Frequently Asked Questions about Housing and Residence Life

Please see the Packing List for On-Campus Living which includes a list of items to consider bringing as well as a list of prohibited items.

All of our residential buildings have a fully operating sprinkler system. All student rooms, as well as all common areas, have smoke detectors. All hallways have fire extinguishers.

Students who tamper with the fire protection equipment (for instance covering or removing pieces) may be processed through the University Conduct system as well as through the legal system.

If you accidentally set off the fire alarm (such as by burning food in the microwave oven), you should contact University Police immediately at 724-357-2141.

The university does not sell renter's insurance, nor does it provide insurance coverage for personal property that may be damaged or destroyed as a result of theft, fire, smoke, water, excessive heat or cold, or other elements.

We recommend that you examine your or your parents' homeowner policy to see if personal items would be insured and, if they are, the extent of the coverage. We highly recommend that each resident has some form of personal property insurance to cover replacement costs for theft or damage.

Active telephone jacks are no longer available in residence hall rooms. Due to the number of options available for telephone service (cell phones, ip phones), there is no longer enough demand to retain these lines.

Rooms in all of the Suites buildings are carpeted.

Bedrooms and living room areas are carpeted in the Suites.

The carpet colors are:

• Putt Hall Mohawk, New Collegiate 26, color #8388 Degree (rusty red)
• Delaney Hall Mohawk, New Collegiate 26, color #8545 Sophomore (blue)
• Suites on Maple East Mohawk, Collegiate 28, color #342 Auburn (brown/red)
• Ruddock Hall Mohawk, New Collegiate, color #8565 Learn (warm beige)
• Northern Suites Mohawk, Collegiate 28, color #466 Plum (reddish blue)
• Suites on Pratt Mohawk, New Basics 28, color #7545 Aubergine Aura (blue/gray)
• Wallwork Hall Mohawk, New Basics 28, color #8385 Science (Burgundy)
• Stephenson Hall East Bigelow, New Basics 26, color #7559 Anodized Lapis (Blue/Gray/Black)
• Stephenson Hall West Bigelow, New Basics 26, color #7928 Majolica Tin (Gray/Brown - Neutral)

Students are urged not to walk alone, especially during evening or early morning hours. To ensure their own safety, they should preplan activities and make advance arrangements to walk with others. University Police operates an on-campus escort service from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. daily. Students needing an escort should call University Police at 724-357-2141.

The Housing and Dining Agreements are legal agreements and, once submitted, are binding for the academic year (fall and spring semesters). Students are financially responsible for both semesters unless they participate in a university-sponsored program that takes them away from the Indiana area, or if they terminate their enrollment.

Each resident is provided with

• dresser/chest
• desk and chair
• bed and mattress
• closet or wardrobe
• mirror
• wastebasket and recycling container
• active ethernet connection

Furniture in student rooms is moveable.

All rooms in the suite-style buildings have refrigerators and microwave ovens.

For safety reasons, refrigerators cannot exceed two amps and 3.1 cubic feet. If you are unsure of the power consumption of an appliance, ask a store clerk, or look for that information on the back of the appliance.

Each residential building has a laundry room with washers and dryers. Ironing boards are also provided in each laundry facility. Laundry (as well as vending and printing) is paid for using student's I-Card and their (Crimson Cash) account.

Crimson Cash is distinct from Dining flex dollars. Flex is only for dining.

All residence halls are air conditioned.

The mattress size is 39 inches by 80 inches. Twin sheets should fit this size, though some twin sheets may be too short. It is recommended that you bring extra long sheets.

Residents are required to purchase one of several university meal plans. This ensures access to high-quality, nutritious meals. Many students attending college for the first time are not experienced with time management. Having a meal plan relieves the student of the responsibility of shopping, cooking, and cleaning up after meals, allowing more time for academic pursuits. Furthermore, residence halls are not designed for students to prepare meals. Of concern are the potential for fire, activation of smoke alarms, clogging of drains, improper disposal of waste and garbage, electrical overloads, insects, and rodents.

A high-quality dining program requires a solid financial base in order to operate at a reasonable cost to students. Our residence hall students provide that base. If meal plans were optional for residence hall students, the cost would be significantly higher.

Residents are responsible for maintaining reasonable conditions for study and sleep in our residence halls. Minimum courtesy and quiet hours have been established from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. weekdays and midnight to 8:00 a.m. weekends. A 24-hour quiet period goes into effect prior to and during final exam periods. Every floor has the opportunity to extend the established minimum quiet hours on the floor by a secret ballot vote. Courtesy hours, in effect 24 hours a day, require students to be considerate of the needs of others at all times and to comply with requests for maintaining a reasonable level of quiet. Quiet hours cover specific evening hours and require that noise be reduced so that nothing can be heard from within rooms when doors are closed.

Students are expected to confront individuals who infringe upon their right to study or sleep. Resident Assistants are available to help maintain a reasonable level of quiet on the floor; however, they are not expected to be the sole policy enforcers on the floor. No staff member can be available 24 hours a day to address every situation that may arise. At the same time, students are encouraged to practice the skills they will need to be self-sufficient adults. When asked to settle a noise situation, an RA is likely to ask the resident if she/he has made any attempt to resolve the situation. If the resident has made an attempt and did not receive an adequate response, the RA will assist in intervention. If the resident has not made an attempt, the RA is likely to encourage her or him to discuss the matter with the student in question before seeking intervention.

Students who continually show disrespect for the rights of others and/or refuse to cooperate with requests to keep the noise level down are referred to the building director for disciplinary action. Repeated violations could lead to a student's loss of eligibility for campus housing.

Courtesy hours are in effect for all residence halls, seven days a week. Quiet hours are in effect in all residential buildings during evening hours. When quiet hours are not in effect, courtesy hours require that students be considerate of the needs of others and comply with requests for maintaining a reasonable level of quiet. These policies help make residence hall rooms suitable places to study. Other places for studying include residence hall student lounges located on most floors, the library, the Hadley Union Building, and designated classrooms.

Semester room and meal fees are indicated on the Housing License Agreement acceptance. The university reserves the right to adjust the room fee and/or meal fee before or during the agreement period by action of its Council of Trustees. Payment of semester room and meal fees must be made according to the deadline dates indicated on the university billing statement for each semester.

Students who violate policies can expect to experience the consequences of those decisions. For a lesser violation, a student will be required to meet with his or her building director to discuss the situation and participate in an action plan. Action plans may include a formal written warning, a contract for behavior change, and/or an educational assignment designed to help the student gain new information and insight.

If the incident requires investigation, the student is a repeat violator, or the situation is particularly serious, a referral to the residence hall judicial system may be initiated via the Office of Student Support and Community Standards. When appropriate, IUP University Police are invited to participate in investigations. University Police are contacted for all alcohol-related policy violations and all matters involving alleged criminal activity. A hearing time is established when a university hearing officer or judicial board will review information concerning the student's behavior, including testimony from the accused student and any witnesses, then decide whether the student is in violation of any policy. If a violation is determined, the officer or board will decide on sanctions or consequences appropriate to the case.

The relationship between roommates often impacts one's satisfaction with college life. Components of a positive relationship are the assertive expression of one's needs, the recognition and respect for the unique needs and lifestyles of others, and the positive management of conflict. Students are expected to take primary responsibility for ensuring the development and maintenance of a positive roommate relationship. Students are strongly encouraged to invest themselves fully in working together to resolve differences by speaking directly to roommates, sharing concerns, expressing feelings in an honest manner, and jointly resolving conflict. In some cases, a roommate may be unresponsive or difficult to approach. In either situation, the student should seek help from his/her RA or Residence Director. Residence hall staff members can assist students in expressing themselves to their roommates or in negotiating a living agreement.

Each residence hall is managed by a part-time graduate student trained specifically in working with college students in a residential setting. Residence hall floors are staffed by undergraduate resident assistants (RAs). Most halls have two RAs per floor. RAs are responsible for working with students to create and maintain a floor community conducive to academic, social, and personal needs. RAs are expected to confront violations of university policy, act as role models, encourage residents to take responsibility for their own actions/choices, and encourage respect and appreciation for each other. Residence hall offices are staffed on weekdays by student receptionists responsible for checking out recreational equipment, issuing spare keys, answering questions, and attending to administrative tasks assigned by the building director.

In addition, there are custodians, maintenance, and other housing personnel who might be in the building.

See IUP's policy on Gender-Inclusive Housing.

Overnight guests need advance and explicit written consent of the roommate, are limited to two per resident, and may not remain for more than three consecutive days. Forms can be obtained from the hall office.

The rights to sleep, study, and have privacy supersede visitation privileges.

Guests entering the building must be escorted by their host or hostess at all times when they are in the building. Residents are directly responsible for the actions of their guests. Residents may face disciplinary action and be held financially responsible for any behavior of a guest that results in property damage. The university reserves the right to deny access to any guest if it has been determined that he/she has disturbed, endangered, or disrupted residents.

Students are encouraged not to bring a vehicle to campus. Parking permits are available (for a fee and on a limited basis) through the Parking Office. For more information contact the Parking Office.

All student rooms have blinds. Residents may install their own fire-retardant draperies. You may not install additional curtain rods using screws, but you can use a tension curtain rod to hang additional draperies.

The university I-Card performs numerous functions, one of which is building access. Your I-Card has been specifically programmed so that it can be swiped through the card reader(s) at your building community to allow you access. Your I-Card is programmed for use at this/these card reader(s) only and will not work in any readers in any other building on campus. If you have a problem gaining access to your residence hall with your I-Card, report it to your residence hall office.

In the traditional residence halls, a metallic key is issued to each student at move-in for their room.

Most suite rooms now have the Switch Tech smartphone locks.

In the other suite-style buildings, the I-Card is used for access to the suites. The I-Card must be physically encoded in order for the card to access a room—this cannot be done in advance. At move-in, there will be workers encoding cards as part of the move-in process at the suites. During the semester, if students change rooms in the suites or get new cards, they currently must go to the Housing Office to have them encoded.

Some suites have separate bedrooms. In these types of suites, students will be issued a metallic key to their bedroom.

Electronic video surveillance cameras are installed and operational at all exits/entrances of each residential building and can be used in the investigation of criminal activity. In the suite buildings, there are also cameras in each hallway and elevator.

In order to help eliminate the unsafe practice of propping doors, all exterior access doors in your building have been alarmed.

I-Card entrance doors (and hallway doors) will alarm if propped for more than 60 seconds.

Many exterior doors have an immediate alarm that will sound as soon as the door is opened, while other exit doors will alarm after 10 or 60 seconds.

Should one of these doors be propped or held open for a specified length of time, an alarm will sound which can only be silenced by completely closing and securing the door (this also applies to hallway doors in the suites).

Tampering with a door's hardware (for instance to bypass the alarms) is a violation that may be adjudicated through the student conduct or the legal system.