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 entire 2020-21 academic year.

Rider offers a variety of living options, including maintaining the option of double-occupancy and roommates for residential rooms and expanding the availability of single rooms. We have de-densified overall residential occupancy to promote health and safety of on-campus students during the pandemic.  

Housekeeping staff clean residential spaces based on CDC guidelines for disinfection and Occupational and Environmental Safety Office (OESO) protocols. Specific attention is given to residence hall common areas and bathrooms. A regular sanitization schedule is in place for suite and apartment bathrooms as well.

To reduce the risk of spread of infection, residence hall lounges are closed and guests in the residence halls are limited. Residential students can only have one additional guest in their room, and that guest must be from the same building.  No external or out-of-building guests will be permitted in the residence halls. Students that reside in suites and apartments will be limited to no more than two additional people beyond assigned residents in their suite/apartment.

Upon entering Daly Dining Hall and Cranberry’s Café, your temperature will be taken and you will be asked to show that you have completed CampusClear for that day. During the pandemic, only meal plan holders and Rider community members can access Daly Dining Hall.

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 are set up to allow for social distancing between customers, servers and staff, including lines and seating arrangements. Individuals who are eating should not sit facing one another. 

All dining transaction areas have shields and there is no self-serve food.  Additional outdoor seating will be provided as the weather allows.  We have also 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 has a comprehensive plan in place to care for residential students who test positive for COVID-19 or are identified as close contacts of someone who tests positive. This plan includes:

Isolation to separate students who test positive for COVID-19 (regardless of whether or not they are symptomatic).  Separate, on-campus space has been designated for this purpose.

The Student Health Center and Rider contact tracers/case managers provide assistance to students as they move into isolation housing, check on students regularly and provide information regarding food service, symptoms, resources, length of stay, behavioral expectations, contacting faculty, etc.  Meals are provided to all students in isolation.

Quarantine to separate students who may have been exposed to COVID-19. Quarantine is required of students who are awaiting diagnostic test results (when they are tested by the Student Health Center because they are experiencing symptoms) or who have been identified by a contact tracer as a close contact of someone who is COVID-19 positive. 

Separate, on-campus space has been designated for quarantine housing. The Student Health Center and Rider contact tracers/case managers provide assistance to students as they move into quarantine housing, check on students regularly and provide information regarding food service, symptoms, resources, length of stay, behavioral expectations, contacting faculty, etc.  Meals are provided to all students in isolation.

Rider follows CDC and NJDOH (New Jersey Department of Health) guidelines regarding isolation and quarantine.  Residential students are encouraged to remain on campus during isolation or quarantine but can choose to go home instead.   Students are released from isolation or quarantine, whether on or off campus, only when cleared by the Student Health Center as per CDC and NJDOH guidelines.

The following apply to both isolation and quarantine housing:

• Meals are delivered by Rider Dining. Students order meals through Grub Hub. 
• A pantry is available in the building kitchen for snacks and drinks.  
• Students can order food from off-campus vendors. A table is available for food delivery and pick up to ensure contactless delivery.      
• Students are provided a suggested list of items to bring with them.
• Students are encouraged to reach out to their professors to work out any needed arrangements, particularly with in-person or hybrid classes. The Dean of Students office will also contact faculty with the standard class absence notice.
• Contact tracers and the Student Health Center are available for questions or assistance.  They check regularly on students in isolation and quarantine.

For additional information, please see the Quarantine and Isolation section under Student Health and Wellness on the Resolved and Ready website.  

In addition to Rider’s random surveillance testing this spring, all residential students are required to take a COVID-19 PCR test before the start of the Spring semester. Students who do not adhere to this advance testing requirement will risk immediate loss of housing.

The required test is a PCR molecular test (saliva or nasal swab) and must be administered between 5-7 days prior to your arrival. Rapid antigen or antibody tests will NOT be accepted. 

Those with negative test results can move back on campus January 30 or 31. Those with positive test results must isolate at home and be cleared by the Student Health Center before returning to campus for the semester.

Limit interactions with others and minimize your exposure between when you get tested and when you return to campus to reduce the risk that you become infected after testing.

Residential students have 2 options to meet the advance PCR testing requirement.  These options are listed in order of preference.  

Option 1: Test on your own in advance.

Secure your own PCR molecular test (saliva or nasal swab) between 5-7 days prior to your arrival (January 23-26) for the spring semester and submit your test results via the Healthy Broncs portal.  Rapid antigen or antibody tests will NOT be accepted. 

Resources to identify an appropriate testing site.

• Contact your healthcare provider about testing availability and potential costs.
• New Jersey testing resources.
• US Department of Health and Human Services resources. 

Option 2:  Get tested in advance at Rider for free.      

Come to campus on one of the following dates/times to get tested free of charge, and go home to await your test results. No appointment is necessary. Testing will be offered in the SRC seminar room on a first-come, first-served basis. Please prepare for potential wait time, and be patient with staff who are working hard to coordinate testing.

• Saturday, January 23    10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Sunday, January 24    10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Monday, January 25    11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, January 26    11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

It is important that you follow the instructions below prior to your testing day. Failure to do so may result in an indeterminate finding that must be treated as a positive case, requiring your isolation and potential quarantine for those with whom you’ve had close contact.  You can expect test results via the Healthy Broncs portal typically within 72 hours. 

• Avoid eating, drinking, chewing gum, or smoking 30 minutes prior to taking the test.
• Be prepared to show that you are cleared by CampusClear that day.
• Do NOT come for testing if you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, if you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days, or if you are currently in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19.  

*Winter break residents and Residence Life staff can be tested on one of these days.

If you’ve previously tested positive for COVID-19

If you had a positive COVID 19 test between November 1, 2020 and January 18, 2021, you will need to provide proof of that test prior to arrival to campus via the Healthy Broncs Portal. ***Please note that if you were tested through the University within the last 90 days or if you previously self-reported, you still need to submit your positive test result into the portal.

Additional information about return to spring housing

All students living on campus for the Spring semester must submit negative PCR test results per this protocol prior to move-in. Students who cannot complete either advance testing option will be required to quarantine immediately upon their arrival on January 30 or 31 and must be tested on campus on February 1. Students who completed advance testing but whose test results are not received in advance of their arrival will be required to quarantine until their results are received.  Students with roommates and those who reside in suites or apartments will be assigned to a temporary Quarantine Housing location. You cannot attend any in-person classes or activities while in quarantine awaiting your test results. This could take a week or more.  

All students should reserve a residential arrival appointment through the myRider portal, selecting “Schedule your Move-in/Move-out.” Please keep the testing timeline in mind as you schedule your move-in day/time. Please understand that early arrival requests for the Spring semester will be extremely limited due to the timelines associated with this COVID-19 testing protocol and will still require advance testing.  

Exception for those requiring travel quarantine

If you are traveling from outside of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania or Delaware, you are required to arrive on campus January 21 or 22 and quarantine immediately as per NJ requirements. You will not need an advance test, but you will be required to be tested at Rider, free of charge, on January 27. Those with negative test results and who are asymptomatic can end their quarantine on January 30. Those who are positive will move into on-campus isolation housing. 

Questions

If you have questions related to this advance testing protocol, please contact:

• Student Health Center 609-896-5060 or [email protected]
  Medically-related questions about COVID-19 testing and submission of advance test results
• Residence Life 609-896-5102 or [email protected]
  Questions related to registration for spring return to campus residence halls

All residential students and students and employees who frequent campus for classes or activities must participate in Rider’s weekly random surveillance testing program this spring.

Students are expected to keep updated on New Jersey travel related requirements which may dictate the need for quarantine and/or testing prior to returning to campus following any travel beyond the immediate area.