Fall 2020 Update

Since APSU announced that we are going to in-person/on-ground classes starting Aug 24, 2020, I am sure you might have some questions about housing and dining on campus. We feel the best way to answer your questions and provide information to you is a question and answer (Q&A) narrative.

COVID-19 Suggestions

Living on campus is an important part of the collegiate experience that also provides you access to resources, faculty and staff, dining venues and programming on the APSU campus.

Below is a list of questions you might be thinking about and associated answers.

Yes. We will be offering double-occupancy rooms, and single-occupancy rooms. If you have not applied for housing https://www.apsu.edu/housing/, we encourage you to do this ASAP. Spaces are filling up fast for fall.

This has no effect on your room assignment. You may stay in your room and enjoy the benefits of study spaces, internet connections and access to campus resources. There is no additional charge to stay over Thanksgiving or Winter Break. If you have a Spring 2021 assignment, you may remain in your assignment until May 2021.

All public areas will be cleaned daily with proper cleaning techniques to help reduce risk of any viruses. All study rooms, elevators and other hard surfaces will be cleaned as needed.

All rooms will be deep cleaned prior to your arrival on campus, but once you move in, the cleaning of your room and bathroom area is your responsibility.

We do not offer community-style bathrooms or showers. Instead, we have suite-style and hotel-style rooms. Suite-style rooms share a bathroom with another room, while hotel-style rooms have a bathroom attached to the individual room. We also offer apartment-style housing in which students share restrooms and common spaces with the occupants of that apartment. We have a maximum occupancy of 4 students per apt. We never have more than 2 students per bedroom.

We will be doing several things to help with this.

All public areas will be cleaned on a daily basis or more if needed.
Hand sanitizers will be placed in all public areas for easy access for your use.
Our common areas such as study rooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and lobbies will remain open; however, we will be limiting occupancy to promote social distancing.

All housing staff and personnel on campus will be wearing masks at all times when in contact with students. Students will be encouraged to wear masks in common areas such as lobbies, laundry rooms, study rooms, kitchens, and hallways.

One important aspect of reducing risk will be YOUR participation. We can provide guidelines, but you as the student will have to help us out by following all social distancing and CDC recommendations. Have a heart Govs, stay six feet apart.

We will be expanding Move-In to ten days to promote social distancing. Furthermore, you will be asked to pick a move-in appointment, as this will help promote social distancing and mitigate large crowds and traffic issues. Students will receive an email with instructions to pick your move-in appointment in the next few days.

In Dining, we are currently working on implementing new mobile ordering, pickup, and delivery options at some of our Dining venues. This is designed to help reduce congestion in our high-traffic areas and increase speed of service. We are also working with Dining Services to modify our current waiting lines and customer seating areas to further facilitate social distancing in our Dining venues.

The student will have a choice. They can either go home or stay on campus. Our recommendation is for the student to go home. However, we are prepared to assist if the student chooses to stay or cannot return home. We will provide that student a quarantine room on campus to limit the exposure to others. This room will be deep cleaned prior to move in and immediately after they return to their original room.

If Boyd Health Services determines that a residential student is to be placed in isolation, students will be encouraged to isolate at their home; however, any residential students unable to isolate at home will be moved to an isolation room in housing, Student will remain in isolation through the duration of their isolation period. This includes refraining from using public facilities (i.e. laundry, kitchens, study rooms, etc.) as well as refraining from attending on-site classes. Additional information regarding isolation is provided below:

Room Assignment - Students who do not have a roommate will be instructed to isolate in their assigned room. Students with a roommate will be temporarily relocated to an isolation room.
Personal Belongings - Students will need to bring the following personal property with them if they relocate to an isolation room:
- Clothing - Please bring enough clothing to last the duration of the isolation period.
- Textbooks/Course Materials - Please bring all textbooks, technology, and course materials. Students in isolation will continue to complete work for their courses, and they will work with their faculty members to arrange an adjusted schedule.
- Linens - Please bring enough linens to last the duration of the isolation period. This includes Twin XL bedding, towels, and wash cloths.
- Toiletry Items & Personal Medication - Please bring all toiletry items and personal medication to last the duration of the isolation period.
- Thermometer - Students in isolation will be asked to take their temperature on a regular basis. All students in isolation are required to have a thermometer.
Daily Check In - Students will be contacted daily by Boyd Health Services and the Dean of Students Offices. This is an opportunity for students to provide an update on their well-being as well as an opportunity to share additional needs.
Meal Delivery - Meal delivery will be arranged by the Office of Housing/Residence Life and Dining Services.
Trash- Staff will have daily trash pickup from their isolation room. Students in isolation will receive instructions from their Area Coordinator regarding trash pickup.

We feel the environment we can provide on campus is at lower-risk than other housing options. The cleaning protocols, educational programming, staff assistance with CDC guidelines, access to campus resources, health services access, and overall attention to details will assist you living on campus.

Yes, we are going to ask students to log on to the LiveSafe App each morning to report their current health. This will assist campus in helping to lower the risk for all students and the entire university community.

Yes, but they will need to follow all currents and updated CDC guidelines. The mask policy and social distancing will be in force.

Yes, we are planning on having all campus services open following CDC guidelines.

We look forward to having you on campus this upcoming fall. Please remember to check your APSU email on a regular basis for any updates. We hope this information is helpful to you about housing and dining for the upcoming fall semester. Please contact us if you continue to have questions or we can provide more information.