COVID-19 Move-In Requirements – July 9, 2021

Covid safety continues as an integral part of the campus experience.  Every student moving into the residence halls must meet one of the four criteria below prior to being allowed to check in.

1. Be fully vaccinated at the time of check-in. Students are considered fully vaccinated when it has been at least two weeks since receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or two weeks after the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Those that were vaccinated at any location other than at Magers Health and Wellness Center must provide their documentation to Magers by midnight on Wednesday, July 28^th. The documentation can be submitted to Magers in any of the following manner:
   • Email to magersmedicalrecords@missouristate.edu
   • Bring a printed copy to Magers
   • Fax to 417-836-4133

Those that have provided vaccination information to Magers will be entered into the weekly drawings for prizes. https://www.missouristate.edu/Coronavirus/student-vaccination-incentive-program.htm

2. Have been diagnosed with and recovered from COVID-19 within 90 days of check-in. If you were diagnosed with COVID-19 within 90 days of check-in, documentation must be emailed to COVID19@missouristate.edu at least 24 hours prior to your arrival. The university will accept either a dated copy of the positive test result OR a dated copy of the isolation release letter from your local public health department. Documentation must include: student’s name and date the test was taken, which must not be more than 90 days prior to arrival OR the date the student was released from isolation, which must not be more than 90 days prior to check-in.
3. Have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of arrival with a PCR COVID-19 test. You are allowed to get tested prior to your arrival. If you do, documentation of the results must be emailed to COVID19@missouristate.edu at least 24 hours prior to your arrival. Documentation MUST meet specific criteria, including: showing it was a PCR test (antigen tests are not accepted), has the student’s name, the date the test was taken (NOT the date results are received) and that the test was administered not more than 72 hours prior to arrival.
4. Get COVID-19 tested on arrival to check-in. Anyone not meeting the criteria above WILL BE tested by the university as part of the move in process at no cost to the student. Upon arrival you will be directed to an area for testing.​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Additional information about the move-in process specific to you will be sent closer to move in. However, we want to encourage all on-campus students to submit their documentation by the dates noted above to ensure an easy move-in. Continue to check your email and our website for additional details.

Questions about COVID-19 move-in requirements?:  Contact the COVID-19 Response Team at COVID19@missouristate.edu or 417-837-3737.

 

Spring Testing Update – December 18, 2020

Residential students were emailed on December 18, 2020 regarding returning to campus procedures.

Fall Housing Update – May 12, 2020

COVID-19 has changed many things in our lives in just a few short months. On-campus housing is also undergoing some changes due to COVID-19.  We’re making these changes to provide a safer and healthier environment for you, your family, and our campus community.

Our initial changes will impact your housing/room placement. We understand that given the new environment, you may wish to change your application from a 2-person room to a private room. We are expanding the number of private rooms to meet this demand, if needed. As noted on the application, the cost for the private room is 1.5 times the typical 2-person room rate. You can update your application to reflect this change without losing your place in line.

COVID-19 has also impacted our plans for the new residence hall. Unfortunately, this building will not be ready for students to occupy this fall semester pending final Board approval on May 15.

Additionally, as an added precaution we are not assigning one of our buildings so that we will have housing available for students who might need to self-quarantine/isolate.

We have been working with campus partners to determine what the fall semester will look like on campus for our students and campus community.  Our plan is to postpone housing assignments to June 30. At that time we will have a better understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on housing arrangements.

The benefits of this timeline:

• Students will stay in the same order to receive housing assignments
• Students will still have their assignment notice before the first Fall SOAR session
• Housing deposit refund date has been extended from May 1 to June 1 to allow students more time to make their decisions
• Students will have more time to complete applications in order to match with preferred roommates.

What to do in the meantime:

As we get ready to assign students to housing for the 2020-2021 academic year we encourage students to double check their application in case you would like to update your preferences.

We encourage students to double check:

• Building preferences
• Room type preferences
• Private room interest
• Living-Learning Community Preferences
• Roommate Group (Invite/Accept/Deny)
• Roommate Matching Questions

Updating your application will not change your application completion date that is locked in and used for housing assignments.

Thank you for your patience as we adapt to today’s challenges. Stay safe and healthy during this time and please let us know if you have any questions.

Retrieving Belongings Update – May 8, 2020

It’s hard to believe we’re already approaching the end of the Spring semester. While you begin to prepare for exams we want to share additional plans regarding retrieving your belongings from campus housing.

To reduce costs during the final weeks of the semester, the university consolidated the residence halls where remaining students are living.  For security of all the residence halls, card access to your building has been turned off.

Between now and May 15,  please select a day and time you will arrive to campus to collect your belongings. We will manage the number of residents checking out at any given time to allow for social distancing.

As access to your residence hall has been turned off, we will have a staff member meet you at the main entrance of your building to allow you inside.  Please note that your room may have already been packed for you as previously communicated. Once you have collected your belongings please turn in your keys and access card to the staff member. We are here to help you collect your belongings and appreciate any advanced planning you can do to help keep this process running smoothly.

If you will not be able to retrieve your belongings by May 15, we will store your belongings for one year in a central storage location on campus. To retrieve your belongings, call our office at 417-836-5536, two business days in advance and we will work with you individually to retrieve your belongings.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact us at 417-836-5536.

We wish you good luck on your finals and hope you continue to stay safe and healthy. Please let us know if you have any questions as we are happy to work with you to meet your individual needs during this time.

Move Out Update – May 8, 2020

It’s hard to believe we’re already approaching the end of the Spring semester. While you begin to prepare for exams we want to share our move-out plans and what steps you may need to take, as well as information regarding summer housing options.

If you are a student presently residing on campus in either Hutchens House, Sunvilla Tower, or Monroe apartments, please select a check-out time.

On the day of your checkout please remove your belongings from your space, clean your space, and return your keys and access card to the front desk of your building. In order to encourage social/physical distance we are limiting the number of checkout appointments by day and by hour.

COVID-19 has changed many things in our lives in just a few short months.  With these changes we understand you might need to stay with us for longer than expected. We’re here for you if you need housing.

To request housing beyond 8:00 a.m. Saturday, May 16^th, please fill out the Summer Housing Contract and indicate your dates of stay.  This contract can be found in your My.MissouriState portal. We understand that you may or may not be enrolled in classes during this time. Either way, you are welcome to extend your stay in campus housing.

My.MissouriState.edu > Campus Life> Housing> Complete Application> Complete My Summer 2020 Housing Application

Our Dining Center will be open using the following schedule beginning May 16:

7:30 am to 9:00 am

11:00 am to 1:00 pm

4:30 pm to 6:00 pm

We wish you good luck on your finals and hope you continue to stay safe and healthy. Please let us know if you have any questions as we are happy to work with you to meet your individual needs during this time.

 

Retrieving Belongings Update – April 14, 2020

To reduce costs during this time, the university has consolidated the residence halls where remaining students are living.  For security of all the residence halls, card access to closed consolidated buildings has been turned off.

Between now and May 7, students wishing to retrieve their belongings from closed, consolidated buildings will need to first call the Hutchens House front desk (417-836-8484). Please contact us at least 24 hours before you plan to return to retrieve your belongings. Residence Life will manage the number of residents checking out at any given time to encourage social distancing. A Residence Life staff member will ensure you are able to retrieve your belongings when you call to schedule a time slot.

If you need to move out after May 7, please monitor your email as we will develop the move-out schedule for our students who are currently living on campus and those students who are needing to come back to claim their belongings in an effort to ensure social distancing during finals week.

We hope you are healthy and doing well in your classes.

 

Meal Plan/BoomerMeal Credit Update – April, 6, 2020

Thank you for your patience as we worked through meal plan and BoomerMeals credits with Chartwells, our dining services provider.

Meal Plan Credit

Students will receive a credit to their university account based on the meal plan for which they paid.  The credit will range from $395 for the 10 meals per week plan to $460 for the unlimited meals per week plan. 

10 meal plan  $395
14 meal plan  $410
19 meal plan  $425
Unlimited       $460

 BoomerMeals

Unused BoomerMeals will roll over for students to use before December 31, 2020. Graduating students and students who will not be on campus this fall will receive an 80% refund of BoomerMeals.

 We will begin to apply housing and meal plan credits as quickly as possible, however it will take time to process for each student. If the above adjustments produce a credit balance on the student account, a refund will be issued to the student. If you have questions regarding how your housing and meal plan credit was processed, you can contact FinancialAid@MissouriState.edu.

Housing Consolidation Update – March 29, 2020

In order to continue to safely support students remaining on campus, we will be consolidating all residents into Hutchens, Sunvilla and Monroe.  Consolidating to these buildings will allow us to keep desk operations available as much as possible to our students for the remainder of the semester. This will also assist us in processing your mail and packages, offering available equipment, and having a knowledgeable staff member available to maintain the security of our buildings.

Students who reside in Hutchens, Sunvilla or Monroe will be staying in their current assignment. Students living in any other building will be consolidated to an open space in Hutchens, Sunvilla or Monroe. These students should begin packing their items and preparing for their move. To maintain social distancing during this process we will send additional information about a window of time in which students will need to complete their move.

Each student will be assigned to a space in which they will have their own room but may share a bathroom with one other individual. Spreading out within the building will allow us to maintain the recommended social distancing.

Students will not be billed for a private room for the remainder of the Spring semester.  Housing rates will not change during this process.

For students continuing to live in on-campus housing, we want to share what resources are available to you. We have also put the following practices in place to help keep our campus community healthy.

• 24-hour Computer Lab in your residence hall – Our staff will be cleaning the computer labs, and we also encourage you to utilize the sanitizing wipes available in the lab before and after you use these facilities.
• Any visitors will need to be limited to the first floor lobby area only. This will allow us to sanitize regularly the areas where visitors have been.
• After we consolidate, we will return to our typical 24-hour front desk operations at the front desk.

Please complete the COVID-19 Screening Form to help us know if you need additional resources during this time and will help us plan our consolidation process.

March 27, 2020: Residence Halls and Dining Center Update

A limited number of residence halls remain open for students who cannot return home or do not have a suitable home to return to. Garst Dining Center will provide take-out meals to students who are still living on campus.

Moving out is considered an essential activity that is exempted under the stay-at-home order, so students can continue to move out of their residence halls. If you haven’t already completed the spring housing planning form, please do that as soon as possible.

If you are unable to retrieve your belongings, we may need to pack them up and store them for a period of time. This will enable us to consolidate students who remain on campus.

Students who check out of the halls by April 12 will receive a 40% credit of the housing accommodation charges for the spring 2020 semester to their university account. For those who receive financial aid or other assistance, some of this credit may go back to the funding source rather than directly to the student. You will not receive a bill until the refund process has been put in place and communicated to you. If the above adjustments produce a credit balance on the student account, a refund will be issued to the student. If you have questions regarding how your housing credit was processed, you can contact financialaid@missouristate.edu.

Meal Plans

The university continues to negotiate with Chartwells, our food service partner, on a meal plan refund for our students. We are working toward the best outcome possible for our students and hope to have information for you soon.

March 24, 2020 – Housing Announcement

For those that have indicated that you will be checking out of your residence hall or apartment this week using the Spring 2020 Semester Housing Planning Form, we encourage you to continue to plan to do so as planned.

As events are quickly changing, you may require an earlier check-out time. We have opened up additional time slots for Wednesday morning to allow more students to retrieve their belongings.  This will enable us to continue maintaining social distancing.

If you are unable to retrieve your belongings, we may have to pack them up and store them for a period of time. This will enable us to consolidate the remaining students on campus.

March 20, 2020: Student Move-out Date Extension Communication

On March 19, 2020 Springfield-Greene County Health Department issued the following guidelines:

As residents return from spring break trips and other travel, it is the advice of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department that they self-quarantine for 14 days.

During that time, travelers returning from outside our region are advised to stay home, avoid contact with others, and monitor for symptoms. If a traveler were to become symptomatic, they are encouraged to contact their provider.

This action is being recommended because of the large number of travelers who will be returning to the area. This is especially concerning regarding tourist destinations that have included large crowd activities.

In alignment with these guidelines, Missouri State is extending the timeline for those who are electing to move out of their residence halls to April 12^th. Please update us if this changes your move-out plans by completing the Residence Life Housing Planning form using your new date.

If you traveled outside of Southwest Missouri within the last 14 days (or away from your home area or to an area with a large number of COVID-19 cases), we request that you wait until after April 5^th to return to campus to move out.

If anyone in your family is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, dry cough, difficulty breathing), we ask that you wait to move out.

These recommended actions are to ensure the health and safety of university employees as well as fellow students who will be moving out or who are electing to stay in the residence hall through the end of the semester.

Thank you for helping us maintain a healthy environment.

March 19, 2020: COVID-19 Housing and Dining Update

Residence Life, Housing and Dining Services has recently posted information related to on-campus living https://reslife.missouristate.edu/. Students who check out of the halls by March 28 will receive a 40% credit of the housing accommodation charges for the Spring 2020 semester to their university account. While residence halls will remain accessible for those who need them to continue their studies, those who have the means to vacate should do so. Logistics regarding moving out are addressed in the “March 17, 2020 – Housing Planning Announcement” below this notice.

Limited dining options will be available through Garst Dining Hall starting March 22^nd.  Additionally, Chartwells will allow students to use any remaining BoomerMeals until September 30, 2020. Students who are graduating in May and not returning for Fall 2020 will receive an 80% refund of their remaining BoomerMeals.

We recognize that every student’s situation will look different — for those who receive financial aid or other assistance, some of this credit may go back to the funding source rather than directly to the student. Questions regarding how your aid is processed can be sent to FinancialAid@missouristate.edu. You will not receive a bill until the refund process has been put in place and communicated to you.  If the above adjustments produce a credit balance on the student account, a refund will be issued to the student.

Missouri State is committed to finding a solution for students with extenuating circumstances.

Dining Services Hours:

Understanding that there are students that will still be on campus, MSU Dining will resume limited service as previously scheduled on March 22^nd. Service will transition to a “to go” format where students are able to pick-up meals in Garst Dining Hall. Blair Shannon Dining and Kentwood Dining will be closed for the remainder of the semester.

Sunday, March 22:

11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Brunch)
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Dinner)

We will be utilizing the following hours of operation for the foreseeable future, beginning Monday, March 23 in Garst:

7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (Breakfast)
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Lunch)
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Dinner)

Limited retail options will also be available in the PSU. We apologize for any inconvenience, however providing a safe solution to meal service is our top priority. Information about hours of operation and retail providers available will be updated through this website on an on-going basis.

March 17, 2020 Announcement:

Dear members of the Missouri State University residential community,

• Residence halls will remain open to those who must be on campus.  Social distancing arrangements will be made. Modified dining options will be provided.
• Students electing to move out of residence halls will be provided with an opportunity to schedule a specific day/time.  This schedule will enable us to assure social distancing during the process.

The health and safety of our students is our foremost priority. Therefore, we have developed a plan to organize our on-campus residents to begin moving out of all residence halls and university apartments.

We understand that you will have many questions regarding the logistics, schedule, procedures, and other important information regarding this expedited move-out, so please read the following information carefully.

Providing Information to Residence Life Staff

We are requiring all residential students to complete the form. Please make every effort to complete this form as soon as possible (and no later than 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

If electing to move out, this form must be completed prior to arriving on campus.

Logistics

• When: Students may begin moving out as soon as this Saturday, March 21, 2020. Note: if you show up at another time, please understand that you may not be able to move out that day.
• We are directing that only the student and 2 move-out volunteers (family, others) come to campus in the directed time slots.

We have created this timeline for move-out by March 28, 2020 as regular coursework is resuming in these alternative methods for the remainder of the semester on Monday, March 30, 2020.

Move-Out Schedule

The schedule in the sign up was designed to provide order, while also trying to offer flexibility to allow students and their families enough time to move out. We also are working to minimize the number of students, families and move-out volunteers who are in residential facilities at any given time.

Note: public health experts recommend for you to do what you can to minimize close contact during move-out. This means roommates are encouraged to communicate in advance about belongings, so they may avoid moving out at the same time.

Information for Move-Out

On the day of your move-out we will have staff ready to expedite the move-out procedures, logistics, forms and paperwork, and other items to help your move-out go as smoothly as possible.

Prior to Arrival:

• Confirm your Check-out time with the form you submitted.
• Plan to arrive no more than 2-hours before your designated check-out window.

Upon Arrival / During Move-Out:

• Students and their 2 volunteers will be asked to confirm that they are asymptomatic and to wash or sanitize their hands appropriately before entering the residence halls.
• Students will not go through the normal check-out process; express check-out procedures will be followed to expedite move-outs.
• Staff will be available to assist students with questions about moving out, and to collect keys.
• Dumpsters will be available at locations close to residence halls and apartments for students to discard any items they are not taking with them.
• Luggage Carts/bins will be available in each building to help expedite move-outs.
• Common spaces in each building (entrances, elevators, hallways, etc.) will be cleaned on a regular basis by university staff.After Move-Out:
• Any items left in the room/apartment will be considered trash and discarded. This is not a reason to leave belongings behind, please take those to the additional trash bins provided.
• Please note: We will not be offering donation bins for The Kitchen, which is an organization we typically work with during this expedited move-out.

Continuing to Live on Campus?

We recognize that there are a variety of reasons why returning home may be particularly challenging and/or an impediment to some students’ ability to successfully complete the semester.

1.  International Students (for whom returning to their home country may not be an option.)

2. Students with concerns for basic needs (e.g., students who see MSU as their primary  address, concerns about access to food, significant financial concerns, concerns for health and/or safety, home address is in a geographical area where high-speed internet is non-existent/very difficult to access, which could compromise ability to consistently and actively engage in online coursework).

3. Students who need to physically be in Springfield to complete outside-of-the-classroom requirements (e.g., internships, clinicals, student teaching, etc.).

If any of these categories apply to you, please indicate your need to stay in the form linked above.

Next Steps and Additional Information

It is imperative that you check your email regularly as this situation continues to evolve.

In closing, let me say, we know how difficult this time is for you and how hard it will be to end your on-campus residential experiences early. This certainly is not how MSU faculty and staff wanted the spring term to go. As always, campus resources, such as the University Counseling Center and the Dean of Students Office are here to support you through this challenging time.

It’s been a long week. So much has been canceled. Athletic seasons have ended. Learning has been disrupted.

We’re thankful for everyone in our campus community, whether you’re a student, alumnus, faculty, staff, friend or fellow institution of higher education.

We will get through this. We think back to something President Clif Smart said at “It’s On!” last October. It seems especially important now.

“I know we can do this. Bears always face a challenge with resolve, with guts, and we do it together.”

We are all Bears.

I know you have many, many more questions than we have answered here. I assure you, we are working hard to get the answers you deserve. Thank you for your patience and for your continued care for one another.

Sincerely,

Gary K. Stewart, Director