Housing and Residence Life Policies and Procedures

Fire Alarm Sounds

When a building’s fire alarm is heard, each person must:

• Always assume an emergency, never assume a false alarm.
• Immediately leave room, close room door, exit the building, and assemble at the appropriate meeting place(s) outside designated by your Housing and Residence Life staff.
• Do not open doors if the door knob is hot to the touch or if you cannot get out of your room because of a reported disability – stay in room and call the UNCG Police Department (336-334-4444) first and inform authorities of your location.  The UNCG Police Department is able to respond quicker and communicate more effectively with Greensboro emergency personnel.  However, if you are unable to call the UNCG Police Department, please call 911 immediately.
• Use stairways to exit.  Never use elevators during an emergency evacuation.  If smoke is encountered, crawl on floor where air is cleaner.

Smoke or Fire is Present

If a person smells or sees smoke please do the following:

• Pull the nearest alarm station.
• Close room door(s) and safely exit the building.
• Call UNCG Police Department (336-334- 4444) (See above explanation for this).
• Never attempt to put out a fire.
• Inform staff or the authorities of the exact location of fire or smoke.

Being trapped by Smoke or Fire

If a person is trapped by smoke please do the following:

• Sometimes it is safer to stay in place.  If all exits are blocked, go back to your room or unit and close the door(s).  Don’t jump from the windows!  The fire department will respond and assist you.
• Call the UNCG Police Department (336-334-4444) and report that you are trapped in your room.
• Keep the door(s) closed: seal cracks under the door with a wet towel or clothes.
• Signal for help: Hang an object from the window (a bed sheet, jacket, or shirt) to attract the fire department’s attention.

Fire Prevention

Common causes of fires in residence halls include: arson, candles, incense, smoking, overloaded electrical outlets and extension cords, cooking equipment, and halogen lamps.  Therefore they are forbidden in the residence halls.

• No items are allowed to be hung from the ceiling.
• Keep exits, hallways, and stairwells clear and clear at all times.  Shoes, equipment, umbrellas, and trash are not allowed to be left in the hallway.
• Report any fire safety issues to the residence hall staff.

Residents should report damaged or suspected malfunctioning equipment to Housing and Residence Life Maintenance department at 336-334-3498 or online which can be accessed from the Housing and Residence Life main web page.

Students may not remove or exchange furniture from common areas of the residence hall or between any residence hall rooms.  There is no storage available for residents to store University furniture.

• Lofts and waterbeds are not permitted.
• No items should be hung from the ceiling.
• Screens are not to be removed from windows.  Student owned furniture, including couches, chairs, tables, curtains, and futons must be UL labeled as flame retardant.  The tag must remain on items at all times.

Engaging in hall sports can potentially cause serious/minor injuries or damage to residents and facilities.  Safety is important to us, and therefore playing sports in the residence hallways or common areas is prohibited.  “Sports” includes, but is not limited to, any competitive or non- competitive use of sporting equipment, including skateboards, balls, rackets, bats, frisbees, and other objects, as well as racing, wrestling, water balloons/guns, and other sporting activity.

Health & Safety Inspections are conducted several times throughout the year to help maintain a clean and safe living environment.  Housing and Residence Life staff will post a room inspection notice in the common areas and hallways at least 48 hours prior to inspection.  Inspections may take place regardless of a resident’s presence.  Residents are expected to work together to promote healthy living for themselves and the members of the hall by contributing to the general cleanliness of both the building and their individual rooms.  Excessive garbage, generally unclean rooms, and any behavior which contributes to health concerns are not acceptable for members of the residence hall community. 

• Do not use nails, staples or thumbtacks to hang decorative lighting.
• Limit the bulb count to 100 bulbs total.
• No extension cords unless equipped with an in-line fuse.  Surge protectors are highly encouraged.
• No cords are permitted to pass through doorways.
• Turn decorative lighting off when you retire for the evening or if you leave your room for an extended period.
• Do not hang anything within a two foot diameter of a sprinkler head or within two feet of the ceiling.
• Do not hang anything from any fire protection equipment (i.e. sprinkler heads, smoke detectors, etc.).
• Do not hang anything from the suspended ceiling systems. These are the ceiling systems that have a grid system and tiles in place.  They are a component of the fire protection for the building.
• Do not restrict egress routes in your room or hallways.  Egress is defined as the path you take to exit or enter your room or building.
• Do not place anything in the corridors that would protrude more than 4 inches into the corridor.
• Do not place anything in the stairwells of any building.
• No live greens, trees, wreaths or garlands.
• No more than 10% of the area of room doors or corridors can be covered with NON-combustible items.  Combustible items can be treated with non-combustible treatments but the 10% coverage limitation still exists.  Do not cover room numbers or name plates.
• Any decorative window items such as snow must be removed before residents leave for winter break.

In the case of inclement weather call 336-334-4400 or 336-334-5000 to hear a recorded message about whether classes are cancelled, delayed, or if the University is closed.  Become familiar with your residence hall severe weather shelter location.  If a severe weather warning (such as a tornado warning) is issued, the University Police and/or a Housing and Residence Life staff member will notify you of the building evaluation plan.  To ensure your safety and the safety of others, it is important that you follow directions given by the University official. 

• TORNADO WATCH means that conditions are right for a tornado to develop.
• TORNADO WARNING means a tornado has been sighted. Locate evacuate sign!  Students and staff should be ushered to a safe area: lower floors of the residence halls, basement, or other centralized protected areas.  STAY INSIDE!

Residents are expected to maintain personal and community security by doing the following:

• Keys and access fobs must be in the possession of and/or only used by the resident to whom they were issued.  Failure to adhere to this policy may result in conduct action.
• University keys may not be duplicated or altered.
• Lock Change Policy: Residents who check into their assigned living spaces are issued a key and access fob.  It is the resident’s responsibility to maintain and turn in key/ access fob at time of vacating the room to the Office of Housing and Residence Life.  A fee will be assessed for all keys/fobs, which are not returned properly.
• Failure to Return Key or Access Fob: A $35.00 charge will be applied against the residents’ account for failure to return a room key.  A $75.00 charge will be applied against the resident’s account for students living in Jefferson Suites, Lofts on Lee, the Suites in Moore/Strong, The Quad Halls (Bailey, Coit, Cotton, Gray, Hinshaw, Jamison, Shaw), Tower Village, and Spring Garden Apartments.  A $10.00 fee will be charged for failure to return an access fob.

• If you are locked out of your room, a Housing and Residence Life staff member is available to open your door. 
• You will need picture identification in order to be assisted with a lock-out.
• The lock-out schedule is as follows:

RA on Duty in your Residence Hall	7:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.	7 days a week
UNCG Police 336-334-5963	7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.	Monday - Friday
Office of Housing and Residence Life (Ragsdale Mendenhall)	8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.	Monday - Friday
UNCG Police 336-334-5963	5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.	Monday - Friday
UNCG Police 336-334-5963	7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.	Saturday - Sunday

• Residents of Jefferson Suites, Spring Garden, and Tower Village can get lock-out assistance from the Desk Assistants located in Spring Garden Apartments Monday – Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. 
• Residents of the Quad (Bailey, Coit, Cotton, Gray, Hinshaw, Jamison, Shaw) can get lock-out assistance from the Desk Assistants located in the Quad Monday – Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Residents of Lofts on Lee should call the 24 hour Lofts on Lee on-call duty cell phone number for assistance with lockouts. 
• On the third lockout in an academic year and for each lockout thereafter a $10.00 fee will be charged and placed on a resident’s student account.

The Office of Housing and Residence Life is responsible for maintenance services in the residence halls. If you require services, you should call 334-FIXT (3498) or go to FIXT online. Between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday FIXT is available for services; after these times, for maintenance emergencies, the student will be given instructions via voicemail. It is our policy to respond to routine work requests within 36 hours. Staff who are in and out of the buildings between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to make necessary repairs are required to announce themselves and to knock before entering student rooms/suites and public bathrooms. When a representative of the Maintenance Shop/Physical Plant arrives, he or she will be wearing a UNCG uniform or nametag and carrying a work order that describes the job to be done. You are entitled to ask to see these credentials before permitting the individual into your living space.

Microwave ovens less than 800 watts are permitted in all halls however, Microfridges are the preferred option.

In most instances, two persons will occupy all double occupancy rooms.  In the event that one of the occupants moves out of the room, the Office of Housing and Residence Life reserve the right to assign a new roommate or to reassign the remaining student to another room in order to consolidate space.  The student MAY be offered the opportunity to occupy the room at the higher fee rate for single occupancy, or the student must agree to accept an assigned roommate.  During periods of high demands for on-campus housing, some single and/or two person rooms, as well as some community rooms, may be designated for additional occupancy.

Small fish in bowls or aquariums of less than 10 gallon capacity are permitted in the residence halls, suites, and apartments.  For health and safety reasons, all other pet(s) including (crabs, sharks, snails, snakes, turtles, and other aquatic animals) are not allowed in on-campus housing (except for service animals).

The Quad consists of seven residential buildings (Bailey, Coit, Cotton, Gray, Hinshaw, Jamison, Shaw).

A unique feature of the Quad, suites will have a shared bathroom that connects adjoining rooms on either side.  Under no circumstances are residents and/or their guest(s) permitted to enter the adjoining room in the absence of their suitemate(s) unless prior permission is granted. 

The UNCG Community supports a living learning environment for all residents to engage in academic excellence and scholarship.  As members of this community, resident adherence to the quiet and courtesy hours policy is enforced by each resident and the Housing and Residence Life staff.  Courtesy Hours are in effect 24 hours a day in the residence halls.  To amend quiet hours, residents may do so upon a petition signed by a minimum of three-fourths of the residents in their assigned residence hall.  Each hall, through its hall council, may extend but not decrease, specific rules and times for quiet hours.  In the event that a residence hall council declines the opportunity to amend quiet hours, the Office of Housing and Residence Life have set the following quiet hours for all residence halls:

Sunday–Thursday 10:00 p.m.–8:30 a.m.
Friday–Saturday 12:00 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Courtesy Hours are in effect 24 hours a day
in the residence halls.

During Final Exam Period 23 hour quiet hours are in effect, which includes one (1) Courtesy Hour.  Specific information regarding the timeframe for 23 hour quiet hours will be posted throughout the residence halls prior to the start of exams.  It is the resident’s right and responsibility to request that fellow residents keep any noise (e.g., music, TVs, radios, and verbal interactions) at a level that does not interfere with sleeping or studying.  In the event that the residents are unable to come to an agreement on an appropriate level of noise, residents should seek assistance from the RA/SRA on duty, or another Housing and Residence Life staff member.

To ensure the privacy of residents' use of the toilet and shower facilities, residents and visitors must use a bathroom designated for their gender.  No more than one person must occupy a shower stall at a time.  Gender neutral restrooms are located in the basement and/or on the first floor of most residence halls.

All room changes must be approved by Housing and Residence Life staff.  A $100.00 charge will be assessed to the student accounts of each student involved in an illegal room change.  An illegal room change is defined as a change in occupancy of a residence hall room by a student that is not formally approved by the Office of Housing and Residence Life.  Failure to complete a room change by the deadline established by Housing and Residence Life will result in a $100.00 charge assessed to the student’s account.  A completed room change is defined as a student moving his/her belongings from an original assignment to a new assignment and returning the room key to the original assignment to the Office of Housing and Residence Life.

When moving out of an assigned residence hall space, all residents are expected to leave the room in the condition found at move in, complete the Residence Hall Room Inventory and Condition Report (RCR) with residence hall staff and return all keys and fobs by the deadline.  Failure to properly check-out as prescribed may result in a penalty charge, plus appropriate charges for any keys and access fobs not returned. 

Roommate/Suitemate Rights and Responsibilities:

• To read and study free from undue interference in one’s room.
• To sleep without undue disturbance.
• To have one’s personal belongings respected.
• To a clean environment in which to live.  Optimal physical conditions are essential to sharing space with others.
• To have free access to one’s room and facilities.
• To have personal privacy.
• To host guests in common areas of the residence halls (e.g. lounges, recreation areas, parlors, etc.).
• To address grievances.  (Housing and Residence Life staff members are available for assistance in settling conflicts.)
• To be free from intimidation and/or physical or emotional harms.
• To respect and appreciate differences in individuals.

A search of a room will be made only in the case of emergency, such as suspected medical emergency, facility problem, or a potential safety concern, and will be made under the following conditions:

• With permission of the occupant in his/her presence if possible, or
• With authorization of the Director or Associate Director for Housing and Residence Life, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs or another Vice Chancellor, or
• With authorization of the highest residence hall administrative official available, if time is of the essence, and the individuals named in 1 and 2 above are not available.

For investigation of a suspected violation of a state or federal law (e.g. stolen goods, possession of drugs), searches will be made through procedures consistent with ordinary requirements for lawful searches (e.g. civil search warrant, probable cause with occupants’ consent).  Such warrants will be exercised by duly authorized legal officials and/or University officials.

The security of residents is a primary concern.   For safety reasons, residents must use their access fobs for entry.  Residents should never give their access fobs to anyone else to use nor should doors be propped open.  Please remember that safety starts with each resident.

• Never let someone into your building or your room that you do not know. 
• Never prop open an exterior door or tamper with door alarms.
• Keep your key and fob with you at all times. 
• Always lock your room door, including when you are in the room, if you go across the hall to visit with friends, if you go to take a shower, or when you go to sleep.  It only takes a few seconds for a thief to enter a room and steal property.
• Walk in groups when traveling outside the residence halls, especially at night.  If this is not possible, utilize the University services available to you such as Spartan Chariot, Safety Escort and HEAT buses.  Always travel in well-lighted, heavy traffic areas.
• Immediately call the UNCG Police Department (336-334-4444) if you see suspicious activity.
• Assault or Battery: Physical violence or conduct that threatens the health and safety of one’s self or any other person in or around the residence hall community is prohibited.

The Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina has established a Merchandising Policy which prevents harassment and nuisance to students living on campus.  Off-campus firms, organizations, or individuals are restricted in conducting merchandising activities on campus and should consult Business and Student Services for information.  Non-student affiliated groups and departments are subject to the "Solicitation" regulations in University Policy II: P: 007.  Any merchandising activity conducted on the campus by an officially recognized student organization is subject to the regulations below.
Merchandising activities are restricted to the following areas on campus:

• The Elliott University Center "L" or other reserved areas in the Student Center
• The Dining Hall entrance

There will be NO door-to-door solicitation in residence halls. (Except Hall Council or with the approval of the building supervisor).

To encourage a healthier lifestyle and safer residence hall community, all residential facilities at UNCG are smoke-free areas where no person shall smoke or carry a lit cigar, cigarette, incense, pipe, or any other form of smoking object.  Smoking is permitted only in designated smoking areas outside each residence hall, which are 25 feet from doors, windows or air intake areas.

All residence halls have a sprinkler system.  Do not touch, hang, or attach anything to or from the sprinkler head.  This could cause the sprinkler system to activate and flood rooms and damage property for which you will be held accountable to the other residents and the University.                   

Sustainability is a chief concern of the Office of Housing and Residence Life and energy conservation should be a prime concern of every resident.  Whenever exiting a room, residents should turn off lights, computers, and non-essential electronic appliances.  On a regular basis, unplug unused electronic appliances, conserve water, and recycle. 
The Office of Housing and Residence Life prohibits the use of incandescent light bulbs in residence hall rooms.  Residents who are adding additional lighting to residence hall rooms must purchase compact fluorescent light (CFL) or LED light bulbs, rather than incandescent light bulbs, due to energy consumption concerns.

As of now:

• All recent renovations have addressed water consumption in showers, water closets, and lavatories and all residence halls now have low flow water fixtures.
  
• Housing and Residence Life entered into an agreement with Mattress Go Round to begin recycling residence halls mattresses.  Beginning with the 750 mattresses from the Quad, UNCG Housing and Residence Life will send its mattresses to Mattress Go Round, where through a unique eco-sustainable combination of manufacturing and recycling, old mattresses are replaced with factory-fresh mattresses.  Instead of 750 mattresses dumped in the landfill, they are recycled and reused. The Office of Housing and Residence Life plans to recycle approximately one thousand mattresses each summer.
  
• Housekeeping chemicals are Green Seal products.
  
• A lighting project (funded by a grant) allowed for the installation of $200,000 worth of efficient lighting fixtures in place of inefficient fixtures in the residence halls.
  
• We are moving to microfiber floor cleaning process.

For more information, please visit:
http://hrl.uncg.edu/about_us/sustain.php
http://www.uncg.edu/fac/sustainability/

Guests are defined as any person not assigned to the residence hall room.  When in the residence hall, guest(s) must be escorted by their resident host at all times including visits to the vending machines, common areas, bathrooms or laundry room.  Residents are responsible for ensuring that their guest(s) abide by University Policies.  Residents and their guest(s) are prohibited from using a bathroom, or shower, not designated for their gender.  Residents and their guest(s) are prohibited from having multiple persons present in single use bathrooms or showers at any time.  Residents are reminded that any guest(s) who is of the opposite gender must be out of the residence hall at the end of visitation hours.  For residents in buildings with 24-hour visitation, refer to the overnight guest policy.  In order to provide for safety in accordance with the state and University fire safety codes, no more than 6 (12 in Tower Village, Jefferson Suites or Spring Garden Apartment) people may be present in a resident’s room at any time.  There are three different guest policy options offered in different buildings.  The Guest Policy options are: 

• Traditional Guest Visitation - College Panhellenic Council Chapter floors in Cone Residence Hall
• Students can host male guests:
  10:00a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Sunday – Thursday
  10:00a.m. – 2:00a.m. Friday and Saturday
• Weekend Guest Visitation - Cone, Grogan, Ragsdale/Mendenhall, Reynolds, Moore/Strong and Weil/Winfield
• Students can host guests:
  12:00 p.m.– 12 a.m. Monday–Friday
• Students can host guests at any time:
  12:00 p.m. Friday–12 a.m. Monday 
  Residents in these residence halls will have the option to vote on changes in the existing visitation policy.  In order for the current policies to be amended, residents will be required to attend the start of the year floor meeting, complete a roommate agreement, and 90 percent of the entire hall’s residents must vote in favor of the change.
• 24/7 Guest Visitation - Guilford, Jefferson Suites, Lofts on Lee, Mary Foust, North Spencer, Phillips/Hawkins, Spring Garden Apartments, South Spencer, and Tower Village,  the Quad (Bailey, Coit, Cotton, Gray, Hinshaw, Jamison, Shaw)

With 24/7 Visitation, residents can host guest(s) at any time in public areas of the residence halls.  The hosting of guest(s) in resident rooms is subject to the provisions of the roommate/suitemate agreement.

Visitation Policy: Overnight Guest

• Residents may host guest(s) no more than three nights in one calendar month.
• The resident host must escort their guest(s) at all times throughout the building.  Guest(s) should not be left alone in the residence hall room.  The resident host will assume all responsibility for the actions of their guest(s).
• Residents are responsible for ensuring that their guest(s) abide by University Policies and the same policies expected of residential students.
• Residents and their guest(s) are prohibited from using a bathroom, or shower, not designated for their gender.
• Residents and their guest(s) are prohibited from having multiple persons present in single use bathrooms or showers at any time. 
• All roommates/suitemates MUST mutually agree to have overnight guest(s)/visitor(s) in the room.

Firearms or lethal weapons that could inflict bodily harm, including any used for decorative or collecting purposes, are not permitted on University premises.

A general overview of items that typically are used in the apartments can be found HERE.

We recommend that your student consult with his or her roommate in order to determine who might bring certain items due to space and economic considerations. All items on this list must, where appropriate, be Underwriters Laboratory (UL) rated. This is not an all-inclusive list; if you or your student are unsure about an item, please contact Housing and Residence Life at (336) 334-5636.