HOUSING AND RESIDENCE LIFE
1100 E. 14TH STREET, PMB R-7 • ADA, OK 74820
580-559-5602 • FAX: 580-559-5994 • WWW.ECOK.EDU
July 23, 2020
COVID-19 and Public Health-Informed Policies
East Central University aims to deliver its mission while protecting the health of our students and minimizing the potential spread of disease within our community. As a resident within Housing and Residence Life (hereinafter “HRL”), the 2019 Novel Coronavirus or similar public health crisis (“COVID”) will impact your housing experience as HRL continues to make public health-informed decisions. The below policies are applicable to all residential students. As always, we will endeavor to update you with timely information about specific health and safety guidance important for our residential students.
- Health and Safety.
- We expect that all members of the HRL community—residents, staff and visitors—act in a manner that demonstrates respect and consideration for those around them, including respect and consideration for the health and safety of all community members. All residential students are prohibited from creating a health or safety hazard within HRL and the University may request or require a resident to leave HRL if their continued presence in the housing community poses a health or safety risk for community members. Residential students are required to comply with health and safety laws, orders, ordinances, regulations and health and safety guidance adopted by the University or HRL as it relates to public health crises, including COVID-19. This guidance will evolve as the public health crisis evolves and may include, but is not limited to, social distancing, limitations on mass gatherings, wearing a face covering, COVID-19 diagnostic and surveillance testing (including before or upon arrival to campus), contact tracing, disinfection protocols, limitations on guests into residence halls, and quarantine / isolation requirements (including before or upon arrival to campus). Adherence to health and safety requirements applies to all residents, staff and visitors and extends to all aspects of residential life, including bedrooms, bathrooms, community kitchens, lounges, computer rooms, courtyards and other common spaces.
- Quarantine / Isolation / Separation
- At any time, the University may request or require a resident to leave HRL when that resident’s continued presence in the housing community poses a health or safety risk for community members. Residential students are required to comply with requests from HRL to leave their assigned space due to COVID or other public health emergency and failure to do so is a violation of the Guide to Campus Living and may subject a student to emergency removal from their assigned space. Not all HRL residential rooms or halls are appropriate for self-quarantine or self-isolation, for example, and in those situations where a student is recommended to self-quarantine or self-isolate, students may not be permitted to continue residing in their residential space and will be provided alternative housing arrangements as needed. Removal from HRL to isolate or quarantine does not constitute a termination of a residential student’s housing contract.
- De-Densifying Efforts
- Residential students are required to comply with any de-densifying efforts needed on campus due to COVID or other public health emergency, including, but not limited to, the relocation of all or some residential students to alternative housing. Relocation does not constitute a termination of a residential student’s housing contract. In the event HRL must relocate students as part of a de-densifying strategy due to public health concerns for an extended period of time and alternative housing is not available, East Central University will offer impacted students fair and reasonable reimbursement as appropriate and based on information available at that time.
- Dining Services
- Dining service, including where and how it will be offered to residential students, is subject to the discretion of the University and is subject to modification to address public health concerns. Due to health and safety guidance adopted by the University or HRL, Chartwells Dining Services may limit the occupancy of dining halls, limit the amount of time students may reside within dining halls or make other operational adjustments needed to address health and safety concerns.
- Cleaning
- HRL will continue to implement and modify its cleaning protocols to address COVID or other public health emergency in the interest of minimizing the spread of disease. HRL will educate and inform residential students on appropriate cleaning protocols within their assigned spaces to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within residence halls.
- Termination
- Upon reasonable notice, HRL reserves the right to terminate housing contracts due to public health emergency needs, including COVID. In the event HRL terminates housing contracts due to public health concerns, East Central University will offer fair and reasonable reimbursements for impacted students as appropriate and based on information available at that time.
In the event of a conflict between this Section COVID-19 and Public Health Crisis Housing Policies and the remaining sections of the Guide to Campus Living, this Section will apply.