Before coming to campus, be sure to complete both the Health Screening App and Online Safety Training. On campus, please comply with all General Safety Guidelines.
Academics
Hunter College Schools
Read Hunter’s Focus on Spring plan.
Before coming to campus, be sure to complete both the Health Screening App and Online Safety Training. On campus, please comply with all General Safety Guidelines.
Over 400 Hunter students have expressed an interest in living in our residence facilities this fall in order to better support them and their academic success. To accommodate the needs of these students, Hunter intends to open its Brookdale Campus Residence Hall at East 25th Street. Of utmost importance is offering and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for residents. The Brookdale dorm has a number of features that will allow Hunter to open and manage this facility safely, specifically it has a capacity of 600 beds in single occupancy rooms and there are both outside spaces and large indoor spaces.
The following plan outlines strategies and considerations for reopening of the Brookdale Residence Hall based on a review of information, resources, guidelines, and recommendations available through multiple sources, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the NYS Dept of Health, NY.gov, the American College Health Association (ACHA), and the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I).
Stage 1: Preparatory Activities (See General Guidelines)
Stage 2: Open Brookdale Residence Hall (600 Beds)
Stage 3: Expand Brookdale Residence Hall (600 Beds)
The following broad community mitigation strategies are essential for limiting the risk of spread of COVID-19:
Promote Behaviors that Reduce Spread
Maintain a Healthy Environment
Maintain Healthy Operations
When a Student Becomes Sick
Hunter College is taking extensive measures to ensure that students who move into rooms in the Brookdale Campus dormitory remain healthy and safe – and that those with whom they interact are equally protected. The requirements cover every aspect of the process.
Capacity
The Brookdale Residence Hall occupies thirteen floors of the North Building and five floors of the East. In total the building has capacity for 700 beds in a combination of mostly singles and a few doubles.
For the purpose of our planning, Hunter will only be offering 600 single beds. Each bed will have its own room with a window, wi-fi, and study space. Students will be offered a list of retailers from which they may purchase a mini-fridge and the college will make funds available to those students who demonstrate a need in making the purchase. Students will be restricted to not have visitors, including other residential students, in their rooms.
To minimize the potential for students to be in close contact with one another, twenty rooms on each floor will be designated as a cohort. Each cohort will share one bathroom, which will be used following all physical distancing guidelines and will be made available on a scheduled basis for showering and morning/bedtime hygiene.
Study lounges will be restricted to only students living on the floor and physically distanced furniture locations with behavior monitoring by onsite staff.
North Building residents will be limited to their single room, assigned bathroom, and common areas that are accessible and have capacity limits.
East Building residents will be limited to their single room, assigned bathroom, and common areas that are accessible and have capacity limits.
North Building residents will be restricted from entering the East Building residential floors and vice versa.
The total occupancy of the Brookdale campus will be limited to a select group of in-person classes and additional space will be made in the academic buildings for students to eat and study. In total, the occupancy of the campus shall not exceed the General Safety Guidelines capacities in Stage 2 and 3.
Self-identified students who qualify for reasonable accommodation due to being immunocompromised or have underlying health conditions, can be assigned to the ADA single-use bathroom and nearby room. Such bathrooms are located on each floor of the North Building (11 in total).
Testing
All students moving into Brookdale from states on the New York State mandatory quarantine list and international students will be required to provide proof of testing and clearance (an FDA EUA authorized PCR saliva or nasal swab test and a negative result) and are required by NYS to quarantine for 14 days. This quarantine must be done off campus (see below section “Isolation & Quarantine”).
Housing Agreements
Students will be required to agree to:
Common areas will have capacity limits with signage indicating reduced occupant load, require wearing PPE, and increased cleaning frequency in high-touch areas. See the General Guidelines for more detail.
Kitchens
Elevators
Bathrooms
Floor Lounges
Laundry
Game Room
Cafeteria
Rotunda
Courtyard
Messaging designed to broadcast social distancing guidelines, and information on preventative measures, with an emphasis on individual responsibility for adopting recommended persona-level actions, will be posted throughout the property
Procedural changes and precautionary measures will be communicated to all residents prior to their arrival
Residence Life staff will coordinate existing and supplemental student services (such as routine medications/supplies, referral to mental health counseling, academic advising, etc.) for students who quarantine on site.
Students will be required to identify to where they will move in the event that evacuation from Brookdale is required. Information regarding emergency preparation in the case of a campus closure will be shared with students via routine informational emails. Where possible, students will be given sufficient notice such that they have the opportunity to plan departure and pack. Students will receive notice via email