Dear Housing Group,
You are receiving this message because we have still not heard from you regarding your residency intentions for spring. As stated in our previous messages on March 13 and March 17, all residential students must complete one of the two forms below. As COVID–19 mitigation actions escalate across the country, our campus is making additional changes to our operations. In order to dramatically and immediately reduce the density on campus, we strongly urge all students who can leave campus to do so by Sunday, March 29. Travel to return to your permanent residence is encouraged and permissible.
While students may remain in residence this spring if they fall into one of the categories outlined below, there are operational impacts that will be experienced given COVID–19.
- If you intend to leave campus, complete the Intent to Vacate form to indicate your intention to move-out of university housing.
- Additionally, students who have already returned to their permanent residence and need to request an extension to remove their belongings at a later date should ALSO complete the Late Checkout form.
- If you do not have an alternate safe housing option and must remain in university housing, complete the Remain in Residence form. See the below list of qualifying reasons to remain in housing.
We are committed to supporting all of our students through this outbreak, especially those who must remain in housing. We want you to know the latest information, so that you can make an informed decision about your housing situation to the extent that you have choices.
- We are doing all we can to prevent the spread of COVID–19. However, the virus has already become so prevalent that public health authorities believe that if testing were more widely available, testing would reveal that many of us, including UCSC students and employees, have already been exposed to this virus.
- The primary public health strategy is mitigation: reducing exposure by rigorous compliance with social distancing recommendations, regular handwashing andextra care to avoid unnecessary contact with our most vulnerable populations. This is most effective when followed by all of us as individuals. However, we want to prepare you for the reality that some people living in and supporting campus housing will inevitably become ill with COVID–19.
- It is also inevitable that students who become sick with COVID–19 but are not ill enough to require hospitalization will need to self-isolate in campus residences. Students who are exposed to the virus before they realize it will be living in some proximity to students who are well, increasing the potential for the infection to spread.
- We will need to close several of the residential buildings and relocate any students residing there, as well as adjust our housing and dining operations to improve social distancing. These decisions will be made once we have determined how many students have a need to remain in university housing.
- Dining Services will be limited to take-out only meals.
Students Moving Out of University Housing
As stated in our original communication, if you complete your move-out by April 5, you will be eligible for a full refund of any housing and dining fees paid for spring quarter. This will also apply to students who need to request a Late Checkout because they are unable to retrieve their belongings and complete the move-out process at this time. Further, more recently we asked that students who can safely leave by Sunday, March 29, please do so. This will allow the remaining students who are not able to leave campus the recommended space for effective social distancing.
We will process cancellations and make adjustments to student accounts in the order in which the move-out process has been completed. We appreciate your patience during this time and advise that you closely monitor your university account (my.ucsc.edu) to see when your charges have been adjusted. Your account will not accrue a housing late fee while we work to process your adjustment.
Additionally, we will not be voiding housing guarantees for students who cancel their university housing for spring 2020. Therefore, if a student has a housing guarantee that extends beyond spring 2020, they will retain that guarantee as long as they apply during the April 13–20 Priority Housing Application Period.
Students Planning to Remain in University Housing
Students may remain in university housing during spring only if one or more of the following conditions apply:
- Do not have access to alternate housing
- Financial resources do not enable a return to their permanent residence
- Personal health or safety considerations prohibit relocation
- Permanent residence is in an area highly impacted by COVID–19
- Permanent residence does not have, and cannot obtain the infrastructure needed to support remote learning
- Other extenuating circumstances
Thank you for your patience and flexibility.
You can find additional information on the following sites:
UCSC Main Site: https://www.ucsc.edu/coronavirus/index.html
Housing: https://housing.ucsc.edu/covid–19/index.html
Dining: https://dining.ucsc.edu/covid–19/index.html
