Frequently Asked Questions about Housing at IUP Punxsutawney

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.

Your new mailing address is:

Your Name
264 Center St.
Box # ________
Punxsutawney, PA 15767

To find your mailbox number, please refer to your housing assignment letter and read the number next to the mailbox assignment.

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. Culinary students should note that their contracts are in effect for 12 months, including the summer session.

Bedrooms

• dresser/chest
• desk and chair
• bed and mattress
• closet
• internet and cable access

Bathrooms

• shower
• toilet
• vanity and storage space outside each bathroom

Common Areas

• couch
• armchair
• TV stand (TV not provided)
• end table
• coffee table
• full-size refrigerator
• microwave
• apartment-size stove/oven
• internet and cable access
  
  

The beds are twin size. The mattress size is 36 inches by 76 inches. They are not extra long. If an extra long is needed, please contact the Administration Office at 814-938-6711.

All of the windows in the Living Center have mini-blinds. Students are encouraged not to hang hooks or anything that would cause damage, as the students are charged for repair and painting. Students are permitted to use tension rods to hang curtains if they wish.

Dimensions of windows are:

• Four and one bedrooms: 38" wide x 58" high
• Two bedrooms: 78" wide x 58" high
• Common area: 78" wide x 58" high

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.

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 hear or cold, or other elements.

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

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. 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. Living Center staff 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, the Living Center staff 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 staff will assist in intervention. If the resident has not made an attempt, the staff 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.

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 StudentSupport 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 best defense is to keep your room locked at all times and to take valuables home over break periods. University Police participate in Operation Identification, part of the Pennsylvania Crime Watch program, designed to prevent burglary. Officers go to residence halls at scheduled times and assist students with engraving identifying information (i.e., Pennsylvania driver's license numbers) on stereos, cameras, TVs, computers, radios, etc. There is an engraver available at the main desk of each residence hall for student use. If you have a laptop computer, you should buy a locking mechanism for it.

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 the Living Center staff, who can assist students in expressing themselves to their roommates or in negotiating a living agreement.

The Living Center is staffed with both professional and paraprofessional employees. Living Center staff are responsible for working with students to create and maintain a floor community conducive to academic, social, and personal needs. They 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. The Living Center staff also work in the Living Center Office and are responsible for checking out recreational equipment, issuing spare keys, sorting mail, answering questions, and attending to administrative tasks as assigned.

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

Yes, the building houses both males and females on each floor. Suites are assigned by gender. Gender-inclusive housing is available by request. For more information about gender-inclusive housing, please review our Gender-Inclusive Housing Policy.

Overnight guests need advanced and explicit consent of the roommate, are limited to two per resident, and may not remain for more than three consecutive days. Students can register their guests online through their MyIUP Housing Portal.

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.

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 which 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.

University regulations prohibit the possession, sale, and/or consumption of alcohol and other nonprescription drugs within university residence halls. In addition, alcohol beverage containers, advertisements, or neon signs may not be placed in student room windows or displayed in other areas of the residence halls (including suite doors). Further, alcoholic beverage containers (full or empty) may not be displayed at all in student rooms. Violators are subject to disciplinary action. Students found within a residence hall who are notably intoxicated are subject to disciplinary action. (Office of Housing and Residence Life)

Smoking of any kind, including electronic cigarettes, is NOT permitted anywhere in IUP-owned or -managed buildings. Occupants and their guests are required to observe the policy at all times.

Students are only permitted to have fish in a 10-gallon or smaller aquarium. No other pets are allowed. Please note: Residence Life staff members will not be able to care for fish during break periods, and, during long breaks (a week or more), all appliances, including fish tanks, must be unplugged.

Students wishing to bring an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) to campus must first contact the Department for Disability Access and Advising (disability-access@iup.edu). Students will not be permitted to have an ESA until they have been approved by the Department for Disability Access and Advising.

Yes, students at IUP Punxsutawney are permitted to have cars on campus. Permit requests can be completed in the Administration Office. Please be aware, if you get a parking permit online it will be sent to your home address. (University Police)

Students are permitted to park in the large lots in front of the Learning Center. Students are not permitted to park behind the Learning Center (near the dumpsters) or in the small lot near the main doors of the Living Center. These are staff parking areas, and students found parking in these areas can face tickets, towing, or the university judicial system.

The laundry room in the Living Center is located on the second floor of the building. There are several washers and dryers that are operated with the use of your student I-Card. I-Card holders can add money to their crimson cash account through the GET Funds web portal.