The University has announced that the fall 2020 semester will start as it traditionally does after Labor Day with an advising day on September 8 and the first day of classes on September 9. In-person classes will end at the Thanksgiving break, which begins Nov. 25. Classes will continue online for the remainder of the semester until December 14; with final exams delivered online.

The schedule will allow for students to travel home during the holiday break without them having to return to campus until the Spring semester. However, students will be able to access their on-campus housing if needed, and all personal belongings can remain in their rooms during the extended time away from campus.

Consistent with prevailing health and safety recommendations, as well as practices at universities across the United States, the University has also made the necessary decision to reduce the density/capacity of its residence halls on the Kingston Campus. URI will modify its on-campus housing accommodations to better ensure the health and well-being of students and the entire community for the fall 2020 semester.

We recognize this reduction in on-campus housing will have a profound impact on many students who had expected to live on campus. Please know that the University understands that this may be difficult for some students, but because of the need to reduce capacity from a planned 6,200 spaces to approximately 4,400 spaces, the University will be unable to accommodate all students who wish to live on campus.

While we know this is difficult, as a university community we have worked hard to offset the impact of these changes by creating a Transition Assistance Grant (see below) for those students who are displaced. A more detailed message was sent today to all students who were intending to live on campus for the fall. A brief update on our housing plans is outlined below.

We will reduce housing capacity by ensuring that all on-campus bedrooms in residence halls will have only one or two occupants based on building design and restroom capacity; there will be no triples. Most residence halls with community/shared restrooms will be assigned as one person to a room to reduce the number of students sharing bathroom space. These students may receive a roommate later in the year if the COVID-19 situation improves.

To do this, all fall assignments previously completed by continuing URI students will be canceled and any student who cancels their housing voluntarily or who is displaced from on-campus housing will get their $200 deposit refunded. Students who qualify for housing will go through a reassignment process.  A waitlist will be established and maintained through the fall semester, and spaces will be assigned as they become available.

Three groups of students will receive priority for on-campus housing:

• All incoming first-year students who have completed the housing deposit and application by the deadlines (June 26 and 30, respectively);
• Incoming transfer students who live out of state (same deposit and applications deadlines);
• Returning URI students with a housing assignment who live out of state (for whom it is impractical to commute to campus).
• A limited number of spaces will be set aside for students with special needs and exceptional circumstances that make commuting impossible.

Any remaining spaces will be allotted to incoming transfer students from Rhode Island and to returning URI students from Rhode Island. The University is exploring limited off-campus housing options for displaced students (e.g. hotel); however, we strongly encourage returning students to explore commuting or private off-campus housing options, including using the URI Commuter Affairs website which can assist you in exploring off-campus availability.

To offset the impact of these changes, returning and transfer students who had fall residence hall assignments who we cannot accommodate now will receive a Transition Assistance Grant. These students who continue to be enrolled at URI but displaced from housing will receive a $1,500 credit to their student account for the fall 2020 and fall 2021 semesters ($3,000 total if continuously enrolled), and a 50-meal dining plan and free parking for the fall 2020 semester.

URI students who live on campus, regardless of building style, will be required to select a meal option to ensure adequate meals during any necessary quarantine/isolation. Current plans by URI Dining are for meals to be provided as take-out only until the point when more traditional in-facility dining can be safely managed. We are exploring options that will allow some in-facility dining by reservation for small, physically-distant groups, as well as alternative safe dining locations for small groups and outside dining near dining halls.

The move-in process will begin approximately one week earlier (current target date is Aug. 29) and will last through Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 5-7) to allow for a structured, scheduled process to minimize contact with other students and their move-in assistants.

Residence hall students (and any approved guests) will be required to adhere to all University and State of Rhode Island health and safety regulations and policies, including wearing a face covering whenever outside of their rooms, limiting group sizes, and maintaining physical distancing.

Know that we are fully aware of and continue to monitor carefully the dynamic nature of this virus and the transmission patterns locally, nationally and globally.  Our plans are designed to mitigate risk of infection and require the cooperation of the entire URI community. If virus conditions were to change, we are prepared to act accordingly. 

We will continue to inform the community as the plan evolves with more information on class schedules and offerings, daily wellness screenings, testing, contact tracing, transportation, and campus life and activities leading up to the fall.

If you have questions you may contact the URI Hotline at 401.874.3082 or URI’s Office of Housing and Residential Life at 401.874.4151, via our chat feature in MyHousing, or by email at customerservice@housing.uri.edu.