Moving & Breaks

Fall move-in dates and details will be shared as soon as they’re available. Move-in, planned for late-August, will be spread out over additional dates this year to reduce crowds. Each student will get a two-hour window on a specific day and time.

Students will be able to bring up to two helpers, and all individuals will need to wear face coverings during the move-in process. Each student will get a two-hour window on a specific day and time. More information will be shared as soon as it is available.

We have not finalized plans for the residence halls after November Break. As of this time, we are not anticipating any reductions in Housing rates.

For students living on campus who test positive for the virus, we will provide dedicated rooms with private bathrooms for quarantining or self-isolation. Students may also be encouraged to return home for the quarantine period if they are able to do so. UW-Madison will employ contact tracers trained in conjunction with Public Health Madison & Dane County to help identify those who may have come into contact with anyone testing positive on the UW–Madison campus.

If a student would no longer be attending UW-Madison in the Fall, we can cancel their University Housing Contract. If the student is still planning on attending UW-Madison in the Fall but has concerns about living in the residence halls, they should contact the Housing Assignment Office at assignMe@housing.wisc.edu as soon as possible to discuss options. The only time we’re able to release students from their legally-binding contract is when we are in a position where demand for housing exceeds our occupancy.

Access to Housing Dining locations and residence halls will be limited to Housing residents and staff. This allows us to better manage crowd sizes and physical distancing while focusing our service on the students living in the residence halls. Students living off-campus this fall will be able order Housing food through our robot delivery service, within the campus delivery area map. The service area, however, does not include most off-campus apartments. Students can also still dine on campus at locations managed by the Wisconsin Union, including Memorial Union, Union South, Badger Markets, and several other cafe and deli locations around campus.

Residents of University Apartments will not be required to be tested. Tests will be available via drop-in testing centers to the entire campus community.

We offered a move-out process for most residence halls for a limited time between April 27 – May 7. Students received an email with details specific to their building, including a link to sign up for a specific day and time during these dates. For some buildings, an additional move-out date range is being offered June 26 – 28 to those who were unable to get their belongings.

Yes. If you need someone else to pick-up your items, sign-up for a time slot under your name. In the comments sections of that reservation add the name of the individual who will be moving your items on your behalf. Then, send an email to reslife@housing.wisc.edu for approval.

If you are unable to come back and move your personal items out during the date range assigned to your building, a contracted professional moving company will be packing and storing your belongings here on campus.

A contracted professional moving company will take time with each room and will:

• Carefully box all items in the room (except perishable items)
• Label each packed box with the hall name, house, and room number
• Store boxes in a secured location within that building

If the room has multiple residents that have not yet moved out, there’s a chance one roommate’s belongings may get packed with another. When it is safe to return to campus to pick up your items, we will have a clear process in place to ensure items are released to the correct roommate. Housing will not charge any fees for packing and storing items. Please check your @wisc.edu email for updates.

Email us at reslife@housing.wisc.edu and list the exact items you are abandoning. Please indicate in this email you are giving University Housing consent to dispose of (or recycle, if possible) these items. We will follow-up with a confirmation email before any action is taken.

No. You are unable to leave your items in the same room for next year.  A contracted professional moving company will need to carefully box and securely store belongings for those who are not able to move out during the date range for their building.

Students should check out at the front desk or drop of their key to the key drop box at the desk.

UW-Madison, as an agency of the State of Wisconsin, is insured by the State against losses resulting from the negligence of State employees. If your property is damaged as a result of negligence by a UW-Madison employee, you may file a claim for reimbursement with UW-Madison’s Risk Management Department.

Yes, all students who vacated University Residence Halls in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic received a prorated room credit, as well as a credit for any remaining Housing resident food account funds on their Wiscard. These credits were applied to their campus student account. If the student had any outstanding amounts due to campus, these amounts due were subtracted from their credit, and any remaining credit balance was issued as a refund payment to the student.

Prorated room reimbursements for students who vacated the residence halls covered March 23, 2020 through the remainder of the spring semester (May 10, 2020), regardless of the actual date they may have moved their belongings out of the residence hall. The amount of the credit to the student’s campus account varied depending on the rental rate for their particular residence hall, room type, and learning community fees, as well as the remaining balance in their resident food account.

Remaining balances in resident food accounts for residents who vacated University Residence Halls in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic were credited as a payment in their student center account and removed from their Wiscard. We decided to return this money to students, rather than let it carry over to the next school year. This includes former residents from the 2018-19 academic year who still had Resident Food Account balances, as long as they still were a current UW-Madison student. Please note, this refund did not apply to any monies deposited into a student’s general Wiscard account, which is separate from their food account. Students who were approved to stay in the residence halls beyond March will not have food account balances returned, but these funds will carry over for use in future years. Moving forward, in future years we will resume having all leftover food account funds carry over from year to year.

If you have an existing contract with Lazybones for packing, storage, or shipping, they still plan to fulfill this work. University Housing staff are working to coordinate pickups with them. However, this may change and that information will be communicated to you. If you do not have a contract with Lazybones, you will need to contact them to see if they’re still accepting new business for your residence hall.

We are continuing to accept mail and packages at this time and are forwarding them to your active address in MyUW. Make sure this mailing address is updated. Additionally, please make sure to change your address on any online retailer you use frequently.

UW-Madison Transportation Services has stated that no bicycles or mopeds will be impounded at this time. They will extend the “abandoned” date through an undetermined date in the summer. More information will be provided on the process when normal campus activities resume.