Loyola University > Return to Campus > Housing
Housing
Because of spiking COVID-19 cases regionally and nationally, the University has made the difficult decision to suspend plans to host students in on-campus residence halls for the fall 2020 semester. Unfortunately, public health concerns across the country have impacted our ability to provide a safe environment for our entire community—students, staff, faculty, critical contracted vendors, and our campus neighbors.
Our Residence Life team is committed to working closely with you to answer questions and resolve any outstanding logistics specific to housing. Students can expect a refund for any paid fall semester room and board fees to your student account before the first week of classes. Because we remain hopeful that an on-campus experience will be possible in the spring, our intent is to hold existing residence hall assignment for the spring 2021 semester. Additional information about securing spring semester on-campus housing will be communicated this fall, with a tentative move-in date in mid-January. Please know we share your disappointment and look forward to hosting students in our residence halls once conditions are favorable.
For a full list of FAQs related to housing for the fall semester, visit LUC.edu/returntocampus/residentiallifefaqs.
In This Section
On Campus
For the fall 2020 semester, Loyola's residence halls will not be open. When the halls are able to reopen, all students who live on campus will do so in single-occupancy rooms. The University has also adjusted its commutable distance to campus from 30 to 50 miles for this year; this distance is the determining factor for providing on-campus housing for continuing students. All first-year students who request housing on campus will be granted housing, but the residency requirement for second-year students has been temporarily lifted for the 2020–2021 academic year.We are currently operating under phase four of the city and state reopening plans. Should conditions require the city or state to revert to phase three or impose other restrictions that prevent ongoing campus operations, it will be necessary for all residential students to move off campus. If this occurs, the University will communicate all necessary next steps.
Policies for residents and their guests have also been adjusted for the upcoming academic year. Among the changes being instituted are:
- Face coverings are required in all public areas of residence halls, including lobbies, elevators, bathrooms, stairwells, hallways, and laundry rooms
- Common lounges and kitchens will be closed for student use
- Each resident will be limited to one guest at a time
- Occupancy in elevators will be limited based on elevator size; residents and guests should use stairwells when possible
- Some stairwells will be designated as one-way traffic; residents and guests should follow directional signage when using the stairs
- Common bathrooms will have an increased service schedule for cleaning
- Staff will take additional measures to sanitize carpets (beyond shampooing) and clean surfaces with disinfectants approved by the CDC
As guidance around preventing the spread of COVID-19 changes, Residence Life will update signage within residence halls to reflect current policies.
Isolation/Quarantine
Isolation
Anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus-with or without symptoms-must isolate until they are no longer considered at risk of infecting others. Students who are housed in a residence hall with private bathrooms will isolate in their assigned room. Any student living in a residence hall with a shared bath will be relocated to St. Louis Hall where they will live during their isolation period. While in isolation, you may not leave the building, and you may not host any visitors. You will be provided with food and have access to a care coordinator for additional support.Students will monitor their symptoms and a medical provider from the Wellness Center will provide regular virtual wellness checks. These will help to determine when students can safely end their isolation period. The CDC guidelines recommend an isolation period lasting a minimum of ten days.
If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, a contact tracer will call you within 24 hours to discuss who you’ve been in contact with and where you spent time while you may have been infectious to others. Your name will not be revealed to those you may have exposed, even if they ask.
What happens if I am exposed to COVID-19?
You may learn about being exposed to someone with COVID-19 through a process called contact tracing. Contact tracing is a public health tool used to prevent the spread of infectious disease. Contract tracing involves identifying people who have an infectious disease and the people who they came in contact with and working with them to interrupt disease spread (through isolation and quarantine).Quarantine
Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. If you think that you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 but are unsure, you can contact Dial-A-Nurse at 773-508-8883 (leave a message if call is not answered) to discuss your concerns.An exposure is defined as an individual who has had close contact (< 6 feet) with someone with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 for greater than fifteen minutes.
If you are exposed and need to self-quarantine you will do so in your primary residence hall or off-campus apartment. The quarantine period is 14 days as recommended by the CDC. If you develop symptoms of COVID-19, you will have access to medical care through the Wellness Center and should contact Dial-A-Nurse at 773-508-8883 (leave a message if call is not answered) or schedule a nurse triage appointment online.
Testing, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine are essential for containing the spread of COVID-19 and will help ensure that we can remain on campus safely, engaging as a community. Now, more than ever students are called to care for themselves, care for others, and care for the community.
