Residence Life

While students may choose to live on campus, Rider University is temporarily suspending its undergraduate two-year residency requirement for first-year and sophomore students for the full 2020-21 academic year.

Rider will maintain the option of double-occupancy and roommates for residential rooms unless otherwise required by the state of New Jersey. This is in alignment with available health guidelines which consider residence halls as family units.  

As we move forward in fall plans that reflect a variety of teaching modalities including hybrid delivery, in addition to the suspension of the residency requirement for freshman and sophomore students and relatedly suspending late cancellation fees, we anticipate a natural de-densifying of residential facilities which will promote the ability to socially distance and reduce the risk of the spread of infection.  

As room assignments are confirmed throughout the summer months, Residence Life will identify all vacancies and maximize access to single rooms.  

Residence Life is developing an adjusted move-in schedule for residential students. The information will be communicated in July and August.

Additional sanitation efforts will be enacted in the residence hall common areas, with specific attention to residential common-area bathrooms, and initiating a regular sanitization schedule in suite and apartment bathrooms as well.

When dining on campus, a face mask or covering must be worn until you are ready to eat and then you must replace it afterward. Campus eating establishments will be set up to allow for social distancing between each customer, server and staff, including lines and seating arrangements. Individuals who are eating should not sit facing one another. 

All transaction areas will have shields and there will be no self-serve food.  Menus and hours of operations will be adjusted accordingly. Additional outdoor seating will be provided as well as extended online ordering, coupled with enhanced grab and go options that may include delivery service. 

If you are eating in your work or living environment (break room, office, residence hall), maintain 6 feet distance between you and others. All surfaces must be wiped, including table, refrigerator handle and microwave after using in common areas. 

Rider is preparing for the likelihood of incidents of COVID-19 surfacing with our residential population.  We have developed a care plan for sick and potentially exposed students, which will include:

Isolation to separate people infected with the virus (those who are sick with COVID-19 and those with no symptoms) from people who are not infected. 

• We will ask students who are able to return home to do so for the required isolation period before returning to their residence hall.
• For students who require housing (e.g. international or other domestic distance from home, or precarious home/living situations), we will establish isolation housing on campus. Care will include delivery of linens and food service and health care assistance, as required.

Quarantine to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. 

• When we become aware of students who have been exposed to COVID-19 through our contact tracing methods or other reports, the Student Health Center will evaluate the level of exposure and risk of that individual to determine next steps, which may include requiring students to either return home or relocate to a different residential facility for a period of 14-days.   On-campus care will include delivery of linens and food service and health care assistance, as required. 

Protocols for transporting sick students to essential appointments are being developed in conjunction with Public Safety.