Housing Policies & Procedures

Living on campus is both a privilege and an opportunity for students. In order to have a positive community, it is necessary to define policies that affect both the College and the students. Please note that all housing policies and procedures are a part of your housing contract and therefore any violation will be considered a violation of that contract.

Residency Requirements

All full-time students are required to reside on campus during the fall and spring semesters of the academic year. Exceptions are made for those students that meet one of the criteria outlined below. In addition to the residency requirements for the academic year, students have the option to obtain Module and summer housing through the Office of Residence Life.

Exception requests must be submitted in writing to the Office of Residence Life at least two weeks prior to the Housing Assignments Lottery for the applicable fall or summer term. Requests for Spring exceptions must be received prior to the beginning of pre-registration for the spring semester. Incoming students must submit exception requests prior to the deadline listed in their new student housing mailings. Approved exceptions after this deadline will be charged a $300 breach of contract fee. Once the semester has begun, room fees are not refundable for any reason.

Off-Campus Residential Exceptions

The following are approved exceptions:

1. Students who are seniors or who are 21 years of age or older before the beginning of the fall semester of the academic year
2. Students from the Shreveport/Bossier area who wish to reside at home with their parents or legal guardians. The student must submit their home address and letter of confirmation from the parent or legal guardian in residence at that address.
3. A specified number of Greeks (determined by the Dean of Student Life) wishing to reside in their Greek house. To receive an exception to the housing requirement, each student must submit a complete roster of all students who are approved to live in their Greek house during the applicable semester. This roster must be signed by the Fraternity President or House Manager. Those approved must purchase a full meal plan. Greek housing may also be occupied by students who qualify for off campus living as prescribed to those 21 or over (see #1). First-year students are not eligible for Greek housing.
4. Students who are married, divorced, or a parent/guardian
5. Students who need special medical accommodations must submit a medical request form signed by a physician prior to the exception deadline or within two weeks of the diagnosis of a new condition.

Exception Review

All requests for exceptions will be directed to the Assistant Director of Housing. The Assistant Director may authorize exceptions if approved by the Director of Residence Life and Housing and a representative from the Business Office. Appeals will be directed to the Exception Review Committee. The committee membership consist of one faculty or staff member selected by the Chairperson of the Student Services Committee, one male and one female residential student appointed through RHA, and a representative designated from the Student Life professional staff by the Dean of Student Life. The committee will be chaired by the Director of Residence Life and Housing, who will serve as a non-voting member. No exceptions will tke place after the first day of each semester.

Assignments

The returning student housing assignment process for the upcoming year takes place each spring semester. Students have the right to select their roommates through mutual request, and to request their choice of housing assignments. Requests will be ranked based on seniority, disciplinary record, and academic standing. Details and additional information will be sent to each resident prior to the housing lottery via campus mail or email and will be available in the Housing Office. The assignment information will include directions for the placement process including dates and times that students will be expected to submit a housing request. Failure to follow the listed procedures may result in a loss of the rights mentioned above. Students who do not participate in the housing assignment process or receive approval to move off campus, will be charged for room and board, and may reserve an assigned space by contacting the Housing Office.

Single Rooms: Students requesting a single room assignment will be ranked according to seniority, GPA and disciplinary standing. Single room assignments may not be available, and the Housing department reserves the right to place a roommate into an assigned single room at any time. When there are empty rooms in the residence halls, they may be assigned as private rooms on a seniority basis at the rate of a private room. However, single occupancy is not guaranteed to any student at any time. Single occupancy applicants may be reviewed by the Director of Residence Life and Housing and granted only in conditions where space is available and the student is in good disciplinary standing with the College. Private rooms are considered an extra luxury of the student's residential experience.

Students will be given a room contract, which must be signed and returned to the Office of Residence Life within the stated period of time. Residents who do not turn in their contracts on time are not guaranteed to keep their assignments.

Students who sign up for housing without a roommate, or whose roommates withdraw from housing, will be assigned another roommate and may be moved to another room.

Consolidation

Students at times may have to go through a process of consolidation where they are lift without a roommate (roommate withdraws, graduation, etc.). At this point in time they will have a choice to buy out the room as a single or have the opportunity to move in with another person who is on the consolidation list. If the person chooses to do nothing during this two week period in which they are on the consolidation list, the Office of Residence Life will charge them for a single room.

Roommate Contracts

Living on campus at Centenary College will provide each student the opportunity to live with a variety of people and experience many different lifestyles. The Residence Life staff in the buildings are responsible for helping to create a positive living environment that begins in your room and extends to your floor. By using the Roommate Contract, honest communication is initiated within your room and suite from the beginning. Contracts will be distributed and reviewed with your Residence Assistant and will be a constant source of referral as you and your roommate adjust to community living. This contract is critical as it will be the foundation for any mediations that the RA, Assistant Director of Residence Life, or Director of Residence Life will use should problems emerge in your living environment. All students are encouraged to complete roommate contracts. First year students and their roommates are required to complete roommate contracts prior to the second week of the fall semester.

Room Changes

A room change request is first and foremost a counseling situation. Students are expected to attempt to settle their differences and continue to live together in a respectful manner. A housing “freeze” occurs at the beginning of each semester. No room or roommate changes may occur until two weeks after the beginning of classes. All changes require the approval of the Director or Assistant Director of Housing and must first be mediated by their Resident Assistant. A $20.00 room change fee will be assessed to each student making a room change. In addition, the Director of Residence Life and the Dean of Student Life have the authority to initiate, at their discretion, revocation of housing contracts, relocation of housing assignments and/or appropriate disciplinary action should a situation call for such attention. Students assigned to double rooms who end up without roommates will enter a room consolidation process. During this process they may have a new roommate placed with them or may be reassigned to a different room. The room change fee will be waived for students moving into assigned singles and for students involved in the consolidation process.

Keys, Doors, and Lockouts

Students are responsible for all keys issued to them. Students whose keys are lost or stolen will be charged a substantial fine to cover costs associated with creating new keys and changing locks. Current key charges are $50.00 for a lost or stolen room key and $600.00 for a lost or stolen outside door key. Students must return their residence hall keys to their RAs as they check out of their room or residence hall. Keys not returned at that time will be treated as “Lost or Stolen Keys” and those students will be charged accordingly. All keys issued remain the property of Centenary College. Keys must be returned to the institution upon request, and may not be lent to persons who are not approved for access to that specific lock or facility. Employees or students who improperly lend, give away, or duplicate keys may be charged with the costs associated with changing those locks and may also face judicial sanctions.

If you lock yourself out of your room between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. contact your RA or another RA in your building. If none of the RAs are home you may call the Department of Public Safety. Between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. contact the RA on duty if you need to be admitted to your room. The first two times you need a door unlocked you will receive a verbal warning. Upon the third key-in and each one thereafter you will be fined $5.00 per incident.

Residential students are advised to always lock their door to their room and to never allow someone that they do not know into a residence hall. It is against college regulations to prop open a locked door or fire door. Propped exterior residence hall doors are a serious safety concern, and students seen propping these doors may be issued a campus citation by the Department of Public Safety and/or face residential judicial charges. The minimum fine for propping open an exterior door shall be $100.00.

Residence Hall Closing Procedures

Residence Halls officially close at the conclusion of each academic semester and at other times designated in the official College Calendar. All students are expected to vacate the halls at these times and will not have access to their room or belongings within. The only reason for being allowed to stay on campus is if you are staying as part of break housing. Break housing during short breaks (week long) costs $50 and $75 for longer breaks (Christmas). Before leaving for a break, students must conform to the Health and Safety break guidelines. Suite and room doors and windows must be closed and locked, all appliances and electrical items other than answering machines must be unplugged, and lights must be turned off. Students who wish to leave any other items plugged in may appeal to the Director of Residence Life and Housing. If there is reasonable cause to believe that a resident has violated any housing policy or community standard during any break period, he or she may be required to immediately vacate campus pending a hearing. Residents will be allowed to re-enter the halls when they re-open.

Residents are required to sign up with their RA for a time to check out of their room at least 48 hours prior to moving to a different room or moving out of the residence halls. When a resident checks out of a room, all of their belongings must be out of the room, and their area of the room must be clean and ready for future occupancy. When the last occupant of a room checks out, the beds must be fully assembled and may not be bunked, lofted, or raised above the fifth-lowest peg setting, and the room, public suite area (including bathroom) and hallway outside the suite must be clean. Failure to follow these procedures will result in improper checkout fees.

Room Inspections

All students have the right to privacy in their rooms. However, on occasion the Residence Life Staff and other College officials are authorized to enter residents’ rooms. Staff members may do so to respond to perceived emergency situations, public nuisance situations (a ringing alarm or odor that is disturbing others) or judicial violations, to confirm evacuation during a fire alarm or drill, to perform maintenance or facility observations or repairs, and to perform routine health and safety inspections. Suite hallways and bathrooms are considered public areas and may be entered by staff members during performance of their duties. Students’ belongings will not be moved (other than is necessary to ensure their safety and to perform necessary maintenance functions) or searched (other than a “plain view” visual check of rooms and closets) without a letter signed by the Dean of Student Life, a search warrant issued by the court system or by the Director of Public Safety, or the permission of a resident of that room. Search warrants issued by College officials will specify the reason for the search. If the resident is available at the time of the search, he or she may be present during the search. The Residence Life Staff may, after posting notification at least 48 hours in advance, check a room at any time for health, safety, or maintenance reasons. Safety or policy violations observed during these inspections will be referred through the appropriate channels.

Safety and Health Measures

Fire Alarms and Safety Equipment

It is against the law and the regulations of the College to tamper with fire equipment of any kind. Falsely pulled fire alarms and other forms of tampering with fire equipment are a serious safety issue and each student should accept personal responsibility for reporting anyone who does so. Students found responsible for false alarms or other fire equipment tampering will face serious sanctions up to removal from housing or expulsion, and may also face criminal charges. All students are required to evacuate buildings during fire alarms, and may not re-enter until cleared by a Residence Life or DPS staff member. Students who do not evacuate during fire alarms or drills will be fined and may face additional judicial sanctions.

Fire Safety Regulations

The burning of any substance (other than cigarettes in approved outdoor smoking areas) is not allowed in or around the residence halls. Candles and incense may not be burned, and partially burned candles and/or incense are not allowed in the residence halls. Multiple socket plugs are not allowed, and multiple-socket surge protectors should not have several high drain appliances in use simultaneously. Students in areas where circuit breakers need to be reset may be required to reduce their number of outlets or appliances in use to conform to the capacity of the electrical system. Appliances with exposed heating elements or hot surfaces (including but not limited to toaster ovens, electric grills or skillets, halogen lights, crock pots, fryers, and space heaters) are not allowed in the residence halls. Students may have one microwave (no more than 900 watts) and one refrigerator (under 1.8 amps) per residence hall room. Irons and coffee pots are allowed but may not be left plugged in or unattended.

Health Issues and Missed Classes

Students’ rooms should be kept reasonably clean and trash should be emptied as needed. Uncovered food and spills that are not cleaned up are considered health hazards, and are not allowed. Students should report illness to their resident assistant and the Director of Health Services. Students missing classes should notify their professors.

Roof and Maintenance Areas

Equipment or maintenance rooms and the roof areas of all buildings and porches are off limits to all except those authorized for inspection, repair, or work reasons except in areas designated by the College as sun decks.

Room Deposit

A $215.00 room deposit is required of all residents and is retained as a general housing deposit as long as the student resides on campus. The room deposit will be refunded at the end of the last semester a student attends the College, provided all financial obligations have been met and the Office of Residence Life and Housing has been properly notified. All damage charges assessed to a student prior to that time will be billed to his/her regular account. Charges for loss or damage of equipment or defacement of any community-used area such as lounges, recreation rooms, corridors, or bathrooms may be assessed equally against the residents of the area. Occupants may be charged for damages to individual rooms in the event the vandal(s) is/are not apprehended or known to the College. If an on-campus student withdraws from Centenary College for any reason, he/she must notify the Office of Residence Life and Housing in writing before the posted deadline (July 1st if not returning for the Fall semester and December 31st if not returning for the spring semester). If this deadline is not met, the housing deposit will be forfeited.

Telephone, Data, and Cable Service

The residence hall rooms are equipped with modular phone jacks and data ports. Each residence hall room is properly equipped for television cable service. Commercially available long distance services may be contracted on an individual student-by-student basis. The television in the lobby is available for residential student use, but should not be used to publicly view copyrighted materials without proper authorization.

Theft and Property Damage

The College is not responsible for the theft or damage of personal property in residence hall rooms or elsewhere on College property. All students are strongly encouraged to obtain insurance coverage for their belongings. Students should report theft and vandalism to their RA and the Department of Public Safety. Prompt reporting is an important factor in recovering stolen items.

Room Decorations and Furnishings

No furniture, including mattresses or extra furniture due to the singling of a double room, may be removed from the room without permission of the Office of Residence Life. College furniture may not be physically altered in any way. Decals and stickers should not be applied to College property. Decorations visible from public areas must be in good taste. Residents may decorate their room or suite doors, but are responsible for any damages to those surfaces.

Pets

Pets and other animals are not allowed inside any campus facility, with the exception of fish, hermit crabs, and aquatic turtles. All pets must be kept in an aquarium at all times. Pet owners are responsible for cleaning up after and caring for their pets, and will have to remove them from the halls immediately if there are offensive odors or allergy concerns. Aquariums may not be larger than 15 gallons.

Posters, Publicity, and Fund Raising

All flyers shall be posted on bulletin boards and walls only, and the source must be clearly identified. Any banners, posters, or other publicity larger that a flyer may be posted outside of bulletin board areas so long as these are up for a period of no longer than ten (10) days. The status of listed or chartered shall allow an organization the right to post publicity (flyers and posters) on campus in compliance with the above regulations and without other restriction. Any on-campus publicity by off-campus or non- official campus organizations must be approved by the Director of Student Activities and comply with the above regulations. Any damage done to College property by the display of posters or any cleaning that needs to be done as a result of publicity materials littering the campus will be paid by the source of publicity. Publicity to be hung in the residence halls must be approved by the Director of Residence Life and Housing. Publicity should never be placed on exterior or stairwell doors without specific consent. In the event of a suspected violation by an individual or organization, any student or College official may submit a report to the Conduct Review Committee. The deciding judicial body may impose a fine of not more than $25.00 in addition to the aforementioned cleanup and repair costs. Special areas for and methods of publicizing College activities will be determined by the SGA. The Director of Student Activities must be contacted for authorization to hang banners in areas other than the residence halls. The Director of Residence Life and Housing must provide authorization for banners in or on the residence halls. All publicity must be removed by the sponsoring group within three days following the publicized event. Salespersons are not permitted to solicit on the campus without written permission from the Dean of Student Life. Students and staff should ask any solicitor for proof of written permission from the Dean of Student Life. Should a resident group want a salesperson to present or demonstrate a particular product in the residence hall lobby, the Residence Hall Council should notify the Dean of Student Life. This same procedure also covers solicitation of donations. Students desiring to sell products in order to earn money toward their education or College organizations conducting fund raising projects may apply to the Dean of Student Life for special permission to sell products.

Weight Lifting Equipment

Barbells, weight lifting equipment, and dumbbells weighing over 5 lbs. each are not allowed in the residence halls. Weight equipment is available in the Centenary Fitness Center.

Escort and Guest Policies

Opposite sex guests must be escorted by a resident in all areas of the residence halls except the main lounges. Guests who do not work at, or attend Centenary College must always be escorted by a resident of that building while in residence halls. Students are responsible for the behavior of their guests and may be held accountable in campus judicial proceedings.

Visitation Policy

Opposite Sex Visitation

Visitation hours are 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. daily for all female only designated halls and floors. Co-ed areas have no specified hours for visitation (roommates' discretion).

Lobby Visitation

Students are allowed to have guests of the opposite sex in their residence hall lobby twenty-four hours a day. After the official visitation hours, a guest in a lobby must be in the company of his/her host(ess). Overnight sleeping in the lobby area is prohibited.

Guest Policies

Students may have overnight guests of the same sex. All overnight guests, even one staying in the room of the host or hostess, must be registered with the Office of Residence Life and Housing. Guests may stay on campus for no more than three nights. Exceptions must be approved in writing by both the Director of Residence Life and the host or hostess’s roommate. All guests, whether staying overnight or just visiting, must comply with our residence and campus regulations; the student host or hostess will be responsible for any infraction by his/her guest(s).

Quiet Hours

Quiet Hours are in effect from 9:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. each weeknight and from midnight to 10:00 a.m. on weekends. Hall Councils may modify the quiet hours of their building subject to approval by the Director of Residence Life. Courtesy hours are in effect at all times, and students must reduce excessive noise that disturbs others. Students who are inconvenienced by noise should make a request to the offenders. If noise continues, students should report it to a resident assistant immediately or file a communication report. Communication report forms are available from any resident assistant, the Office of Residence Life or Office of Student Life. Residence Halls will observe 24 hour quiet time beginning at 10:00 a.m. the day before Finals Week. Hall Councils may approve a lifting of the quiet hours for a maximum of two (2) hours each day with the approval of the Director of Residence Life. Designated hours will be posted in each residence hall. A student who violates quiet hours after the day prior to Finals Week is subject to a minimum $25.00 fine per incident or equivalent in service hours to the college. The quiet hours policy extends through the last scheduled final exam.