As Rowan University continues to grapple with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, students are expected to move out of their housing by April 5 at the latest, according to an email sent to on-campus residents on March 19 and a more recent email sent on March 23.

The email, sent by Assistant Vice President for Residential Learning Travis Douglas, calls for “a staggered return to help ensure proper social distancing protocols and maintain an orderly process.”

Students are being asked to clean their rooms as much as possible and remove any trash. Each student has been assigned two dates to complete their move out process.

Any student with compromised immune systems or disabilities were asked to move out on Monday, March 23 but have now been assigned an April 3 move out date, according to the most recent update. No other students should move out on that date.

Students who need to remain on campus can fill out a request form to remain in their on-campus housing. Their application may be accepted if they are an independent student whose student housing is their primary, year-round residence, if a student does not have alternate housing and would be homeless, or housing-insecure, without access to student housing or if they are an international student and are unable to return home. The form is available here.

Any student that has recently returned home from a foreign country is being asked to remain in home self-isolation for a minimum of 14 days to ensure they have not developed symptoms of COVID-19. 

Students who have already moved out of their housing but still have their room key are asked to mail the key with a note including their name, building, room number and Rowan Banner ID number to Residential Learning and University Housing at 201 Mullica Hill Rd., Glassboro, NJ 08108.

The move out process was halted this past weekend due to Governor Phil Murphy’s stay-at-home order, but the university has since resumed this process after consulting with education officials.

“This past weekend Rowan University suspended the move-out process due to the Governor’s executive order directing New Jersey residents to stay at home as a part of the strategy to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” Douglas wrote in an email on March 23. “Today Rowan administrators obtained updated guidance about the Governor’s order from the New Jersey Secretary of Higher education, and we have determined that move-out can continue.”

The university is still in the process of determining how to compensate students who will not be remaining in on-campus housing or using their meal plans.

This article has been updated twice to reflect the changing dynamic regarding this subject.

For comments/questions about this story, email news@thewhitonline.com or tweet @TheWhitOnline.