Greetings River Hawk Families,

We are happy to send you the latest Family Update Email! We hope that this information is helpful to you and your family as your student progresses through the fall semester.

Information for Parents & Families:

• Last Chance to Give Feedback! The Office of Student & Family Support Services (Family Programs) is currently planning this summer’s Family Orientation program to welcome new River Hawk families into our community! We would love to get your thoughts and feedback about what information to include, as well as your thoughts about communication to parents and families.
  • Please consider taking a few minutes to complete our Family Transition Survey!

• Congratulations to all our hardworking students who made the Fall 2021 Dean’s List! You can view the full list: https://www.uml.edu/…/Dean-List/fall/deans_list.html

• Housing Applications for the 2022-2023 academic year will be available the first week in February on the Online Housing Portal. If your student wants to participate in Room Selection for next year, they should submit their housing application by March 31, 2022.

• Message from UML Health Services: COVID aside, is your student feeling under the weather or have they had a minor injury like a sprain? Health Services is available to provide accessible care for acute episodic illnesses and minor injuries. We are open Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Students will need to schedule an appointment by calling 978-934-6800 but can most often be seen the same day or within 24 hours. There are no charges for services provided in our clinic but students will be responsible for diagnostic test fees (Quest Laboratories), prescription medications, and any medical services received off campus.

All non-CE matriculated students are eligible for services regardless of whether or not they are full-time or part-time, residential or commuter, or if they have school or private health insurance. For additional information, please visit the Health Services website.

When your student calls you and they aren’t feeling well, send them our way!

Information for Students:

• Senior Portraits schedule begins January 31^st! Students can schedule their appointment online for a senior photo for the 2022 Sojourn Yearbook.

• University Dining has some great upcoming events and menus! Check it out on our University Dining Events blog!

• Free on Thr3e Upcoming Event: Free on 3 welcomes students to stop by the 3^rd floor of University Crossing at the Social Justice Center to enjoy free activities, games, crafts, and therapy dogs. Wednesday, February 16^th from 5pm to 7pm.

• Counseling Services is offering an LGBTQ+ counseling group for students for the spring 2022 semester. Interested students should contact Counseling Services at counseling@uml.edu.

Important Dates:

January 31: Last day to add a course or drop a course (without record)

February 21: President’s Day, university closed

February 22: Monday class schedule

March 6: Spring Recess begins

March 14: Classes resume

March 31: On-campus housing applications due if students want to participate in the room selection process

Thank you, and have a safe and happy weekend!

Marshall Greenleaf, Family Programs

Office of Student & Family Support Services

University Dining has a some great special events and menus planned for your student! Check out these upcoming events for February 2022!

Greetings River Hawk Families,

As the beginning of the semester quickly approaches, we are excited to send you the first “Family Update Email” of the spring 2022 semester. We hope that this information is helpful to you and your family as your student prepares for the start of the semester.

Information for Parents & Families:

• The Office of Student & Family Support Services (Family Programs) is currently planning this summer’s Family Orientation program to welcome new River Hawk families into our community! We would love to get your thoughts and feedback about what information to include, as well as your thoughts about communication to parents and families.
  • Please consider taking a few minutes to complete our Family Transition Survey!

• We know many parents and families have questions related to COVID-19. Current information, announcements, and answers to frequently asked questions can be found on the Coronavirus Updates page on the UML website. Additionally, parents and families of residential students can review this Message from Health Services and Residential Student COVID-19 Response Isolation Plan for Spring 2022.

Information for Students:

• Check out the Spring 2022 Campus Recreation Newsletter for information about the campus rec center, programs, and services.

• The Office of Multicultural Affairs has a variety of events planned for MLK Jr. Week & Celebration.

• The River Hawk Shop has information and resources related to all of your student’s textbook needs for the spring semester.

• Winter Welcome Activities Calendar:  
  • Kick off Winter Welcome with Coffee & Donuts with your Student Government Association at University Crossing on January 18 at 11 a.m.!
  • The week continues on with events hosted by Greek life, A.C.E., and Athletics!
  • From trivia, to paint night to watching the UMass Lowell Men’s Ice Hockey team take on UMass Amherst, this week is packed full of fun filled experiences.
  • Be sure to follow @umlactivities on Instagram and @umlactivities on Twitter 

Important Dates:

• January 16: Residence halls open at Noon
• January 17: MLK Day – University Closed
• January 18: Spring classes begin
• January 31: Last day to add a course or drop a course (without record)

Thank you, and happy start of the spring semester!

Marshall Greenleaf, Family Programs

Office of Student & Family Support Services

Hello Families

Welcome to Spring 2022.   While we all wish COVID was a thing of the past, our collective and individual actions can help make that become more likely if we all do our part.

While it will require some planning to have your student at home, it will be a much more comfortable way for your student to isolate with access to more customizable home cooked meals and snacks on demand (food delivery from outside vendors/restaurants is not possible either) , their comfy bed, a medicine cabinet full of the stuff they might need, fresh sheets and towels as needed, and someone to check in on them a few times a day. 

Here’s some information that you might want to keep on hand in case your student calls wondering what they should do about a positive test or a possible exposure.

•       First, PLEASE PLEASE tell your student if they have tested positive for COVID to stay in their residence hall rooms until they alert their hall staff to determine next steps. 

•       Tell your student to contact the Student Symptom Reporting Line (978-934-COV2 (2682) or email Student_SymptomReporting@uml.edu).  That line is staffed during regular business hours. 

•       Students who test positive need to isolate for at least FIVE days after the day of their positive test: a positive test today makes today day zero and tomorrow day one. 

•       If your student tests positive while at home before move in or on a visit to family they need to stay home and not return to campus until after they have completed their 5 day isolation. 

•       If your student has had significant contact with someone who is COVID positive, they should be directed to contact the Student Symptom Reporting Line (978-934-COV2 (2682) or email Student_SymptomReporting@uml.edu).  That line is staffed during regular business hours. 

•       Students who are fully vaccinated (including their booster if eligible) can go about business as usual as long as they are symptom free, and should be encouraged to test on day 5.

•       Students who are not fully vaccinated should off campus until they discuss the details of their quarantine with a Health Services staff member.

• While still in the midst of the Omicron wave, proper mask wearing by all of us is really important, so thanks in advance for reminding your student to wear theirs when in the company of others keeping their nose and mouth covered. 

As your student moves back to campus this is a great time to re-stock health supplies for your student.   We are seeing lots of flu activity in Massachusetts as well as other typical time limited illness so remind your student that if they are feeling sick they should think about contacting their faculty member BEFORE class time to let them know they may need to miss class.

Thanks for all you do to support the health of your student.

The campus bookstore is open and ready to meet all of your student’s textbook needs for the spring semester! Visit the River Hawk Shop website for more information!

At UMass Lowell, we celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. through events centered on community action, engagement, and social justice awareness. This week occurs at the end of January leading into Black History Month in February.

Check out the Campus Recreation Spring 2022 Newsletter for updates and information about all of the recreational opportunities available to your student!

With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant in Massachusetts and New England, UMass Lowell has updated its isolation protocols for residential students who tests positive.

COVID-19 test before returning to campus: If at all possible, please get a COVID-19 test (and wait for your results) prior to returning to the residence halls for the spring 2022 semester. Ideally, please get tested (rapid antigen tests or PCR tests if available) the day before or morning of your departure to campus and wait for the results before departing so that you can stay home and isolate there if your test is positive.

Isolate off campus if you test positive:  Once on campus, all students living in our residence halls who test positive for COVID-19 will be expected to isolate off campus. That could mean going home or to another location.  This is in an effort to keep our entire campus community safe. Please make a plan to isolate off campus if you test positive for COVID-19. 

Potential need to isolate on campus: We recognize that off-campus isolation will not be possible for some of our residential students. We have a very limited number of isolation rooms at our Inn & Conference Center (ICC) for residential students unable to isolate off campus or elsewhere.  Please be aware that with this limited capacity, students may be required to share a room with other students who test positive for COVID-19.

Potential need to isolate in place: Should positive cases quickly escalate and exhaust our supply of isolation rooms at the ICC, our vaccination and booster requirements will allow students to isolate in their residence hall rooms (if they are unable to isolate off campus) while following CDC guidance.

Based on current conditions, we expect many students who test positive will be asymptomatic or exhibit only mild systems. The vaccines allow us to approach the upcoming surge more like a cold or flu season. We ask students to prepare for this possibility by bringing supplies (including over the counter medications) with them to enable self-isolation if necessary.

For more details about our isolation plan, please see below.

If a student tests positive for COVID-19 and needs to isolate on campus, we plan to do the following:

• A student who is truly unable to return home could be moved to one of our isolation spaces at our Inn & Conference Center (ICC).  Please note, we have limited (30 double occupancy rooms) for isolation use.
• Students isolating at the ICC may be assigned a roommate who has also tested positive for COVID-19 so we maximize the space we have.
• With the current COVID-19 surge, we know we may need to isolate more than 60 students while the Omicron surge continues.  If that happens, students will need to isolate in place – in their current residence hall.  This could have an impact on roommates, suitemates and apartment-mates.  Again, if you test positive, the expectation is that you isolate off campus if at all possible.
• If a student isolates in place on campus, they will need to wear a mask or face covering when around any roommates, suitemates, or apartment mates.   Students may need to create plans within their living space in case sleeping arrangements need to be altered during this time – to allow for separation of students while sleeping without a mask or face covering.
• Per standard procedures, students living in suites and apartments will be responsible for cleaning their own bathrooms, common spaces and the like.  Please plan accordingly and bring cleaning supplies per standard routines.
• Students living in a traditional residence hall using community bathrooms should:
  • Always wear a mask or face covering while traveling from their room to the bathroom.  Only remove mask or face covering while using showers, etc and continue to stay 6+ feet apart from other students.
    • Bathroom cleaning schedules will be posted.
• Students in isolation at the ICC will receive meals at the ICC.
• Students isolating in place will leave their room (with mask or face covering) to pick up their food from a central location.
• Students isolating in place should only leave their room to:
  • Use a community bathroom
  • Pick up food

Additional isolation information will be provided to the student from our Health Services and Residence Life teams.

Staff and students at the university were able to keep the spread of COVID-19 minimal in the fall by adhering to strict cleaning practices, guest restrictions, and policy enforcement and will continue these practices in the spring with the same intended result.  As we have shared before – we do hope to go back to previous practices – such as allowing non-residential guests into our residence halls, once we move past this surge.  

As always, we thank you for your cooperation and patience.