Residences’ Quarantine Accommodation Planning Case Study

Overview

This business case report was prepared by students of the Management Studies (MGST) 615 course. Their project focused on the difficulty of accommodating incoming international students who would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon their arrival to Calgary. The aim of this project was to create an effective operational plan for their client (the University of Calgary Residence Services (UCRS)) and assessed the different options that would be needed to ensure a safe return for the students. The report discussed the possibility of using off-campus quarantine options if demand exceeded capacity for the regular accommodation offered by the university.

The project’s focus is of critical importance to the client, as its effective implementation will help ensure the safety of all students and staff, as well as other residents by preventing any outbreaks. An outbreak would not only have a negative impact on peoples’ health but would also damage the University’s reputation and cause doubt in the public about its outbreak prevention action plan.

Outcomes:

The MGST 615 final report involved studying the Government of Canada quarantine regulations and completing a thorough analysis of the UCRS’s residence capacity, which reduced by 65-70% of its original capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis highlighted the expanded scope of the problem and the need to find with an innovative solution.

The students created four scenarios that planned around the uncertain timing of student arrivals and evaluated impact on residence capacity and availability. The plans indicated that once capacity on residence had been exceeded, students would be housed in external hotels selected by the University. The first scenario allowed for all students to be housed in residence. The second scenario housed nearly all students in residence with some students in hotels. The third scenario, which was the most likely scenario, housed almost half the students in residence, and the other half in hotels. The fourth and final scenario housed most students in hotels due to late arrivals.

Next Steps:

This project provides an insight into the logistics and key considerations for the university, when planning accommodation for the arriving international students, whilst promoting the safety of all other students and staff members on campus. It suggests an effective operational plan, highlighting four different scenarios to reduce the potential health risks. The next step is to consider early implementation of the strategy, prior to the upcoming fall semester so that the university can assess the success of the developed plan.