Campus Housing Updates for Fall 2020 (7-15-20)

Welcome to Residence Life! We are excited to spend this next year in community with you. Residence Life’s mission is to build Christ-centered communities that promote the growth of the whole student. That mission is carried out by offering residential programming, creating opportunities for involvement and leadership, fostering relationships, providing accountability to university and community standards, guiding students through times of growth and challenge, and more.

As you can imagine, the university has been busy preparing for your safe arrival on campus this fall in light of the new realities surrounding COVID-19 and guidance from federal, state, and county public health agencies. Our plans reflect a shared responsibility for the health and safety of the APU Community, which includes compliance with changing health orders from federal, state, and county authorities, and our commitment to uphold an excellent Christ-centered education for all students. These principles are especially important in light of the recent COVID-19 surge and California’s response to reduce the spread. Please carefully review all APU communications as we continue to monitor the impact of these orders on institutions of higher education and respond accordingly.

We seek to foster an environment where our community flourishes in a safe setting. In order to abide by the county measures, we had to eliminate oversubscriptions. This made it more difficult to accommodate area and roommate preferences. We thank you in advance for your understanding and patience as we continue to prepare for our fall semester! In light of recent statements issued by Governor Newsom, we are evaluating our plan and we are prepared to make necessary adjustments to remain committed to fostering a safe residential environment for all students. Please understand that additional guidance from the county or state may require adjustments to be made to your housing assignment. We will be in contact with you should this become necessary.

We recommend, if possible, for those living on campus to quarantine 14 days prior to coming to campus to monitor symptoms and reduce the risk of spread. Before you arrive on campus, you must complete and sign the 2020-21 Housing License Agreement COVID-19 Addendum. Every student will need to do so before we can check you in this fall. We encourage you to follow the link and complete this now. If living on campus this year is not the best choice for you given health concerns or personal circumstances, you can cancel without penalty before check-in by simply emailing [email protected] to let us know.

More details regarding check-in and other general campus housing information may be found on the (university’s website)[/housing]. Once you join our residential community, know that a full-time member of our professional staff will live in your area along with your Resident Advisor (RA), who is a student leader that resides in your court or wing. These individuals are ready to help you with any questions or find someone who can!

Check-in Information

In order to provide a safe transition to campus for everyone, students are given a time slot the week of August 17-22 to arrive on campus and check-in (see the graph below). If you are living in the residence halls (Adams, Engstrom, or Trinity), you will come to the Office of Residence Life, located in the Engstrom Hall Lounge, to check-in and receive your key. If you are living in any of our campus apartment complexes, you will go to your living area’s common room/lounge to check-in and receive your key. When you come to check-in, we ask that only you stand in line so that we can maintain proper social distancing standards. We ask that students bring only one person to assist with move-in, but two will be allowed. All students, and those helping them with move-in, must wear masks on campus and adhere to the university’s social distancing standards.

Check-in Schedule
Day Date 8 a.m.–12 p.m. 1–5 p.m.
Monday 8/17/2020 A–Bo Br–Cl
Tuesday 8/18/2020 Co–D E–Go
Wednesday 8/19/2020 Gr–H I–K
Thursday 8/20/2020 L–Ma Mc–N
Friday 8/21/2020 O–P Q–Se
Saturday 8/22/2020 Sh–U V–Z

If you arrive outside of these hours, go to your assigned living area and find the RA on duty. They will let you in, but you will need to come back during posted hours to officially check in and receive your key. Please make every effort to arrive during your time slot above as deviations to this schedule could affect other students’ transition to campus.

Fall Semester Break Closure (Residence Halls Only)

Residence halls will close from Wednesday, November 25, 2020, to Friday January 8, 2021. Limited exceptions will be made for residence hall students who request and are approved to remain on campus during the closure. Exceptions will only be granted to those students who cannot return to their permanent residence due to travel restrictions or other extraordinary circumstances that would warrant an exception. The process for requesting an exception will be emailed to students during the fall semester. Students may or may not be temporarily relocated to another building or room during the closure period. Residence hall residents will be charged the normal rate of $2,581 in their initial billing. Those residence hall students that leave due to the November 25 closure will have the charge adjusted by the university prior to December 11, 2020. The total fall rate will be $2,237 for these students.

Apartment complexes will remain open as they usually do during the break and therefore charges will not be adjusted for the fall.

Promoting Healthy Behaviors

The 2020-21 academic year will require a shared focus on community responsibility for all students, faculty, and staff. To ensure safety, all residents must adhere to university guidelines for Excellent Infectious Behavior Control (EIBC) as follows:

  • Students must wear face masks at all times when outside of their individual housing assignments (room/suite/apartment).
  • Students must practice physical distancing at all times, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance
  • Students must practice frequent and thorough handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
  • Students must adhere to protocols and directives from the university regarding COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.
  • Students must adhere to protocols and directives from the university regarding isolation and self-quarantine.
  • Until further notice, outside guests will not be permitted on campus.
  • Until further notice, residents may not host guests in their building or housing assignments (room/suite/apartment).

Utilities (Apartments Only)

Residents in the apartments are responsible for setting up and paying utilities, including gas and electric, just as in previous years.