Fall Semester 2020: On-Campus Housing in the Time of COVID-19
Move-In, August 2020
Helping students move to their on-campus housing is no small task. Doing so during a pandemic is unprecedented! But that is exactly what Yale was faced with this past August as we prepared to welcome a portion of the student body back to campus for the fall semester. Yale Conferences & Events, along with many campus partners, worked around the clock to safely settle over 1,700 students into their on-campus housing. A few of the initiatives completed by our team:
- Developed a brand-new online student portal to centralize the Yale College housing system, including an intricate workflow that allowed students to efficiently and safely move in
- Established and managed temporary overnight housing for students who were unable to move in within the allotted times
- Worked with Yale Health to establish isolation housing to provide comfortable and safe housing for students who tested positive during the semester
- Oversaw the entire customer service operation to assist students and their families with questions and concerns, including case management for student claims for lost or damaged items (stemming from the Summer 2020 move-out)
- Managed the moving company and trained teams of staff volunteers assisting with the move-in
Move-Out, November 2020
After a successful and safe fall semester, made possible through the concerted efforts of all the students, staff, faculty, and the New Haven community, it was once again time to bid our students farewell as the fall semester came to an end. Having learned a few lessons from the previous move-out and move-in, YC&E and many campus partners worked tirelessly to ensure a safe and smooth move-out experience for our students last month. We put the student portal to good use again by creating a housing check-out process tailored to the need for students to self-check out without an in-room inspection process. YC&E also established an improved workflow with Yale College and the moving company to ensure proper packing and labeling of all student items being left behind for storage. This included complete sweeps of all residential colleges to inspect rooms for potential issues with belongings. Our team will also continue to serve as the customer service hub for students and their families.
Quoting our Assistant Director of Operations Nathan Lubich: “Faced with a need to collaborate more than ever, and almost entirely over the phone or via Zoom, YC&E collaborated with a group of departments too long to list, all with a singular goal: to create and maintain a safe and welcoming campus for our students, faculty, and staff. Long after the pandemic is over, this unity toward a common purpose will remain.”
