October 21, 2020

Spring Reopening Update

Dear Goucher Community,

As we prepare for the spring semester, we want students and families to start planning for what that looks like from the housing perspective. At this time, we plan to be a residential campus for spring 2021.

To best serve our students, Goucher will be providing isolation and quarantine housing on-campus (this is a change from the original fall plan) to ensure that support is available around the clock. With that, Goucher will have 723 beds available for students this spring.

What does this mean exactly?

In the fall, Goucher was planning to house 793 students in single rooms. The Maryland Department of Health recently updated their recommendations, including quarantine housing being separate from any traditional housing. Given this new information, Goucher will be able to support fewer students on campus in the spring.

Concurrent with class registration, the “Spring 2021 Housing Application” will be available on The Housing Director from November 9th – November 13th. All students, regardless of previous fall plans, need to submit the housing application if interested in residing on campus in the spring. No previous housing applications will be considered.

While we hope to offer housing for all students interested in campus housing, should our applications outnumber space, priority will be given to the following: first-year students, sophomores, athletes, and special petitions. To our junior and senior students: please do not let the priority list dissuade you from submitting an application. As mentioned before, our hope is that all students interested in the residential experience can be on campus, and a comprehensive waiting list will be kept as things shift and change.

All students will have single occupancy rooms, which they will choose during room draw. Students with 2020-21 housing accommodations on file will be placed in a room that meets their accommodation after their housing application is submitted. Room draw will occur in early December, and all students, including first-year students, will participate. More information about information sessions, processes, and tutorials will be available in early November.

The full timeline for the residential process is as follows:

  • Housing Applications Submissions: November 9th – 13th
  • Notification to 723 students: November 23rd
  • Room Draw Numbers Released: December 1st
  • Room Draw: December 7th – 9th
  • Student Bills Created: December 16th
  • Move-In Days: February 4th – 7th

As class information is released, students should consider their best option for the spring 2021 semester. We are eager for students to return, and significant measures will continue to be in place to promote proper social distancing. That said, students should anticipate a semester that includes, but is not limited to, the following understandings:

  • No guests in the residence halls.
  • No large gatherings in the common rooms.
  • Students should be prepared to shift to a different room if isolation or quarantine is necessary.
  • Most events and programs will still take place virtually.
  • Required face coverings when in any indoor space, including residence hall common areas (lounges, bathrooms, hallways, etc.)

We have also updated our testing protocols for residential students to the following:

  • All residential students should obtain pre-arrival testing within 5-7 days of returning to campus, and if they test positive, they should delay their return by ten days.
  • Additional pre-testing information will go out specifically to the spring on-campus students once they are chosen.
  • All residential students will be re-tested upon arrival and will not be permitted to visit other indoor spaces on campus or attend in-person classes until their negative test results are back (3-5 days). Food will be available for pick up and should be eaten outdoors or in one’s own room. During this time, social distancing will be strictly observed.
  • Repeat testing will be performed again ten days into the term to confirm the negative test results.
  • On any occasion that SARS-COV2 is present and increasing in the wastewater of a building, the building residents will all be tested.

We know there is a lot of information to consider and that many questions will arise. Please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Residential Life at residentiallife@goucher.edu. In addition, the director of residential life, Lindy Bobbitt, will be available via zoom at the following times to answer questions or concerns:

11 am – 12 pm on Friday, October 23rd
5 pm – 6 pm on Wednesday, October 28th
Meeting ID: 601 702 9424
Passcode: reslife


Thank you for your continued patience as we work through the details of returning to campus in the spring.

Be well.