenuating circumstances exist, a student may appeal following a process that will be established. All appeals must be received no later than Aug. 1, 2020. Students who have applied to continue to live in the residence halls (beyond April 3) and will be using their meal plans based on special circumstances --- including personal safety, access to the internet, no other available housing, academic distress or other legitimate reasons --- will continue to pay the meal plan rates.

Students graduating this Spring 2020, will receive a refund applied to their account after graduation is confirmed. Approx. towards the end of May.

Students coming back Fall 2020- Spring 2021, will have a credit applied towards their housing charges approx. the 3rd week of July.

Students who checked out of housing Spring 2020 and are not returning for the Academic Year 2020- 2021, and apply for a *Petition for Refund through the housing portal  by August 1st will be reviewed by late August.

*Please note that the Petition for Refunds is only available to students without a booking for Fall 2020-Spring 2021. If the student has a booking and is not planning to return Fall 2020, a contract cancellation form must be submitted ASAP to housing@atu.edu. The form and cancellation policies can be found here https://www.atu.edu/reslife/policies-forms/reshall-contract-cancellation.php After the cancellation is approved and the booking is cancelled, the Petition for Refunds will be available.

Please contact the Financial Aid Office to determine if your financial aid will be affected.  
https://www.atu.edu/finaid/.  
Please contact the Department of Student Conduct to find out more information.  
https://www.atu.edu/studentconduct/.  
Only students who are approved for emergency housing will be allowed to stay on campus. Students must apply and be approved to qualify for emergency housing.  
Students returning to campus will be required to check-out of their residence hall room. Exceptions will only be made for emergency situations and made on a case-by-case basis. If you have a question about returning to the halls to check-out, please contact the Residence Life at housing@atu.edu. 
Our staff is cleaning and disinfecting daily. All high touch areas, such as door handles, faucet handles, flush handles, elevator buttons, and drinking fountains are disinfected a minimum of two times daily.  
Students who are absolutely unable to return to campus or make other arrangements to retrieve their belongings are encouraged to contact the Department of Residence Life at housing@atu.edu. Any arrangements approved will not occur until after May 1, 2020. 

 

 

 CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) UNIVERSITY UPDATES