The university expects about 5,500 students will move into its 14 residence halls by Aug. 16.
With about 4,000 of the new arrivals anticipated between Aug. 13 and Aug. 16, the university for the first time is instituting curbside move-in. To speed the unloading process and reduce crowding in the hallways, it has contracted with University and Student Services, a national company that specializes in moving residence hall students. Company crews will unload students’ belongings from their cars and deliver their items to their rooms.
Along with promoting safety, the new system should make move-in day less stressful for families as they part with their students, said Keith Zaborowski, University Housing’s associate director for operations and support. About three-fourths of the new residents are first-year students, who are in most cases required to live on campus.
“First and foremost, safety is our number one goal,” Zaborowski said. “We want to promote social distancing, less contact with others and minimize touching of shared surfaces for students and parents.”
Hiring the moving company also avoids the need to recruit and train about 120 student volunteers, which would be problematic in light of COVID-19 uncertainties.
Another change for those arriving Aug. 13-16 is that they will check in at the Bob Devaney Sports Center to pick up their NCard, sign University Health Center paperwork and pick up their textbook orders before getting packets with their room key card and other Housing information. This will provide students a physically distanced opportunity to complete processes that would ordinarily be handled at New Student Enrollment, which could not be held in person this summer because of the pandemic, and to eliminate start-of-semester lines in the University Bookstore.
Students have been assigned specific move-in times based upon their hall and floor assignments and Zaborowski emphasized that it is crucial that they adhere to those times.
Students arriving before Aug. 13 or after Aug. 16 will check directly into their residence hall at their assigned date and time. This includes students who are moving to different rooms after living on campus for summer school, who will move to their new assignment Aug. 5-8; and a few hundred student workers or participants in early programs such as First Huskers and Engineering Readiness, who will arrive Aug. 9-12. Students who can’t comply with their assigned move-in times are asked to contact University Housing to make alternative move-in arrangements.