Most Residence Hall Students to Live in Single Rooms in Fall

The Department of Resident Life sent the following email today to students planning to live on campus:

We are glad you have decided to live on-campus for the fall semester. We look forward to welcoming you or welcoming you back soon. We are writing with important and updated information about residence hall room assignments for fall. In consultation with our campus and local public health experts and upon review of our updated occupancy projections, we will assign most students to single-room occupancy for the fall semester. This action is in line with our goal to prioritize the health and well-being of our students and to support physical distancing guidelines. As such, all traditional-style residence halls will be single occupancy. 

Room Assignments for Incoming Residents
All incoming residents will be assigned to their own room for the fall semester. We recognize that many new Terps submitted roommate requests—please know that this move to single occupancy in our traditional halls will allow us to further de-densify our residence halls and provide more opportunity for physical distancing, while also accommodating those students who want and need to live in our residence halls this fall. Our team will do our best to assign students who submitted roommate requests to rooms near each other.

Room Assignments for Returning Residents
Returning students assigned to traditional-style residence halls will be assigned to their own room. Returning residents who selected a suite or apartment during room selection may request to remain together in the suite/apartment like a “family unit,” provided that all residents of the unit agree. If current vacancies exist within a suite/apartment, residents will be reassigned within the unit into private bedrooms, where possible, to support physical distancing. Due to the need to finalize and communicate room assignments to all residents before move-in, we are unable to accept pull-in requests for suites and apartments. Details regarding the suite/apartment request process for returning students will be released late next week.

Semi-Suites in Prince Frederick and Oakland Halls
For students assigned to semi-suites, we will assign one student per bedroom within each semi-suite.

Room Assignment Notifications
Our assignments team is assessing and reviewing our returning student room assignments and available vacancies so we can make the appropriate modifications to fall room assignments.  Our goal is still to provide notification of assignments for incoming students in early August, but later than Aug. 3 as we adjust our room assignments. We will provide a revised date for assignments notification as soon as possible.

Housing Fees
As we finalize our fees for the fall semester, we are committed to keeping our rates affordable for our residents. Our move to single occupancy will result in fall semester rate adjustments where students will be provided a single room at the double-room rate, based on housing style.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for our campus community. Through it all, our students’ health and safety remain paramount in our decision-making.   Please know that our staff is here to help you transition to campus and to support you while you live in the residence halls.  

Our goal is to keep you informed, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we respond to evolving circumstances. Please continue to monitor your email and our website. 

We will provide you with more information late next week. Again, we cannot wait to see you soon!