Communication Archive
Dear,
We have recently begun to upload forms to your MyHousing Portal that will need to be completed prior to arriving on campus. Over the next few weeks, we will post additional forms here including your check-in forms that need to be completed before moving in. Please get into the habit of checking your MyHousing Portal regularly for updates and remember to follow us on social media for the latest information!
Beginning today, you should log in to your MyHousing Portal to complete the first agreement. Select the "Applications" tab and complete the "Housing Contract Agreement COVID-19 Addendum". As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Office of Residence Life at reslife@southernct.edu, (203) 392-5870, or via the Live Chat function on our website.
Dear Residence Hall Students,
We are very excited to have you on campus for the fall 2020 semester! As Southern diligently works on plans for students to return to campus, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of our plans. While we are very excited to have students back on campus for the fall, we are making some adjustments to our residence hall operations to ensure compliance with various COVID-19 safety guidelines. Because student health and safety is our top priority, we are adhering to guidelines and recommendations issued by the Federal Government, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the State of Connecticut, and the Connecticut State College & University System Office. As such, I want to make you aware of some of the things you can expect upon your return to the residence halls. As you know, information and guidelines pertaining to minimizing the spread of COVID-19 is frequently changing. As such, all of the guidelines listed below are subject to change as additional information is made available.
1. Residential student move in will begin with a process for dropping off belongings during the week of August 17th. In order to facilitate social distancing, students will be required to select a date and time for bringing belongings to their room and the number of people allowed to be on campus will be limited. Students will not be permitted to remain on campus overnight at this time. We are planning on scheduling students to return to campus beginning August 23rd for new students and August 24th for returning students. More information will be provided to you in the near future on how to select a date and time to move in belongings and return to campus.
2. Current guidelines dictate that all residential students will need to be tested for COVID-19 prior to their return to campus. Details of the COVID-19 tests for students will be forthcoming as they are solidified.
3. Should a residential student test positive for COVID-19 either upon arrival to campus or at any point during the year, the student will be strongly encouraged to return home during their period of recuperation and will need to be cleared by Student Health Services prior to returning. Students who are unable to return home will be assigned to a dedicated isolation space provided by the university until they are cleared to return to the campus.
4. All students will be encouraged to practice appropriate social distancing across Southern’s campus (including in the residence halls). As such, everyone should make sure to maintain at least a 6-foot distance from others. To assist with this, the number of persons permitted in the residence hall lounges, meeting rooms, and other common areas at one time will be limited (and signage related to maximum occupancy will be posted). Additionally, students may not have access to certain common areas within the residence halls.
5. So that students can maintain 6-foot spacing, elevator capacity in the residence halls will be limited in each elevator. Additionally, the stairwells in some residence halls will be designated for either “up” or “down” traffic only (with the exception for emergencies).
6. Due to social distancing guidelines, many residence hall programs will be held virtually and those that are held in person will have a maximum attendance cap based on the size/social distancing capacity of the programming space.
7. CDC guidelines indicate that one of the best ways to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus is by wearing masks. Therefore, students in the residence halls will be expected to wear masks when moving through common areas, hallways and lobbies of all residence halls.
8. At this time, guest visitation to rooms/suites/apartments will be limited to generally to one guest per bedroom/room with the exception of West Campus Suites which will be limited to two guests per suite. This includes guests both signed in from outside the residence hall and visiting from within the residence hall. For example, a Chase Hall double-occupancy room can host no more than 3 people (the two assigned residents and one guest); a North Campus apartment may have 6 people maximum (the four assigned residents and two guests (one per bedroom)).
In addition, outside guests (defined as any guest who is not a current resident in one of the SCSU residence halls) will be limited to immediate family (defined as parent(s), sibling(s), or designated guardian(s)); no other outside/off-campus guests will be permitted.
9. Students residing in the traditional halls with common-area bathrooms will have limits regarding how many people can be in the bathroom at any given time. Simply put, 6-foot social distancing should still be maintained in the bathrooms.
10. We will be increasing the frequency of cleaning and regularly disinfecting the community bathrooms and common areas which may result in period bathroom and common area closures.
While these are our current plans, I want to emphasize that these guidelines may change as additional guidance is issued from governing bodies and/or medical professionals. Our goal is to provide our residential students with the best possible campus experience, and we hope to be able to relax some of the safety guidelines as conditions permit.
In addition to the practices listed above, to adhere to social distancing, Southern will devise a plan for students to be able to bring belongings to campus prior to the official move-in day. Information will be forthcoming regarding how students may sign-up for times to drop belongings off to their assigned rooms beginning on August 17, 2020. This will minimize large crowds of people having to move everything in on move-in day.
I hope this information has been helpful. We will certainly remain in contact with you as the summer progresses to keep you up-to-date with new information. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the Office of Housing and Residential Life at reslife@southernct.edu or at 203-392-5870
We hope you have a safe and relaxing summer and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Hello New Owls!
We are so excited that the state of Connecticut has decided that SCSU may reopen for on-ground learning this fall and allow students to live in the residence halls. We are eagerly moving forward with plans to prepare the residence halls for your safe arrival this fall.
Given this announcement, we have scheduled room selection for July 7. Please read the following information carefully to prepare for this date.
• New students will be assigned a priority selection time based on the date they paid their housing deposit. Please check your MyHousing Portal on July 6 to view your selection time.
• Residence Life has adjusted our occupancy to provide students with more single room options at a reduced cost. (If you have matched with a roommate, you may need to un-match to be able to select this room type).
• Double rooms will still be available at a further reduced rate for students who are matched with a roommate. (Unmatched students may be required to select a double room if no singles are available and may be assigned with a random roommate. Triples are not available.)
• Students will be selecting a housing assignment for the Fall 2020 semester only at this time. The state has determined that the residence halls will close for Thanksgiving break and students be required to completely move out of their residence hall by Tuesday, November 24 and will finish the semester online. We anticipate students participating in another room selection process for Spring 2021 assignments.
Due to the changes in capacity, we cannot guarantee that all students requesting a single or a double will receive their room type or hall preference. Students will be able to select from the rooms available during their time slot.
Please remember to check your email regularly for further updates about preparing to come to campus, new policies and procedures in response to the coronavirus, and Move-In. Updated information can also be found on our New Student Housing Information webpage.
We are so grateful our residents will be allowed on campus this fall, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Dear Residence Hall Student,
The Office of Residence Life is committed to meeting the needs of our residential students in all seasons--from the first year on campus through graduation day and beyond. We are equally committed to providing support to our students during these uncertain and financially challenging times.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and its residual effects on our communities, we have extended the housing cancellation deadline to July 31st. We hope this will allow ample time for you to make an informed decision once the University has solidified the course schedule and the modality by which each class will be delivered. After July 1, you will have the opportunity to change your class schedule if there are seats available in sections that offer the mode of delivery you prefer. Of course, we hope you’ll have classes that allow you to continue to live on campus. First-year students will be registered for classes in early to mid-July. Stay tuned as the University will soon provide more information about our academic planning for the fall.
While we hope you will want to live on campus, we understand that it might not make sense to live at Southern if all of your courses are online. As such, if you need to take advantage of this extension, simply log in to your MyHousing Portal and complete the Housing Withdrawal Request form. Students who complete this request prior to July 31st will have all housing-related charges removed from their university bills. You may also opt to transfer the housing deposit payments to a future semester.
We sincerely hope this extension proves helpful for the students and families who are struggling during this challenging time. We miss our residents and hope you will still be able to join us this fall! We will be ready for you!
Room Selection – June 24th
Thank you for paying your housing deposit. Room Selection is back!! We are thrilled that we will be back on campus for the fall and that you will be joining us! We have been doing our best to manage all the changes and modifications that need to be made and we appreciate your patience, understanding and cooperation during these constantly changing times. Room selection is an exciting day and we want to make sure you have all of the information you need to make your selection. Please read carefully, as there are some changes for the fall and we want you to have the best chance of getting your preferred roommates and residence hall.
Roommate Matching: Deadline 4:30pm, June 22nd
Ensuring that you are assigned with your preferred roommates is easy. Every member of your group must request and/or confirm each roommate in the group. You can log into your MyHousing Portal to match with your preferred roommate(s). Roommate matches must be completed by 4:30pm on June 22nd. It is very important that you are fully matched as you will be placed into a room selection process based on your group size. (check for the thumbs up next to your roommates’ names to ensure you are matched)
o Continuing students will only be able to select from rooms in the following residence halls. Please see the maximum roommate group size for each hall as some capacities have changed for the fall due to covid-19 modifications.
Residence Halls Available for Selection Max Roommate Group Size
§ North Campus Group of 4
§ Schwartz Hall Group of 2 or 4 (rooms for groups of 4 are very limited)
§ Brownell Hall Group of 4 (suites -no kitchen) or 6 (rooms for groups of 6 are very limited)
§ West Campus Single Suites Group of 4
§ West Campus Double Group of 2
o Students with no roommate preference will be able to select a room individually and will be assigned with additional roommates.
o Students with a group size that does not match the group size in their preferred residence hall room, be assigned with additional roommates.
o We encourage you to find roommates to fill your preferred room type.
§ Looking for roommates?
· Complete the online roommate survey and use the MyHousing Portal advanced roommate search to find new roommates.
· Utilize social media.
Not sure how to match with your roommate(s)? Check out the “How to Match Roommates” video tutorial by clicking on the image below.
Room Selection: June 24th
Your room selection time is determined by your cumulative overall credits, and your group size. You will be placed into a room selection process specific to your group size, start times may vary and room types will be equally distributed amongst the room selection processes. We will post your room selection time on your MyHousing Portal by 5pm on June 23rd. As long as you are fully matched with all of your roommates, your group will be assigned to the same room selection process and receive the same room selection time. One member of your roommate group will log in at your room selection time to select the room for the whole group. It’s so easy, you can even do it from your mobile device.
o Credit limits for all residence halls have been waived for the fall semester only.
o Single rooms, aside from West Campus single suites, are not available for this room selection.
o Students who have requested gender inclusive housing may match with roommates and will be given room selection options that match their group size in a separate room selection process.
o Roommates who are not fully matched will not have the same room selection time. You can still log in separately and try to select the same room after both student’s room selection times have passed. (you are not guaranteed to be assigned together)
o Students should have back-up plans in case their preferred room or residence hall are not available.
o Room selections are final and cannot be changed until the room change process in August.
Please check our social media, your email and your MyHousing Portal for additional information, videos, and tips on room selection.
If you have further questions regarding roommate matching or room selection, please feel free to contact the Office of Residence Life at reslife@southernct.edu or 203-392-5870.
Good afternoon Owls,
We are so excited that the state of Connecticut has officially announced that SCSU may reopen for on-ground learning this fall and allow students to live in the residence halls. We are eagerly moving forward with plans to prepare the residence halls for your safe return.
Given this announcement, we have finally scheduled room selection for Wednesday, June 24th. Continuing students will only be eligible to select from the following residence halls and all credit requirements will be waived for the fall semester only: North Campus Midrise, Schwartz Hall, Brownell Hall, and the West Campus Residence Complex. Roommate matching will remain open until June 22 for students to modify their roommate matches regarding this new information.
Please note: students will be selecting a housing assignment for the Fall 2020 semester only at this time. The state has determined that the residence halls will close for Thanksgiving break and students will return home to finish the semester online. Students will be required to move out completely and check out with a staff member by Tuesday, November 24th. We anticipate students participating in another room selection process for Spring 2021 assignments.
Housing and meal plan rates for the fall semester have been prorated for this early closing of the residence halls.
Please remember to check your email regularly for further updates about returning to campus, new policies and procedures in response to the coronavirus, and Move-In. You can also check the Returning Students Housing Information webpage
We are so grateful our residents will be allowed on campus this fall, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
New Owls priority deadline for on campus Housing is Monday, June 15th!
