Fall 2021 Guidelines for Space Requests and Events

Dear Arcadia Community, 

We are in full swing of vibrant and energetic events and campus life this semester. Our efforts to execute successful events must mitigate the spread of COVID and reduce strains on the cross-departmental event support system. The University must put guidelines in place to ensure that our events are driven by health and safety and do not overcommit our available resources. 

The below guidelines will set the parameters for all University staff and faculty space requests for the Fall 2021 semester (which may be extended or revised for the Spring 2022 semester). The University will require event review by the appropriate Vice President and reinstate the COVID Events Taskforce to provide additional guidance based on the evolving health matters and a process to ensure available resources are not strained. 

Guidelines for Fall 2021 meeting, event, and space reservations: 

  • An event is defined as any gathering where planning, technology, space, catering, event support, or room setup is needed. An event host is a full-time employee that is dedicated to the event’s coordination. The event plan should have the review of the associated Vice President before submitting for approval. 
  • The event host is responsible for submitting to the COVID Events Taskforce at least 21 days before the event for approval and additional guidance based on the University’s evolving health and resource availability.
  • Event host(s) are to wait for approval before advertising the event.
  • Events should include the event host who will be present throughout the event and may be called upon to provide names of guests for potential contact tracing. 
  • Requests for space may be denied based on support capacity, not just space availability. The University will only be able to support a limited number of events across campus on any given day, especially during weekends and holidays.
  • Events will be placed in spaces best suited for the envisioned activities based on the discretion of the Technology and Conference Services team. 
    • If your event has remote attendees, you will need to be in a space that can accommodate those needs (e.g. Great Room, Commons Conference Rooms, Castle Spaces, Outdoor Spaces, etc.).
    • There are no residential spaces available for the 2022 academic year. Arcadia is preparing all open residential spaces in the event they are needed for COVID quarantine and isolation.
    • Student organizations sponsoring events involving outside groups held during the academic year must include approval by the Office of Student Engagement and Dean of Students.
  • A full-time employee must be present for the entirety of all booked events. Student-workers, including graduate assistants, may not be substituted for this requirement.
    • Faculty, staff, and students may not assign University facilities to external organizations.  
  • A cancellation fee of $150 will be charged to departments for all events requiring setup and support that are not canceled two business days prior to the start of the event. 
  • Personal employee and external organization events will only be considered on a special case basis to maximize resources for academic and campus life events. 

Using LibCal for Reservations

  • All requests for facilities other than academic courses must be reserved through LibCal. 
  • Login to Portal Guard or arcadia.libcal.com

Requests for space must be placed in LibCal and coordinated with the appropriate offices (IT, Facilities, Public Safety, University Marketing and Communications, Metz) at least 21 days in advance. 

Technology and AV Support
Audiovisual (AV) systems in many of our event spaces, conference rooms, and classrooms vary in configuration, with different equipment and levels of support from vendors. Support for audio visual technology in classrooms will be prioritized over events and meetings. Technology support requests should follow the event request guidelines listed above.

COVID Mitigation
Guidelines for University Event Planning during COVID Tier 1 Status includes masks required when indoors, regardless of vaccination status. At present, Montgomery County recommends masks for outdoor events. Events may have food; however, social distancing is recommended for dining indoors and for large gatherings outdoors with food. We recommend spacing out as much as possible. Visit arcadia.edu/COVID for a Mitigation Checklist and guidelines for event requests.

The use of University educational facilities such as classrooms, seminar rooms, laboratories, and auditoriums for scheduled academic instruction and research purposes shall take precedence over all other uses for these spaces. Supervisors and those who are planning large group functions should consider a virtual event when possible and when technically supportable. 

Thank you for your support and consideration.