Residence Life

2020 REOPENING PLAN

Living on campus is an important part of the college experience, and we know it will directly contribute to your overall success. We remain committed to providing you an excellent housing experience as we plan for our residence halls to reopen this fall and we are excited you have chosen BGSU as your home-away-from-home.

However, there are important changes to life on campus you need to be aware of.

We have been working to create a 2020 Reopening Plan that will promote physical distancing and align with guidance from BGSU’s chief health officer and local and state health officials.

Due to the inherent risks community living will present, it is necessary for us to adjust our move-in plan and revise our housing policies and procedures to adapt to the ongoing pandemic. You and your family need to review these changes in detail together so you can plan accordingly and understand what life on campus will be like for the foreseeable future.

As the world continues to learn more about COVID-19 and how it spreads, our office will continue to adapt, amend and implement new processes in order to protect the residential community guided by our chief health officer.

REVISED MOVE-IN DATES

New Students | Aug. 20 – 22
Returning Students | Aug. 23 – 25

Isolation Process
Residency Requirement
Guests & Visitors

ACTION REQUIRED BY ALL RESIDENTIAL STUDENTS

We recognize this is a lot to consider! And, for many of you, the decision to live on-campus was made long before the world changed. We want to make sure you have a chance to review these new expectations, talk them over with your family, and make a choice that aligns with your safety, personal needs, and the level of risk appropriate for you.

Due to these changes, we are asking you to complete one of two processes based on how you want to proceed:

OPTION #1: STILL COMMITTED TO LIVING ON CAMPUS

Great! We will be happy to have you on campus this year! You will need to accept the new On-Campus Housing & Dining Agreement, which has been updated to the reflect the changes in regards to the academic calendar and COVID-19. The new agreement will be available for you starting on July 16, 2020 through your MyBGSU portal. You will need to complete this step in order to sign up for a move-in time.

OPTION #2: NO LONGER WANT TO LIVE ON CAMPUS

We have implemented a one-time, 2020-21 COVID-19 Housing Appeal Process for students who no longer wish to live on campus due to COVID-19 reasons. If you are reconsidering your choice and now wish to live off campus, you will need to click on the link below to learn more and complete the appeal by noon on Thursday, July 16 EST.

Learn More

2020 ON-CAMPUS HOUSING
BGSU is a residential campus and we are excited to have students living on campus again. This web page outlines the resources and additional measures we are putting in place to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. But, it is up to EVERYONE to ensure the residence halls remain a safe and healthy space to live. We can't do it alone. It will be up to students to do their part inside and outside of our buildings as well to keep themselves and their neighbors safe and healthy.

BUILDING OPERATIONS
The residence halls will be operated differently compared to previous years. Here are some highlights. Please review the revised processes listed below.

You will only be able to enter and leave the residence halls from a single point of entry and exit
Common areas and elevators will have an adjusted maximum occupancy posted
Hand sanitizing stations will be located in high-traffic areas of the buildings
Student gatherings will be limited inside the residence halls

Building Entry & Exits

During the academic school year all entrances, except a designated single point of entry and exit, will be restricted to emergency use only.

This change helps us ensure the entryways will be on a strict cleaning regimen that our staff can maintain.

Community Kitchen

Every residence hall has a community kitchen available for residents to use. These will be open for the 2020-21 academic year but with limitations:

Only one person can use the kitchen at a time.
Some cookware will be available in the kitchen for your use.
You must clean and sanitize everything before and after using the kitchen. This includes any kitchen supplies you use, the countertop, oven knobs, fridge handle, sink handle, light switch and the entrance and exit door knobs.
Cleaning supplies will be available for students to disinfect before and after use.

Campus Operations will also clean the kitchens on a daily basis, but it is the responsibility of every resident to do their part to keep the kitchens safe to use. This process is subject to change if students are unable to adhere to these limitations.

Community Laundry

All residence halls have community laundry room(s) available for residents to use. These will be open for the 2020-21 academic year but students will be required to follow the posted occupancy signs, remain six feet apart at all times and wear a cloth face covering while using the space.

Cleaning supplies will be available for students to disinfect before and after use.

LAUNDRY TIPS:

We recommend NOT using PODS in our machines. Students tend to overload the washers which does not give the PODS enough room to move around and dissolve. This leads to a residue left on the clothing, requiring multiple washes to get it out.
Download the BGSU App! The app shows you what machines are available and when your laundry is ready.

Lounges

LOUNGES

Every residence hall has multiple lounges available for residents to use. These will be open for the 2020-21 academic year but students will be required to follow the posted occupancy signs, remain six feet apart at all times and wear a cloth face covering while using the space.

Cleaning supplies will be available for students to disinfect before and after use.

Residence Hall Computer Labs

Every residence hall has a computer lab available for residents to use. These will be open for the 2020-21 academic year but students will be required to follow the posted occupancy signs, remain six feet apart at all times and wear a cloth face covering while using the space.

Cleaning supplies will be available for students to disinfect before and after use.

Front Desk Processes

Our team is working on revised front desk processes that will be rolled out closer to move-in. Details will be provided to students as details are finalized.

These policies could affect check-in and guest procedures, protocols on what items can be checked out by residents and more.

Guests & Visitors

Our guest and visitors policy is being reviewed and updated. Please check back for more details.

Updated 2020 Move-In Plan

In order to provide more physical distancing and to adjust to the new 2020-2021 Academic Calendar, move-in dates have been adjusted to the following dates:

New Students | Aug. 20 – 22
Returning Students | Aug. 23 – 25

As new move-in plans are implemented, they will be posted on our move-in website. Some new items are now available for you to review and we anticipate that the revised move-in plan will be finalized by July 15. Please refrain from making any travel arrangements until further details are announced.

Learn More

HEALTH & SAFETY
Each residence hall is its own, individual community and students with roommates and suite-mates will be treated as a single household. The health of this community will be driven by the behavior of the members and it is vital all community members take an active role in keeping everyone safe by:

Practicing proper hand washing
Wearing face covering
Practicing physical distancing
Checking your temperature daily
Sanitizing your personal space on a daily basis

KEEPING YOUR RESIDENCE HALL SAFE
In addition to the University COVID-19 protocols, we have put together the following resources to ensure we are all doing our part to keep your home on campus safe. Please read through the following tabs carefully.

Cleaning

Bowling Green State University is following CDC and local health officials’ guidance on cleaning protocols in the residence halls. Residents will notice staff disinfecting common areas and cleaning community restrooms more frequently. Residents should be cleaning their rooms and private bathrooms multiple times a week in accordance with the CDC-recommended cleaning procedures and products.

Increased Building Cleaning Procedures

Every day, Campus Operations will go into the community bathrooms, lobbies and lounges to disinfect using a combination of electrostatic cleaning and disinfectant spray.
Twice a week, a Kaivac Cleaning System will be used in every community bathroom for a deep cleaning.
High-touch public areas will be disinfected several times per day. This includes, but is not limited to, door handles, laundry room areas, kitchens and elevators

The increased cleaning efforts by Campus Operations should not replace every resident's responsibility to keep their building clean. Students should do their part to minimize touching and utilizing public spaces. When utilizing a public space, students should use CDC-compliant cleaning products to disinfect the area before and after use. Supplies will be available at the front desks to clean public spaces but students will be responsible for their own disinfecting supplies for their room.

Face Coverings

GENERAL INFORMATION

Everyone in the residence halls will be expected to wear cloth face coverings in all common areas, which is considered to be any area outside of a personal room or suite within the residence hall.

Students with roommates and suite-mates will be treated as a single household and as a result will not need to wear a face covering while inside their on-campus room. Residents, staff, guests and visitors are expected to wear cloth face coverings in all common areas of the residence hall, which is considered to be any area outside of their room or suite within the residence hall.

The CDC has currently reported, “COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.”

Although cloth face coverings may not protect the wearer, this practice has been implemented in the residence halls to help prevent the wearer from spreading the virus to others. Standing six feet apart does not excuse the requirement of wearing a mask.

We recommend purchasing reusable face coverings that can be washed or enough disposable coverings for the semester prior to move-in. Cloth face coverings can also be made out of everyday household items. We will provide each resident with a face covering as well. We also recommend reading the following resources prior to move-in day:

Quarantine and Isolation Process medicalcross

Our quarantine and isolation process is being reviewed and updated. Please check back for more details.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
The residency requirement policy will remain in effect, but we know a lot has changed since you started the housing sign up process. Now that you are learning more about the university’s expectation for you to reside on campus, we are offering a one-time 2020-2021 COVID-19 Housing Appeal to students who want to request to reside off campus due to situations related to COVID-19.

If you are reconsidering your choice and now wish to live off campus, please learn more using the link below.

Learn More

Contact Us

OFFICE OF RESIDENCE LIFE
470 Math Science Building
Bowling Green, OH 43403
419-372-2011 | reslife@bgsu.edu

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