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Clemson Families,

I hope you are enjoying the summer and are staying safe and healthy during these unprecedented and challenging times. I look forward to seeing our students return for the Fall semester in August, but also know a great deal of work is still ahead of us before we get to that point.

The University continues to move forward with the goal of delivering a world-class educational experience and we are doing everything possible to ensure it is done as safely as possible. The health and well-being of students, staff and guests is our No. 1 priority. With that in mind, I wanted to take a moment to further explain a few things the University is doing to keep students safe and how you can help play a role in this ever-changing COVID-19 environment.

MOVE-IN GUIDANCE

Few instances in a student’s experience are as exciting and yet equally emotional for families as the first time they move in to begin their college journey. I know from personal experience because my son is a rising senior in the College of Business at Clemson.

Based on the numbers we have seen, interest remains high for the Fall semester. Our colleagues in Clemson Home are navigating the complexities caused by this virus and coordinating a physically distant process for nearly 8,000 on-campus residents. They have worked diligently to plan a thorough schedule and have performed their jobs with great thoughtfulness in the face of this public health crisis. We know there are residual risks because this is a fluid situation, but we are doing everything we can to mitigate them.

Clemson Home recently launched its move-in website to answer some of the pressing questions as it relates to your student’s experience. Even with our best efforts, our students’ traditional on-campus experiences will look and be completely different when we return in August. That is a reality we face as a result of COVID-19.

Earlier today, students desiring to live on campus should have received an email to select a move-in appointment time. In accordance with CDC guidance for institutions of higher education, we strongly encourage students to only include one or two family members at their appointed move-in time to further reduce health risks to our campus community.

In addition, we are asking only one family member to participate in the in-person Orientation session planned for the day of move-in due to drastically reduced seating capacities we now have in our venues. We do, however, plan to live stream the parent Orientation. The student’s Orientation session, planned for the day after move-in, is for students only because of physical distancing requirements in our venues. More details on Orientation will follow in the near future.

I understand the anxieties you have related to these requests and know this is a special time in your student’s life. We empathize with your concerns. Clemson Home is designing traffic flow inside residential facilities to ensure the least amount of contact with other students and families as possible. In addition, we are not soliciting the services of volunteers — usually well over 1,000 people — to assist as we have done previously. We hope these measures reduce health risks during the move-in process for you and your student. We are doing all we can to promote the health and well-being of our students to ensure a successful transition to campus.

One of the ways we hope students will share in this special milestone is through social media. We encourage your student to share photos, videos and messages using the hashtag #ClemsonMoveIn on their accounts for family members and friends who are unable to attend.

TESTING AND FACE COVERINGS

We acknowledge our announcement related to the baseline testing requirement for students raised a number of questions. We also acknowledge testing by no means guarantees the University will be free of COVID-19 when the Fall semester begins. However, it will both reduce the number of positive individuals arriving at University locations and provide valuable data about the prevalence of the disease in our community to inform ongoing mitigation and containment efforts.

We are in the process of selecting a third-party vendor to implement required medical testing prior to your student’s return and will communicate full details of protocols and procedures quickly and efficiently once the information is solidified.

We also announced face coverings will be mandatory in University-owned facilities, vehicles and transportation services, in University-sponsored programs held at non-University facilities and in outdoor spaces where physical distancing cannot be ensured. We will provide two cloth face coverings to each student prior to the start of classes. In addition, the City of Clemson passed an ordinance mandating face coverings in public places that will be in effect during the August return period.

HEALTHY CLEMSON

Above all, the most important thing I can reiterate is that we all play a role in embracing a personal and shared sense of responsibility to ensure our University’s successful return. This is extremely important when it comes to students engaging in healthy behaviors off campus. As we launch the Healthy Clemson campaign, we will be making concerted efforts to educate students through the use of online materials, social media engagement, within clearly marked facilities signage and through our campus digital network.

In closing, I hope you will take a couple of minutes to view the video message atop this page. I want to reaffirm how much our institution’s leaders appreciate your patience and flexibility as we remain steadfast in our goal of returning for the Fall semester, United as Tigers!

Sincerely,

L. Christopher Miller
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students