Dear Residents,

This is an unprecedented time.
Following-up on the memo from the President’s Office earlier this evening, cancelling the previously announced intense making period and announcing the closure of the residence halls, we write to provide details. Our priority at this time will be exclusively on the orderly closure of the residential facilities.
To be clear, all residents must immediately begin preparations to vacate.

All residents, graduate and undergraduate, must vacate the residence halls by 4:00 pm on Saturday, March 21st. Residents should plan to take all personal belongings. Please see information below regarding student belongings previously left in the residence halls.

In light of the new developments regarding COVID-19, all previously approved extensions have been rescinded.  

International students who were previously granted an extension or who were planning to request an extension should contact the Office of International Education immediately via email [internationaleducation@mica.edu] to initiate a discussion about next steps and viable options. International Education staff will be working closely with Residence Life to advise students. After talking with International Education staff, if you need to submit a request to stay or if you have an extraordinary hardship, please follow instructions outlined below.

The College will allow for consideration of extraordinary hardships if students feel they cannot vacate by March 21st. These decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. The College’s ability to accommodate such requests is extremely limited and students should exhaust all other possibilities before making a request. Anyone permitted to stay can expect limited to no campus services being available. Students who wish to request such consideration should complete the extension request form. All requests must be submitted by 4:00 pm on Wednesday, March 18th.

Once the move-out process has been completed, The Office of Residence Life will communicate with those students & families who previously left belongings. It is likely that communication will not take place until late March or early April. We understand that this will be complicated to plan and will provide as much flexibility as is possible. Families should anticipate retrieving their personal items no later than May 10th, 2020.

The College intends to provide a partial refund of residential charges, although the exact amount has not yet been identified. While we know this is of particular interest to many, please understand that the immediate priority remains the orderly move-out of current residents. We will be in touch with further information, likely prior to the end of March.

We know this is a rapidly changing time, and we appreciate your efforts. Questions should be directed to residencelife@mica.edu. Please be patient, as you can imagine we are experiencing a high volume of contact at this time. We will return your correspondence as quickly as possible.

Below is relevant housing communication dated March, 13, 2020. 

Students who are away on Spring Break are strongly encouraged to return home or remain home if they are there already. All students will be asked to move out of the residence halls by Saturday, March 21st.

 This decision is based on the best public health and safety information available. The possible spread of COVID-19 presents specific challenges for residential settings based on the density of the population in relatively close quarters. MICA also has to acknowledge our own reality with respect to the College’s limited capacity to manage quarantine conditions for those who are, or may be, ill. This situation is highly fluid, and Residence Life will continue to adapt as the College policies and governmental directives change.

• Regarding the check-out process:

  • Please go to your residential community’s Campus Safety desk to receive an express check out envelope. Please turn in all room keys, mail keys, and studio keys.  

  • You are ready to check out when your belongings are packed up, and you no longer need to access your apartment. 

  • At that time, please stop by the front desk and ask for an express check out envelope. The express checkout process is quick, simple, and available at any time.

  • Fill out the information on the envelope, place your room and mail keys inside, sign and seal the envelope. Each student must return an apartment key/mail key envelope to the red bins at the front desks.

  • If your key is not returned, you will be charged a replacement fee up to $250.00. Please keep your MICARD.

  • Please do not mail any keys to the Residence Life Office. If you fail to return your keys you will be charged.  

• All residents will be required to return their apartment and mail keys, regardless of whether or not they remove all of their belongings.

• A check out list with detailed instructions was provided to every student's apartment door. 

• Look for dumpsters in your area and discard as much trash as possible before leaving. 

None of us expected the semester to play out in this manner. We thank you for your understanding, consideration, and commitment to the health of our community. We anticipate that you may still have questions related to on-campus housing for this semester and encourage you to contact us at residencelife@mica.edu.

Sincerely,

Office of Residence Life & Off-Campus Housing