Pictured above: The decision to preclude summer housing came shortly after the university announced it would continue remote classes through the summer semesters.
Thomas Iacobucci | The Crow’s Nest
By James Bennett III
Students across the USF system will not be able to live on campus over the summer due to the coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic.
For USF St. Petersburg, that means the opening of the new, $31.5 million residence hall — The Osprey — will be postponed.
On April 3, USF announced it will not provide on-campus housing through the summer. However, students who have already been granted an exception to stay on campus through the spring semester will also be allowed to stay through the summer.
The decision to preclude summer housing came shortly after the university announced it would continue remote classes through the summer semesters and move new student orientations online.
“If online learning is supplemented with any on-campus instruction for the Summer B session, we will re-evaluate the feasibility to offer limited housing on-campus,” the university’s latest announcement said.
USF has stopped accepting new summer 2020 housing applications. Students who have already applied for on-campus housing for the summer semesters will have their applications canceled automatically.
“For those who have applied for Summer B housing, we will place your application on hold unless we receive a cancellation request from you. If on-campus housing becomes an option during the Summer B term, additional information will be provided,” the announcement said.
Carrie O’Brion, marketing and communications director at USF St. Petersburg, said the university’s decision to forgo summer housing wasn’t immediately shared with her.
However, after double-checking that the university’s announcement also applied to the St. Petersburg campus, she added that USF St. Petersburg wasn’t explicitly mentioned in the announcement because the information about application refunds did not apply to the St. Petersburg campus.
O’Brion said USF St. Petersburg hadn’t begun processing its housing applications yet, so there wasn’t any money to refund.
On April 2, the university announced it would issue partial refunds of unused meal plan money, beginning on April 10. It also suspended the move-out period for campus residents, which was initially scheduled from April 8 to May 10.
“USF will announce a new move-out plan after the Executive Order is lifted,” the April 2 announcement said. “Until then, personal items will remain secured in students’ rooms.”
The university does not expect move-outs to begin before mid-May, it said in the announcement.
The move to cancel summer housing comes just three months before construction on The Osprey is scheduled to finish.
Even before the suspension of summer housing, the university has struggled to find students to fill the 375 beds in the new dorm.
After an “expected dip” in enrollment, university administrators have been trying to recruit graduate students and transfer students from St. Petersburg College as potential residents.
In February 2020, the building was given a $1.5 million contribution from USF Tampa’s dining auxiliary fund to cover a gap in the building’s funding.
As of April 3, the university has not reported any new cases of COVID-19.
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