September 2020
- Prior to arriving on campus for the 2020–21 academic year, students are required to complete a COVID-19 training program and submit a form attesting to their compliance with the University’s new policies.
- Dorm room assignments—including those within apartments—are single-occupancy, and dining halls are capped at a maximum capacity of 75 percent. A meal-delivery program provides students in quarantine with their meals.
- Snell-Hitchcock and Stony Island Hall are turned into “isolation housing.”
- First-years move into housing for a mostly remote O-Week. Arrival testing shows two out of 910 tests positive in the first batch of 1,588 tests.
October 2020
- The University activates three testing programs: a symptomatic testing program for those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus or are themselves experiencing symptoms, a weekly mandatory surveillance testing program for all asymptomatic members of the campus community who are living in UChicago’s residence halls, and a weekly voluntary surveillance testing program for undergraduates, faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and staff who will frequent the campus but do not live in residence halls.
- Lee announces that winter quarter will begin a week later than scheduled for every division but the law school and says University members should expect to retain the “hybrid” model for winter and spring quarters.
November 2020
- Students who leave campus for Thanksgiving must remain away from campus until the beginning of winter quarter.
- The University announces a projected $150 million loss for the coming year.
