As we prepare for the first day of classes on Aug. 17, it will be critically important for all our students, faculty and staff to come together as a community and embrace public health and safety standards together. One important component of this will be educational training.

All students, faculty and staff will be expected to complete educational training courses about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 before returning to campus. Read more about these training courses here.

Links to the courses and completion instructions will be emailed to students.

Students, as well as faculty and staff, will be expected to self-administer daily health checks for COVID-19 symptoms using an online tool. Depending on the symptoms checked, the tool will give guidance as to whether you should stay home, seek medical care or are cleared to be on campus. More information will be provided soon.

The State of North Carolina, the UNC System, the Town of Boone and Appalachian State University are taking public health guidance seriously and are requiring face coverings. You will see signage about requirements for face coverings and physical distancing placed throughout campus in building entrances, hallways, offices and any common areas where students, faculty and staff would previously congregate between classes and during the day.

All students will be provided three reusable face coverings and are expected to wear them — on campus and during off-campus activities, as well — for the health and safety of everyone in the campus and local community. Read more about the face covering policy.

Distribution of face coverings:

• Residential students will receive their face coverings at check in during their assigned move-in appointment. 
• Online students will receive them by mail. 
• Off-campus students will receive face coverings through several distribution methods. More information will be provided soon.  

What do you do if you forget your face covering? Learn about on-campus purchase options here.

Appalachian opens two new residence halls this fall —Thunder Hill and Raven Rocks halls. There are other changes, too. Housing has implemented policies and procedures to ensure physical distancing, intensified  cleaning and other safety precautions and has special move-in instructions and a new visitation policy. 

The updates are summarized in the “Fall 2020” housing updates webpage added to housing.appstate.edu. Links are included for detailed information.

Off-Campus Student Services and the Student Legal Clinic, based in the Dean of Students Office, assist students living off campus.

Off-Campus Student Services focuses on helping students identify and secure off-campus housing that meets their needs.

In addition to its main website, Off-Campus Student Services maintains a searchable database of available rental properties at offcampushousing.appstate.edu. The website includes sublet ads created by students and a roommate finding function.

The Student Legal Clinic provides free, confidential legal advice to Appalachian students, including assistance with reading and understanding lease agreements.

Students will continue to find chef-inspired menus that prioritize fresh, healthy and local options. However, other things have changed: modified hours, new practices for safe-serving and physical distancing, and more frequent and enhanced cleaning. Contact will be as limited as possible and include mobile-ordering through Grubhub, self-pick-up and local food truck vendors.

Read more about fall 2020 Campus Dining.  And, learn more about the changes to Campus Dining in this video:

Students will order their fall textbooks online, beginning July 31. The University Bookstore has posted step-by-step instructions on its website for the online ordering process. Off-campus students will have their books delivered to them via UPS Ground. Residential students will pick up their books in person at the University Bookstore by appointment only and will receive emailed instructions for how to do this — no walk-ins will be allowed. Read more information about ordering fall textbooks. 

Information Technology Services has been working to ensure the best possible learning environments. Details on laptop recommendations, online computer labs and financial assistance is available here. 

Students will have spaces available on campus for studying or participating in online learning, including campus computer labs and designated study zones in multiple campus buildings. These spaces will have access to wi-fi, allow for appropriate physical distancing between students and be cleaned and disinfected throughout the day. Specific locations will be shared as information is available.

Belk Library and Information Commons’ dates of access and hours of operation for fall semester are available on the library’s website.

Rooms inside Plemmons Student Union will be used as academic classrooms during the day to accommodate physical distance requirements. The Division of Student Affairs is working to determine which hours the facility’s rooms will be available for clubs and organizations.

These services will continue. Staff in the Counseling Center and M.S. Shook Student Health Service have been seeing individuals through videoconferencing since spring. Student Health Service continues to see students in person, as well.

URec staff is working closely with the university, following local, state and national guidelines, to reopen and resume operations and in-person programming for the fall 2020 semester. The re-opening of workout and recreational spaces depends on decisions made by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. 

Read the latest URec news related to COVID-19.

Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT), which provides service experiences as opportunities to connect and engage with others in the local community, is working with local community partners to determine which organizations can safely accommodate volunteers.  

The ability to hold campus events and with how many people in attendance depends on decisions made by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Guidelines for student club and organization events will be provided soon.

Leadership of Appalachian State University’s fraternities and sororities have issued a joint statement on the groups’ commitment to “enforcing the directives and initiatives of our state, town and campus” for the safety of students and others in the community returning to campus amid COVID-19.

The statement also declares “those organizations that do not act according to these initiatives and our community values will be held accountable.”

Read the news story

While the Athletics Department remains hopeful to host sporting events on campus this fall, it is monitoring what is a very fluid situation in intercollegiate athletics. The health and safety of students and spectators is the most important aspect of decision-making, and the department is discussing a variety of scenarios for attendance at sporting events. Procedures will be guided by federal, state, local public health and university guidelines, as well as recommendations from the Sun Belt Conference. Updates will be provided at appstatesports.com.

AppalCART public transportation has implemented enhanced cleaning of its buses, as well as rear door boarding and other safety precautions to protect the health and safety of passengers and drivers. Some routes have been changed to reduce travel time on the bus. All passengers will need to wear a face covering.

Read more about AppalCART updates. And, learn more about the changes to AppalCART in this video.