TAMPA, Fla. — The bags are packed and cars are jammed full, as roughly 6,000 students move into their dorms at the University of South Florida this week. 

Students will be moving in during pre-scheduled blocks throughout the day on Thursday and Friday. As the first step of their check-in process, students will complete a COVID-19 health screening. Vaccines are not mandatory for students living on campus and students are not required to share their vaccination status. 

“We ask them if they would like to tell us, and if they tell us then we add that to their chart,” explained Donna Petersen, chair of USF’s COVID-19 task force. 

Petersen says if a student discloses whether they have been vaccinated or not, it will help with contact tracing when a case pops up. 

If a student is positive for COVID-19, the student will be moved into an isolation bed on campus. School staff will take care of their daily needs and deliver meals to the quarantined student. 

If a non-vaccinated student is exposed to the virus but does not test positive, they will be required to leave campus altogether and quarantine somewhere else for 10 days.

“That’s why it's important that everyone have the vaccine because if you’ve had the vaccine you don’t need to quarantine,” Petersen said. 

Incoming Freshman Kaitlyn Pankoe says she’s grateful she will be able to live in the dorms this year. All she wants after COVID-19 affected her final two years of high school is to have a normal college experience. 

“I’ve been counting down the days since like my freshman year of high school,” she said. 

This year, USF’s Tampa campus is at capacity with 6,000 students checking in to dorms. In Fall 2020, only about 3,600 students lived on campus. 

“I want people to get vaccinated so we can live a regular campus life and not be looking over our shoulders all the time,” Pankoe said. 

Administrators say students and staff are expected to wear masks indoors and in crowded areas regardless of their vaccination status. Masks are not required.