COVID-19

Where a student lives in their first year attending Niagara College can have a direct impact on their academic success, making on-campus housing a great choice especially for those who do not live in Welland, Niagara-on-the-Lake, or the surrounding area.

Living in Residence has many benefits, including access to additional supports to facilitate a student’s transition from high school to Niagara College.

Additionally, Residence is also a convenient option for students who may not have previously considered living on-campus prior to COVID-19. For those with in-person components to their program, living on-campus is a great way to eliminate or reduce your daily commute.

We are committed to ensuring your experience in Residence is a positive one, regardless of the current situation we are all facing. Our Residence Life Team is ready to adapt our community model as restrictions continue to be eased to support and encourage not only your academics but also your social success. We will continue to have Resident Advisors and Residence Services Representatives available to all students – our methods of programming and communication may change, but our commitment to the student experience will never weary.

This answer will be consistently changing as new measures and regulations come into play by the government and Public Health officials. At this current moment, housekeeping in suites has been suspended until further notice but cleaning common areas and high touchpoints are a priority.

In regards to common area spaces, currently, only kitchens and laundry rooms are available for use with sanitation devices in each space and specific guidelines (e.g. only a limited number of students able to be in a room at a time, etc.). It is likely that common area rooms such as the movie room, and games room will be closed for the beginning of the term but we are hopeful that they will be open in the future with sanitary procedures in place.

Along with increased sanitization throughout the building, residents are required to comply with physical distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) needed while on campus due to COVID-19 or other public health emergencies.

When the minimum recommended physical distance of six (6) feet is not able to be maintained, residents will be expected to wear a mask.

Residents are recommended to wear a mask when in shared areas of the Residence and are required to maintain the posted room occupancy guidelines (e.g. common kitchens, laundry rooms, elevators).

The Residence is available to all full-time Niagara College students, even if your classes are only offered online at this time. If you are planning on living in Residence with only remote fall classes and have accepted your offer, please check your e-mails periodically for any essential communication from the Residence.

If you do not have an offer of acceptance for Residence, you may cancel your application at any time and you will receive your security deposit back in the form of a cheque.

For those who have an offer for Residence, the last day to cancel your application and receive your full refund is July 15, 2020.

Please note that refunds take a minimum of 6-8 weeks to be processed and then delivered. With Canada Post COVID-19 delays, please allow additional time for delivery.

Unfortunately, the Residence cannot guarantee winter spots available at this time. Therefore, if a student is looking to cancel their fall application, they must log onto My Housing Portal and cancel their application.

If you’d like to apply for the winter semester exclusively, applications for winter will open on September 1st, 2020. Once open, you can apply here. 

Your initial security deposit from your fall application can be transferred to your winter application. The Residence requires an email from the student requesting for the transfer to be completed. The Residence will hold the deposit as directed, and wait for the student to create an application once available. Once the new application is created and you have reached the deposit stage, contact the Residence and the Residence will complete the transfer.

Your initial security deposit from your fall application can be transferred to your winter application. The Residence requires an email from the student requesting for the transfer to be completed. The Residence will hold the deposit as directed, and wait for the student to create an application once available. Once the new application is created and you have reached the deposit stage, contact the Residence and the Residence will complete the transfer.

Winter Residence will be first come, first served based on when the application has been received, complete with the $500 deposit. Please note: Bill payee payments take 3-5 business days before being received at the Residence.

Acceptance will be completely dependent on the number of spots available. If you have not applied for the fall, you will need to submit a $500.00 security deposit in order for your application to be valid and considered.

If you have cancelled your fall application and have received your refund, or your refund is processing, you will have to be required to have an active $500 deposit applied to your current application.

The Residence is working hard to create safety protocols for you and our staff during move-in. As we are following all government regulations and recommendations, these protocols have been changing rapidly. Traditional Residence events such as move-in and orientation will be adjusted to accommodate physical distancing guidelines. Please lookout for an e-mail in early August regarding the move-in process with specific dates and times.

If you are arriving from out of the country, you will be required to be in Canada and self-isolate for 14 days before attending classes. The Residence will reach out to you with a plan in place regarding this specific move-in process.

Our primary focus is on the health and safety of all students and Residence staff. Due to COVID-19 protocols and for the safety of the community, there will be no guest/visitor sign-in at this time. The guest policy is hopeful to change and be more lenient, but to start the beginning of the academic year this policy is to protect those in our Residence community to the utmost degree.

Yes! The Residence will continue to accept mail and parcels from Canada Post and all other courier companies. The process will be adapted so physical distancing can be maintained between Residence staff and delivery people. Our staff will process and store mail while maintaining personal protective equipment guidelines. Students will be notified by email or phone that they have received mail and arrange for a time to pick up to ensure physical distancing can be maintained while students are retrieving their mail.

The Residence will be temporarily suspending drop-offs from family or friends of a resident’s belongings at the front desk. If a student requires a personal delivery including grocery and/or food deliveries, it must occur without the reliance on a Residence staff member.

Please note, the Residence will only hold mail and parcels for students currently living in Residence upon delivery.

Niagara Residences only offer two-bedroom suite accommodations and will be moving forward with double occupancy in all suites. This means that you will have a roommate – however, there will be an emphasis on cleanliness in the suite and ensuring both parties are doing their part in consistently sanitizing their common spaces routinely.

The Residence is prepared with a full Residence Life Team including student employed Resident Advisors and Residence Life Coordinator to aid in facilitating cleanliness conversations between roommates and help implement Residence measures in place. 

We understand that through this difficult time comes some hardships. We have extended the first payment deadline for all payment options from June 15 to July 15. All Residence acceptance offers now reflect this extension change.

The residence has varying payment options available. Please note that Residence does not defer any fee payments for OSAP. If you would like to get in contact with a manager about your specific situation, you may contact the following person on or before July 15, 2020, to discuss a potential alternative payment plan that better suits your needs.

Niagara College is diligently working with its food service provider Chartwells to make available on-campus food services available for the fall term. Niagara College and Chartwells continue to assess what food services may be possible under the under Government and Public Health restrictions and protocols.

The Residence will be allowing controlled usage of the kitchen and laundry rooms.

These spaces are part of our high traffic touch point cleaning or enhanced cleaning protocols and will be available by signing out or appointment. To add to the enhanced cleaning protocols for these spaces, the Residence has also installed wipe stations in each location to allow the students to sanitize the space again themselves for their comfort as well

Students are responsible to arrange their own food delivery through delivery services, and/or by immediate family/emergency contacts.

You must inform a Residence staff member if you have a confirmed or suspected case of Covid-19 in Residence. It is important that proper steps are taken to support the needs of the impacted individual, their roommate(s) if applicable, and the greater Residence & campus community. If you experience flu-like symptoms with a fever while living in Residence, contact your local family doctor or call Telehealth Ontario 24/7 at 1-866-797-0000.

During any cold and flu season, it’s a good idea to stock up on supplies in case you need to stay in for a few days, like cold and flu meds, a thermometer, hand sanitizer, and tissues.  Comfort and cleaning kits are available to provide students with the ability to clean/sanitize the isolated suite until students can provide their own supplies.

Students are responsible to arrange their own food delivery through delivery services, and/or by immediate family/emergency contacts.

Students who have been directed to Self-Isolate and/or diagnosed are required to notify the Residence Management immediately and follow the How to Self Isolate at Home when you have COVID-19.

Students should know the difference between Self-monitoring, Self-isolation, and Isolation. Know The Difference: Self-Monitoring, Self-Isolation, And Isolation For COVID-19.

In order to reduce the spread of infection, students who have been directed to Self-Isolate/Isolate will be asked directed to do so within their assigned suite or at their permanent home address.

Roommates and students living with a suspected case of COVID-19 will not be relocated to ensure the spread of the virus is contained within the isolated suite.

SELF-MONITORING should commence if you have reason to believe:

1. You have been exposed to a person with COVID-19,  
2. You are in close contact with older adults or medically vulnerable people, OR,
3. You have been advised to self-monitor for any other reason by your Public Health Authority.

SELF-ISOLATE: if you have:

1. Travelled outside of Canada within the last 14 days,
2. Your Public Health Authority has identified you as a close contact of someone diagnosed with COVID-19,
3. If you develop symptoms, even if mild, stay home, avoid other people and contact your Public Health Authority as soon as possible.

ISOLATION: will commence if:

1. You have been diagnosed with COVID-19,
2. You are waiting to hear the results of a laboratory test for COVID-19, OR,
3. You have been advised to stay at home for any other reason by your Public Health authority.

In order to reduce the spread of infection, the Residence will coordinate with Public Health, Niagara College, and Niagara College Health, Wellness, and Accessibility Services to support the student’s (and roommate’s) health and academic needs.

Students who have been directed to Self-Isolate/Isolate will be asked directed to do so within their assigned suite or at their permanent home address.

Roommates and students living with a suspected case of COVID-19 will not be relocated to ensure the spread of the virus is contained within the isolated suite.

SELF-MONITORING should commence if you have reason to believe:

1. You have been exposed to a person with COVID-19,  
2. You are in close contact with older adults or medically vulnerable people, OR,
3. You have been advised to self-monitor for any other reason by your Public Health Authority.

SELF-ISOLATE: if you have:

1. Traveled outside of Canada within the last 14 days,
2. Your Public Health Authority has identified you as a close contact of someone diagnosed with COVID-19,
3. If you develop symptoms, even if mild, stay home, avoid other people and contact your Public Health Authority as soon as possible.

ISOLATION: will commence if:

1. You have been diagnosed with COVID-19,
2. You are waiting to hear the results of a laboratory test for COVID-19, OR,
3. You have been advised to stay at home for any other reason by your Public Health authority.

If you have a question that has not been answered above, please feel free to e-mail us with the contact information below.

Please note, due to COVID-19, we are experiencing delays returning your e-mails and phone calls. During this time, we appreciate your patience while we work to provide you with the information you request. Staff will respond within a 1 – 2-day timeframe. While we encourage e-mail communication during this time, if you wish to speak to a representative on the telephone, please call between the hours of 9 am-5 pm due to limited staffing.