
A Student's Guide to This Year at AU
Here are quick, direct links to key services and support for all AU students this academic year.
Monday-Friday 9a.m. - 5p.m.
Butler Pavilion, Room 400 on a map
Office of the Vice President of Campus Life 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016-8127 United StatesWelcome to campus! This one-stop guide gathers key information, all in one place, to help you navigate life on campus during the Mid-Semester Residential Experience.
Setting up your room: You’ll have your room to yourself this spring, but you’ll notice it’s set up as a double. While all furniture must stay in the room, you can rearrange it as you like, including pushing beds together. You can also rent a fridge (if you haven't yet.)
Room visitors: Only one (1) other person may visit your room at a time. Your guest must also be an AU student living currently in AU-operated housing.
Maintenance issues: If a light burns out, the heat is cranky, or you have other maintenance needs, make a 2Fix Request. You’ll be contacted by the technician to set up an appointment. During the appointment, you’ll step out of the room while work is being done, in accordance with health and safety protocols.
Common lounges and gathering spaces: Halls have community spaces marked with maximum capacity signs. Capacity is no more than five people for common lounges in the residence halls. Face coverings and physical distancing are mandatory.
Hall visitors: Only students living in an AU-operated building can be guests in the residence halls. Residential students can visit other residence hall (as long as maximum capacity isn't exceeded).
Questions? Here’s who’s on your support team. They’re available to help!
Resident Assistants (RAs): These are student leaders assigned to a community to support and advise residents.
Front Desk staff: Available 24/7, they’re student staff trained to know the answers!
Professional staff: Community Directors (CDs) supervise RAs, and Assistant Directors (ADs) supervise CDs. Professional staff are also on call for crisis response in addition to helping to provide a great residential experience for students.
Residence Hall Association (RHA): This is the student group for residence halls – elected and run by and for on-campus residents. It’s also a great way to get involved!
Wear your masks unless you’re in the shower and maintain physical distancing.
Housekeeping staff will clean and sanitize frequently throughout the shared areas of the residence hall, including common bathrooms and kitchens, laundry facilities, lounges, corridors, elevators, and surfaces. Like all members of the AU community with an on-campus presence, housekeeping staff are screened weekly for COVID-19 and practice mandatory health and safety protocols.
Laundry rooms: Every floor has a laundry room. Pay with Eaglebucks (through your OneCard).
Tip: Use the online platform Laundry Alert to find out when machines are available.
Health and Safety requirements: Only one person can be physically in the laundry room at a time (though multiple machines can be going). Face coverings and distancing are required.
On campus:
Off campus, close by:
For the AU Shuttle, please check the schedule (and download the app) on the shuttle page. The "blue route" runs between main campus and the Tenleytown Metro station (on the DC Metro red line).
You’ll get letters in your mailbox, but packages cannot be delivered directly to residence halls. If you order something online, you will need to pick it up from Mail Services. (Tip: Don’t order a lot of heavy items!)
Letters – to your mailbox: Letters mailed through US Postal Service (USPS) will go directly to your residence hall mailbox after Monday, March 8.
Packages – to New Mexico Building: You will be notified by email when a package arrives. For at least the first month, due to on-campus construction, you will need to pick up packages from Mail Services. Here are the details:
Need a new AU ID card? The OneCard office is open by appointment only for in-person service on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:30 am – 3 pm.
You must book your appointment online. You can also reach out through Just Ask (ServiceNow) and the OneCard office will respond within one business day.
AU Dining’s Terrace Dining Room (TDR) provides meals to go, for pickup. Ordering ahead by app (Transact Mobile Ordering) is recommended.
How to get and set up the app:
EagleBucks are accepted by GrubHub and at many local restaurants and retail establishments. There’s a full list online. Among the choices: many kinds of pizza, Panera, Chipotle, Dunkin’ Donuts, restaurants such as Chef Geoff’s (walking distance from campus) and Guapo’s (in Tenleytown), and much more. Also on the list are grocers such as Whole Foods, Wawa and Wagshalls as well as CVS.
Your meal plan provides around 12 meals a week, through “meal swipes” (at TDR) and “meal exchanges” (at several other on-campus locations). You also have $400 of EagleBucks as part of your meal plan, which can be used off-campus around DC, and even for GrubHub. Here are the details:
All services are virtual.
Tutoring services: For the Writing Center, Quantitative Support, and one-to-one Tutoring Lab for specific classes, use this link to book appointments.
Academic coaching: Use this link to book Academic Coaching appointments. (Academic Coaching helps students improve their learning strategies; to find out more, check out the Academic Coaching page.)
Physical access is by appointment. All other services (printing, research assistance, etc.) must be done remotely.
Study space: The first floor and lower level of the University Library is open by appointment only, for one-to-three hour reserved times. Social distancing requirements means that only 103 students can be present in the library at any given time. Students must swipe their OneCard (AU IDs) to enter.
Printing: Send your print jobs in advance to auprintcenter@gmail.com. All printing and scanning must be done remotely.
Borrowing: Borrowing is through “curbside” pickup. (This applies to all material, including books, media, and technology.) Find details on the Library Services page.
Research assistance: Librarians are available 24/7. Use the Ask-a-Librarian chat feature.
Course reserve readings: These are available electronically. All research services are online.
In addition to the Library (and outdoor spaces), there are a number of spaces to study, individually and in groups, or to meet for appropriate in-person events:
No reservations:
By reservation:
Zoom Sessions to help orient you to campus, the Tenleytown neighborhood and Washington, DC will be held and recorded for MSRE students. Join or view later on Orientation's YouTube channel!
Events - Advanced registration will be required and students need to meet all COVID safety testing guidelines to participate
Initially, at least, all events will remain virtual. Check the Engage calendar for upcoming events and how to connect with clubs.
Interested in service opportunities within the DC community? Connect with the Center for Community Engagement and Service (CCES) to learn what's available and watch for in-person opportunities to explore and learn about DC!
Location: McCabe Hall, behind Letts Hall. Please do not come without an appointment.
Schedule appointment:
Emergency: Call 202-885-3636 (Public Safety).
Telehealth (virtual appointments):
After hours: Call 833-381-8545, 24/7. (Nurse advice line)
All services are virtual, but as a person physically present in the District of Columbia, you can work directly with counselors at the AU Counseling Center for consultations, urgent care, individual and group therapy.
The Health Promotion and Advocacy Center (HPAC) continues to provide individualized services virtually, including victim advocacy and support through HPAC’s OASIS program and wellness consultations for substance use and recovery, sexual health, self-care, and more.
Please book online using this link.
Here's what will be available during Spring — including the running track, tennis courts, in-person intramurals, sports on the quad, in-person and virtual exercise groups, and the fitness center!
The Cassell Fitness Center (first floor, Cassell Hall) is open by reservation. See hours and how to make reservations on the RecFit page.
These will open, starting April 5, during specific daily hours. Check the track and court schedule for open times!
To participate in any of the in-person and virtual classes, programs and intramural and club sports, register your free IMLeagues account using your AU email to participate. (You can also download the IMLeagues app.) Here's what's available and the links to find schedules and reservation options:
Information is continuously updated and posted on the RecFit page.
All students living on-campus must test twice weekly.
Fill out daily on the AU portal.
We encourage students to remain in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area while participating in MSRE.
Extenuating circumstances that could require travel: Traveling outside of the DMV area should be reserved for extenuating circumstances. Examples include family emergency (illness or death), personal illness, or scheduled surgery.
Requirements after travel: Any student who returns to campus after traveling to a place other than MD, VA, and DC must do the following:
Services remain virtual. AU Central is the hub for key services -including Student Accounts (bills, refunds, etc.), the Registrar (registration, transcripts, forms, catalogs), and Veterans Educational Benefits.
Reach AU Central staff by live chat (help.american.edu), phone (202 885-8000), or email (AUCentral@american.edu).
Stay safe and know what to do in emergencies! Here are the basics for reaching AUPD (University Police):
Dean of Students: Call(202) 885-3300, email dos@american.edu oruse the “book now” button on the website banner to make a virtual appointment with a case manager.
Food insecurity (the Market, AU's food pantry): See the Market's page for hours and to request access.
International Students: Support remains virtual. You can book time with your advisor online.
Support for Sex or Gender-Based Harrassment or Bias Incidents:
If you can’t afford or otherwise can’t access the technology you need for remote classes, email the Tech Task Force at techtaskforce@american.edu.
For technical support and troubleshooting with AU-managed technology or tools, there are three ways to reach support:
The Learning Support Services site has direct links to pages with specific, detailed support information on academic topics and tech, including:
Here are quick, direct links to key services and support for all AU students this academic year.