Pictured Above: Both open residence halls are under design capacity, with Pelican Apartments only 62 percent full and Osprey Suites only 48 percent full.
Patrick Tobin | The Crow’s Nest
By Sophie Ojdanic
USF St. Petersburg’s residence halls have opened at full capacity, meaning students who apply for housing will be sorted into rooms at their designed capacity.
Rooms range from three people in a private bedroom suite to a shared bedroom suite with a total of six to eight people.
Despite this, the university’s two open residence halls are currently under capacity, with only 212 out of 340 residents in Pelican Apartments (formerly Residence Hall One) and 180 out of 375 residents in the new Osprey Suites. Ibis Hall, the new branding for the University Student Center, will remain closed to students and serve as a space for students to self-isolate if necessary.
Residence halls have new COVID-19 guidelines in place, including mandatory masks in common areas such as hallways and laundry rooms. Floor lounges and other common spaces are closed to residents.
As positive COVID-19 cases in Florida rose, an addendum to the housing contract indicated that students who leave residence halls if the university were to move to all online classes would not be refunded. Student rent ranges from $5,844 to $11,985 per year, depending on room type.
Students were given until Aug. 1 to cancel housing contracts without penalty if their classes had moved to 100 percent online.
Housing refunds weren’t the only changes made for residential students.
Over the summer, USF St. Petersburg terminated their contract with Sodexo – the campus’ dining provider since 2012 – and signed a new contract with Aramark, USF Tampa’s dining provider.
This change affects meal plan pricing for the upcoming year. Residential students may now choose between three offered plans, ranging from $1,765 to $2,050.
Residents who completed their housing application prior to the change to Aramark were assigned a new meal plan based on their previous choice.
USF Dining has a grace period from Aug. 12 to Aug. 27 in which campus residents, who are required to purchase a meal plan, may change their meal plan decision.
A new dining hall being constructed in Osprey Suites is set to open in January of 2021. The Reef will remain in operation as the university’s main dining hall until then.
Dining and housing operations will be separate going forward. Any questions regarding dining can be sent to dining@usf.edu.
Any questions regarding housing can be sent to usfsp-housing@usf.edu.
