COVID-19: Moving Forward and Lessons Learned

In the past year, COVID-19 has changed many aspects of our lives in one way or another. This is particularly the case for residential living on campus. While we all look forward to the day that COVID is under control and we can return to a more normal and routine pace of college life, for now change and adaptation is the rule of the day.

To aid in the ever-evolving change and adaptation that comes with living during a pandemic, a small team within Residence Services has been formed to take the lead in one specific area of our department response to COVID, Quarantine and Isolation (Q&I) Housing. At the beginning of the spring semester, 5 Residence Assistants (RAs) were hired to work in our Q&I halls under the supervision of a full-time staff member. These RAs are charged with the administration of the Q&I housing assignments and communication process, along with maintaining a Q&I phone hotline twelve hours a day.

As new residents enter Q&I housing, this team sends each student a welcome email to offer support and resources. These Q&I RAs also do daily community walks to check on residents and drop-off mail and packages as needed. RAs also facilitate weekly virtual programming and engagement sessions using the new Q&I Housing Engagement Model. Activities include offerings such as morning yoga, hang out Q&Is, movie and game nights, and group counseling sessions with the Counseling Center.

Through these initiatives, along with our rigorous COVID testing protocol that administers approximately 2,400 tests weekly, we are creating a community to support our students in Q&I housing and helping to enable them to be successful during this process, all while maintaining a very low case positivity rate of around 1%.

For more information on residence hall specific COVID-19 information, please visit the Coronavirus Dashboard.