December 8, 2020 

To all students living on campus in the spring, 

I am writing to give you your spring 2021 room assignment, and to share general information about moving in next semester. Many of the details that follow are based on current public health conditions. If those change substantially and alter the planning for next semester, I will write again with an update, but you will always be able to find the most current information on Yale College’s FAQ page, which is revised regularly. 

January 28 and 29 are the two dates on which all students living on campus will need to move into their assigned spring 2021 housing. Your room assignment is available on the housing portal, which also includes the names of suitemates if you are living in a suite. If you wish to decline your housing, do so through this same portal, even if you have previously informed your college. That way, your term bill will be updated. Remember that as a special COVID-19 accommodation you may decline housing without incurring the usual relinquishment fee. 

As with the fall semester, moving into campus housing will require you to fulfill pre-arrival requirements, reserve an arrival date and time, follow special instructions for moving in, then enter an arrival quarantine, which is currently expected to last until February 8, 2021. Some of these steps you can take now or soon, and others you will take once you have returned to campus. 

Fulfill pre-arrival requirements 

• Get a flu shot. If you have not already received your flu vaccination, you can use Yale Health’s Find Your Flu Shot tool or arrange for your flu shot independently. If you get your flu shot from a provider other than Yale Health, submit documentation via upload through MyChart (preferred) or to studentmed@yale.edu. 
• Sign the Spring 2021 Campus Compact, even if you signed it last semester. Starting no later than December 21, you will be able to read and sign the new compact here. The compact describes the expectations for all students enrolled in residence. 
• Take the updated COVID-19 training, even if you took it last semester. The training will be available on Canvas no later than December 21. 
• Take a pre-arrival viral test. You will receive more information about that process from Yale Health. 

Reserve a move-in date and time 

Thursday and Friday, January 28 and January 29, are the designated dates for moving into campus housing, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. In order to prevent crowding in entryways and courtyards, you will need to reserve a specific arrival time; you may make that reservation starting on December 14, 2020, in the housing portal. The number of students arriving during each time slot is capped, so I recommend that you reserve yours early. If you need to change your time slot later, please return to the housing portal and make your change there. 

Due to the complexity of arrival testing and quarantine, all students need to arrive on one of these two days. Limited January 30 arrival times are available by special permission only; this Saturday accommodation can be requested within the portal. 

Move in 

On the day you arrive, you will go to your residential college or Old Campus residence at your reserved time. If you need help with your belongings, movers will be available at the sidewalk; if you left belongings at Yale this fall or last spring, they will be waiting for you in your assigned room. Only students will be allowed to enter the residential colleges or other campus residences – this is the time for goodbyes, outside the gates, to parents, friends, or any other family members or helpers accompanying you. 

Enter arrival quarantine 

An arrival quarantine lasting up to ten days begins when you move into your campus residence. You will take a viral test, then pick up your key and your next few meals, and then quarantine in your suite until you receive a negative test result, 24 to 36 hours later. At that point, you will be able to move around within your residential college or other campus residence, but you will need to stay inside the gates until you receive two more negative test results on your assigned testing schedule. After you have received negative results from all three tests, eight to ten days after your initial arrival, you will be able to leave the gates and move around campus; on the morning of February 8, 2021, you will have access to other spaces on campus. 

The arrival quarantine is required of all students living in campus residences. Unlike the fall, there is no option to arrive after the quarantine period ends, not even for students traveling from nearby or who have remained on campus since last semester. There is also no exemption based on prior viral test results, positive or negative. 

If you have questions that are not answered in the FAQs, please write to student.affairs@yale.edu. 

Although you are planning ahead for next semester, you have a well-deserved winter recess ahead, and I hope you are able to enjoy it. This has been an extraordinary semester in so many ways, whether you have been on campus or off, and your efforts have been equally extraordinary. I hope also that you are able to look back on them with a sense of accomplishment, just as you are looking ahead, as I am, to your return in the spring. 

Sincerely, 

Melanie Boyd 
Dean of Student Affairs 
Senior Associate Dean in Yale College 
she | her | hers