Resident Student Return to Campus – Fall 2021

Welcome back to your home away from home at Walsh University!  As we embark on a new academic year, we are committed to providing our students with an engaging residential life experience while continuing our efforts to promote the health and wellness of our community.  We will continue to monitor and assess federal, state and local guidelines and are prepared to make adjustments to our response plans as new circumstances may arise.  

We ask for the continued support of our residential students with following our Walsh Seven to Remember and doing your part to take care of your residence hall community.  Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in a referral to the Student Conduct and Community Standards Office.  

General Residence Hall Guidelines

We are taking the necessary precautions to reduce risk for spread and ensure the residence hall environment is as safe as possible.  These include the following: 

  • Residence Hall Guests:
    • Resident students: residents are permitted to move within all residence hall neighborhoods and are required to be registered through Residence Life. 
    • Commuter students: Commuters must be a registered guests of a residential student and follow all residence hall/university policies including Quiet, Courtesy, and Privacy Hours.
    • Non-Walsh Guests: A Non-Walsh guest is defined as any individual who is not a current residential or commuter student of Walsh University. At this time, non-Walsh guest visitation is restricted to registered Residence Life-approved family and friends of current residential students, special guests/university recruits, and campus vendors who are approved by the Residence Life office.”
  • Room Capacity: For each room type, the capacity for guests has been set as double the total number of occupants of that room type. For example, if a person lives in Seanor Hall, because their housing assignment is double occupancy (2 students), the occupants would be permitted to have up to four visitors in their room at the same time.  Occupants with shared common rooms such as living rooms and kitchens must also practice physical distancing as outlined by the CDC (two arm’s length from the persons next to you) and the number of guests should never exceed more than 10 individuals at one time.
  • Residence Hall Furniture: furniture inside rooms will be configured based upon health and wellness guidelines.  Students may bring outside furniture – but it must be approved by the Residence Life office. Bunking will not be permitted, and all furniture will be set at six feet distance from the second set of furniture in the space. Special housing accommodations will be allowed where possible for those with pre-existing conditions.  
  • Common Areas and Computer Labs: Common areas, lounges and computer labs have been returned to their normal set-up. 
  • Laundry Facilities: Residential Laundry will be available by sign up only. Student will use the online laundry time slot sign-up system (signup.com) for their building to access the facilities.
  • Cleaning and Sanitation Supplies:  supplies for sanitizing will be available to be checked out from each hall duty office.  Residents are expected to return the supplies to the office after use. 

Residence Hall Neighborhoods

Each residence hall is considered its own “neighborhood community”: 

  • Seanor Hall
  • Menard Hall/Betzler Towers
  • Wilkof Towers
  • Olivieri Towers
  • Lemmon Hall/Commons
  • University Apartments (Brauchler, Meier, Stein Hall)

Residential students are permitted to visit other residential students in any neighborhood community, provided they are registered guests (ex. A resident in Seanor visiting a resident who lives in Wilkof Towers will need to register). 

Residential Family Groups

Furthermore, all housing assignments (singles, doubles, suites, and apartments) have been designated as “residential family group”. 

  • We highly encourage your housing assignment family group to continue to follow the Walsh University Seven to Remember. It’s important to develop a plan expectations with your residential family group as it relates to cleanliness, face covering usage and physical distancing while in your shared space.
  • All residential family groups will be required to develop a cleaning schedule as part of the completion of the Roommate/Suitemate Agreement Form. 

Informal Gatherings

Walsh University is committed to encouraging safe and responsible socializing and engagement both on and off campus. Students are expected to adhere to the COVID-19 safety guidelines as outlined by the university.

  • Students who intentionally place themselves in situations that increases the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 will be referred to the Student Conduct & Community Standards office. This includes participating in events that do not adhere to university guidelines.  

Quarantine/Isolation Residences

Walsh University continues to follow guidance from the CDC and Stark County Health Department as it relates to quarantine and isolation protocols. 

 

Quarantine Protocol

The term “quarantine,” as defined by the CDC, is used in reference to the separation and restriction of the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. Thus, in the case of COVID-19, quarantine will be required for those who have been in close contact (6-feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) two days before illness onset or, for asymptomatic individuals, two days prior to the date on which they received their test for COVID-19. 

If a campus community member is identified in this way, they will be directed to 1) return home to complete the quarantine or, 2) if they cannot return home seek approval from the Dean of Students to be assigned to a university residence or designated local hotel reserved specifically for quarantine cases.  Academic and Student Life support services staff will work to ensure meals are delivered to those students and support continued learning.