Check Out Procedures
All non-seniors and/or students not required to stay on campus for graduation activities must move out of their rooms 24 hours after their last final exam.
Key Return
Prior to departure all residents must return their room keys to their RA or the Residence Life Staff member on check-out duty and have their room inspected. There will be a staff member available in your building to collect keys.
The names and locations of the staff members on check-out duty will be posted next to your RA's room door.
If your planned departure time is scheduled at an unusual time, please see your RD to make arrangements to drop off your key.
We strongly discourage slipping keys under RA doors. Students who choose to do this should understand:
Not checking out with a Residence Life Staff Member will result in a forfeit in your Hall Damage Deposit
Slipping room keys under staff member doors is AT YOUR OWN RISK
If you slip your room key under an RA door and your key is not found, you will be charged for the lock change and key replacement.
Room Condition
When you are ready to check out of your room the RA will review your RCR with you. The Staff Member will compare this information with the current condition of your room. All changes, breakage and/or damage to your room and its furnishings will be documented, and charges will be assessed as required. You will be required to sign the RCR acknowledging that you are aware of damages you will be fined for.
The following are helpful hints to assist you in avoiding damage charges.
Remove All Non-College Furnishings
1) All College furnishings present in your room at the time of check-in must be in your room when you depart.
2) Replacement costs will be assessed for all missing items.
3) Furnishings and other items which are the personal property of residents, such as couches, chairs, rugs, and shelves must be removed from your room and the residence hall prior to departure. Dumpsters will be located near your hall to assist you with the disposal of these items.
As removal costs for items/trash pushed out into hallways or left in stairwells will be assessed against all residents of a floor or building, please do not dispose of your items/trash or allow others to dispose of theirs in this fashion.
Remove All Decorations & Personal Items
All decorative items such as corkboards, mirrors, shelving, posters, hooks, and contact paper must be removed. Decals, stickers, marks, tape, adhesive, nails, "Stick-Up" Air Fresheners and lettering on ceilings, doors, furniture, walls and windows should be cleaned off and/or removed. You will be charged to remove, clean and/or repair damage from these items.
Leave Your Room Clean
Prior to departure, you should remove all trash from your room and sweep the floors. Students leaving trash in their rooms will be assessed an Excessive Cleaning charge for removal.
- Take Responsibility For Damages
Discuss the condition of your room with your roommate(s). If something has been damaged in your room and the responsibility for the damage lies with a specific roommate, you must inform the Staff Member when you are being checked out out of your room.
Failure to inform the Staff Member before you check out will result in charges being divided equally among all of the residents of the room.
Damage Charges
There are three potential types of damage, which can be assessed against residents a) individual, b) floor and c) common area.
Individual charges result from damage to your room or its furnishings.
Floor damage charges result from vandalism that occurs on your floor (i.e. windows, carpeting, excessive trash, bathrooms) and for which no one claims responsibility.
Common Area charges result from damage or vandalism for which no one claims responsibility and/or which residents have failed to identify the person(s) responsible that occurs in the stairwells, lounges, lobbies, foyers and outside doors.
Charges for floor damage are divided among the members of a floor. Common area damages are divided among the members of a building.
Avoid Floor and Common Area Charges
There are a number of ways to avoid being assessed floor and common area damage.
If vandalism has occurred on your floor or within your building and you know who is responsible, we encourage you to approach the individual(s) and ask them to come forward. If this is not possible, please report the situation to your RA.
These actions must be taken prior to the close of school and the departure of residents, so issues can be appropriately resolved while students are present.
Do not throw trash or discard personal belongings (i.e. textbooks, carpet remnants, paper) in the hallways. If excess is found on a floor or hall, the entire floor will be assessed an Excessive Cleaning charge.
Charge Back System
There are a number of factors considered before a dollar amount is assigned to a specific type of damage. Typically, those factors include the cost of materials, the cost of labor and/or the cost to replace items on an immediate or a long-term basis. All costs are calculated by the Physical Plant.
The majority of the most common cleaning tasks or repairs assessed are avoidable. Below is a list of the most common items which students are assessed for at the end of the year.
Furniture
replacement of beds, chairs, desks, dressers, shelving, and wardrobes due to damage which cannot be attributed to normal wear and tear and/or where the items are actually missing.
significant scratches, removal of contact paper, stickers, hooks and burn marks and repairing broken drawers, shelves, and doors
- carpets - significant staining or cigarette burns
Failure To Remove Items From The Room
wood planks, extraneous shelving and brackets and miscellaneous building materials
carpet remnants, couches, chairs, and other non-university furniture
excessive trash - papers, books, food items, clothing
- removal of decals, stickers, "Fun Tack", posters, tape, mirrors, contact paper, cork boards and other items from windows, doors, walls, ceilings and furnishings
Material and Labor Charges
repair of holes, significant scratches, stains and/or damage to walls, doors, floors, and ceilings
students' unsuccessful attempts at repairing the above
- repainting over writing on hall memo boards
Fines
- failure to return keys to Residence Staff
NOTE: **This list is not all inclusive, but represents the most commonly assessed charges. Questions regarding other potential charges should be addressed to the Office of Residence Life.