The University of San Diego announced on Friday they will initiate a limited return to campus for the fall semester after San Diego County was taken off the state’s watchlist.
"Although San Diego County is still operating under stay-at-home orders, we believe at this time we can move forward safely with a few in-person class offerings as well as allow a limited number of students to move onto campus," said James T. Harris III, D.Ed. President of USD in a release.
The university said it is in the process of extending the housing option to all students who have previously indicated an interest in housing for the fall semester.
“On-campus housing under a single occupancy model is limited, and therefore, it is unlikely we can accommodate all requests. Priority housing will be given to first- and second-year students, those who live in a different time zone than San Diego, and those students taking labs and capstone courses,” Harris said.
Move-in weekend will be scheduled for Sept.18-20.
No students will be required to move to campus at this time and the university said it will honor housing for the spring semester whether students choose to return to campus now or in the future.
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COVID-19 testing will be required for students who will live on campus and flu vaccines are strongly recommended prior to move-in weekend. Testing will also be available on campus during the move-in weekend.
USD said it does not intend to close campus if the county or state COVID-19 data reflect a growing trend of cases or outbreaks.
A vast majority of courses will continue to be online for the remainder of the fall semester.
"It is our intent to return to campus in the spring, but that decision will be re-evaluated based on the impact of the pandemic and state and county orders at that time," Harris said.
USD started the fall semester on Aug. 17.
Students can find more information on USD's website.
