From the Desk of Willie Brown

COVID-19 Update: Fall Planning

We are continuing to prepare for a return to in-person operations. One process that will look very different this year is our annual fall move-in. HDAE staff members have been evaluating how to safely start the fall quarter with guidance from local and state health officials, and campus leadership. Move-in will be a touchless and self-service process that will be staggered over seven days in order to maintain physical distancing and decrease congestion. 

We are fortunate to have the smaller scale move-in at San Clemente Villages beginning on September 1. This will allow us to develop and adjust best practices in preparation for the larger undergraduate apartment and residence hall move-ins starting on September 21. Here are the steps being implemented to prepare for graduate students returning to campus: 

• Graduate student residents were sent two emails in mid-August. One email was from Student Health Services asking them to track their symptoms via a daily survey for 14 days prior to move-in. The second email was from our contracts office instructing students to produce a negative COVID test taken within seven days of arrival or have a COVID test taken upon arrival by Student Health Services. To facilitate the coordination of this, they had to indicate their arrival date and time in advance which will correspond with their assigned time for medical screening. 

• Once students have gone through the medical screening, they will then proceed to the next check-in station to pick up their apartment key. Students may have no more than two people helping them with move-in and everyone must wear a mask at all times. 

• Once moved in, per UC guidelines, students must sequester for seven days. Sequestering means that students must limit their in-person activity and leave their apartment for essential activities only such as purchasing food and necessities, obtaining medical attention, or participating in low-risk outdoor recreational activities. Regardless of their test result, all residents of university housing must sequester.

While what I’ve detailed above is a very different move-in experience than in previous years, our hope is that once students have moved-in and sequestered, we’ll be able to create safe and thriving communities that support and bolster students' educational experiences here at UC Santa Barbara.