In order to return to campus for spring semester, students are required to follow specific guidelines that include mandatory pre-arrival testing and quarantine, either at home before travel or on campus, depending on their point of origin and means of travel. This requirement also pertains to all students enrolled in at-home study who live in Burlington, South Burlington or Winooski. The Center for Health & Wellbeing’s Health and Safety Move-In Information provides details on quarantine requirements both for students and for those who travel with them to Vermont.

An agreement on strict rules mandated by the state of Vermont, rules that go beyond Centers for Disease Control guidance, undergirds our plans for student testing and quarantine.

As we did in fall 2020, UVM is requiring pre-arrival testing for all students — undergraduate, graduate, non-degree, and medical students — prior to the start of spring semester, with a positive test result leading to home quarantine and a delayed arrival to campus. All students will take at Day-0 test before the start of classes and will be tested every seven days following.

• In addition, students are required to sign the Green and Gold Promise, a promise to care for one’s own health and the health of the community by engaging in specific practices that help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• The Center for Health and Wellbeing supports students in protecting their health and the health of others and provides updated information on health policies from UVM and the Vermont Department of Health.

In planning to resume in-person learning for fall 2020, UVM engaged with partners on and off campus to provide information and put resources in place to promote a safe return to campus. The Division of Student Affairs, the Center for Health and Wellbeing, Residential Life, and others regularly communicated plans and requirements with students and families. Here are specific communications that lay out plans to students.

• Q&A Sessions on returning to campus
• Return to Campus updates
• Health and Safety for Move-in
• Letter to students and families on conduct violations regarding health and safety
• Letter to off-campus students

The Office of Student and Community Relations continues to provide information on COVID-19 regulations and recommendations via their Off-Campus Life Newsletter. Additionally, communications in preparation for returning to fall in-person learning included door-to-door flyer distribution and student surveys addressing plans for move-in, how COVID-19 has impacted students, understanding of quarantining, and other issues. Other communications specifically targeting off-campus students include:

• Letter from Burlington Mayor Weinberger to students about the Box It In strategy for COVID-19.
• May 13 webinar with UVM President and Vice Provost, and Vermont tenants, on COVID-19 resources and public safety
• May 14 webinar with Mayor’s Office, Community and Economic Development Office, Burlington Chief Health Officer, VT Tenants, and VT Legal Aid on COVID-19 supports services and regulations.
• Letter from Provost Patty Prelock and Vice Provost for Student Affairs Annie Stevens to Off-Campus Students, July 30

Community efforts are also ongoing. Burlington Code Enforcement and the Burlington Police Department are working with the Office of Student and Community Relations to reach out to landlords to help educate Burlington tenants. Code Enforcement has been responding with rapid and frequent follow-ups with landlords and tenants when notified of COVID violations (too many people in a closed space, no masking, etc.) or quality-of-life concerns. Community-building projects bring off-campus student renters together with neighbors through Zoom meetings and neighborhood projects.

Burlington Police Department patrols are educating off-campus students and addressing quality of life and COVID-19 health-related incidents (including promoting social distancing and mask-wearing). UVM Police officers participate in joint patrols with Burlington Police Department when officers are available. Officers are asked to document whether they are witnessing Executive Order violations or other areas of concern.

The university receives violations data from the Burlington Police Department, which now include COVID-19 violations (the City of Burlington fine for the first offense is $100, which will increase to $250 and then up to $500), although the focus is on engagement and education.

Community members are always encouraged to contact the police regarding safety and quality of life incidents when they occur: 802-658-2704. Meeting an officer at the time the incident is occurring helps provide as much information as possible for a response and follow up to an incident. Community members may provide a signed statement of the incident the following day. Community members can also contact the following individuals:

• Contact the UVM Office of Student and Community Relations if it is believed that a UVM student is involved using the incident reporting form. 
• Email Corporal Carolynne Erwin, BPD Community Affairs Officer, or phone her at 802-540-2260, about incidents of concern.
• Email Bill Ward at Burlington Code Enforcement. His office follows up with landlords and tenants when notified of COVID violations.

Information from City of Burlington Police Department violations and reports can be used to hold students accountable through the University’s Center for Student Conduct process, including quality of life and health and safety issues as referenced in the Green and Gold Promise. Adequate information related to an incident must be included (for example, in police reports or tickets) to ensure students’ due process in the Student Conduct system. Minimal information enables the Center for Student Conduct to send letters of warning and request a meeting with a student.

The Office of Student and Community Relations is proactively addressing off-campus behavior that impacts neighborhoods by sending letters to students and landlords of houses of concern identified through Burlington Police Department data and directly by from neighbors. Of the 25 letters sent this summer to tenants and landlords of addresses of concern, only two addresses had additional issues. Two students also wrote a letter of apology. If you have a concern with an off-campus address, please e-mail the Office of Student and Community Relations.