UK Housing Update, Housing Accommodations Made for Those Who Need to Stay
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 24, 2020) — Due to the escalating risks associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the University of Kentucky made a decision to transition course delivery from face-to-face to online or other appropriate alternatives from March 23 to the end of the spring 2020 semester. As part of this response, UK is also requiring students who not been granted exceptions to vacate university housing (including fraternity and sorority houses) no later than noon Friday, March 27, 2020.
For the health and safety of the UK community, students will move out of their residence halls unless they received approval to remain on campus. The university administered a housing exception survey to current students who either would not be able to move out by Friday, March 27, or who needed to stay on campus due to extenuating circumstances.
The rationale behind the decision to consider housing appeals centered around the constantly changing travel restrictions in many states and cities — which hindered students’ ability to leave campus and increased the number of students in need of an exemption.
Below is current information about UK’s housing.
- Undergraduate residence halls on campus house a total of 6,849 students. Of those, more than 4,000 have already checked out.
- To date, about 450 undergraduate students and about 60 graduate students have submitted housing appeals to stay in the residence halls past Friday, March 27. All undergraduate student appeals were approved and students are being notified. Other appeals are in process of being considered.
- The Housing Appeals Committee established the following criteria as parameters in which to review appeals:
- Minimize risk.
- Support students who may be in unsafe environments.
- Support students who demonstrate extreme financial difficulty.
- Support students with major travel concerns.
- Sustain the enterprise and academic mission of the institution.
- There were at least 450 undergraduate students who submitted an appeal.
- Questions: Can students still apply to stay on campus/when is the last date?
- The deadline to submit an exemption was Friday March, 20, however, students can continue to submit an exemption and requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Blazer, Jewell, and potentially Boyd are the residence halls being considered for use as consolidation facilities – with one student per suite to adhere to CDC recommendations.
- All halls will operate under the following:
- No visitation.
- Lockdown on all common facility areas.
- 8 a.m. until midnight desk coverage.
- Students whose housing appeals have been approved will:
- Have consolidation move-in assistance such as carts and front desk coverage.
- Will sign a consolidated housing waiver.
- Students who cannot return to retrieve their belongings are encouraged to use contract moving services or arrange for a friend to pick up their belongings.
For the most up-to-date information regarding UK's plans and preparedness in addressing challenges surrounding COVID-19, please visit www.uky.edu/coronavirus/.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.