Residence Hall Security
What is the SU policy regarding access to the University’s facilities and programs by students, employees, guests and others?
University facilities are open to the public during normal business hours. All individuals accessing university facilities must adhere to all federal and state laws as well as all university policies. All administrative and academic buildings are opened at approved times and secured upon the completion of their scheduled use by the University Police Department. Prior to scheduling any extracurricular event, the university must approve the use of the facility. When administrative and academic buildings are secure, access is restricted to authorized individuals through the use of card access or written authorization from the building administrator or faculty member.
Residence hall access is restricted 24 hours per day via a card access system. Residents are provided access to the hall they live in via their student identification card at the designated entrances. Guests are given access to the building by the resident they are visiting, and the resident is responsible for the guest while they are in the building. University policy states all employees, contractors, and vendors shall display university identification when in an occupied residence hall.
College Park Commons is an apartment complex owned and controlled by the SU Foundation. It is located reasonably contiguous to the University campus. Each apartment building requires key access. Guests are provided access by tenants.
What SU programs are available to inform student housing residents about housing security and enforcement procedures?
At the beginning of each semester during new student orientation, students are informed of housing security and enforcement procedures by Department of Public Safety personnel. Department of Public Safety personnel also participate in Residence Life staff training. Throughout the academic year, the Crime Prevention Specialist, along with other police officers, conducts crime prevention and safety seminars in the residence halls. Residence directors (RDs) conduct hall meetings with students during the first week of each semester regarding security issues, and additionally, resident assistants (RAs) conduct periodic resident floor meetings to inform students of campus policies and procedures.
What type of student housing is available?
There are three different on-campus housing options for the 2016-17 academic year: traditional, suite style, and apartment style. McLean and Mowrey are traditional residence halls with double occupancy rooms and community bathrooms. Harley, Kieffer, Lackhove, McCune, Naugle, and Seavers are suite-style halls in which no more than two students share a bathroom. The suites are available in five different layouts and feature individually controlled heating and air conditioning units in each room and complete wireless internet throughout. Stone Ridge Commons and College Park Commons are apartment-style student housing with full kitchens and bathrooms. A meal plan is not required in these living options. College Park Commons is owned and controlled by the SU Foundation.
All residence halls house both male and female students.
What is the SU policy on housing assignments and requests by students for assignment changes?
Housing assignments initially are made for an entire academic year. Returning students apply for university-owned housing during the first half of the spring semester each year and receive their assignments by mid-March. Assignment processes for affiliated housing begin later in the fall semester. First-year and transfer students are accepted as either “resident” or “commuter” students through the Office of Admissions, and those who plan to live on campus are notified of their assignments in early August prior to their arrival.
The housing application includes a section for students to indicate their personal preference regarding quiet hours and smoking (although all university housing facilities are smoke free). These preferences are met whenever possible. Room changes are permitted for all residents during the second week of each semester if signed by the residence director (RD) of the hall and approved by the Housing Office. The RD handles any extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
How are student housing facilities secured?
All exterior doors to the residence halls are locked 24 hours a day. The main entrances to each building are equipped with card readers, which residents can use to gain access to the building. All other entrances are alarmed and set for delayed egress, which will deny the ability to exit the building unless the emergency egress glass is broken or the fire alarm system has released the doors. Residents must provide access to the building for their guests, and applicable guest policies must be followed. Each main entrance also is monitored through video camera surveillance. Additional cameras are placed throughout common areas of the facilities, such as laundry, kitchen, and study lounges.
Doors in the residence halls are equipped with a standard lock and key system. The windows are equipped with screens and will lock in place. Ground-level resident rooms have security screens installed on their windows.
College Park Commons is an apartment complex owned and controlled by the SU Foundation. Each apartment requires key access.
How many and what types of SU employees are assigned to University housing facilities?
Each hall has a live-in residence director (RD) who oversees all operational aspects of that hall/complex. All halls/complexes have student resident assistants (RAs) living on each floor or in each apartment building and a student desk assistant who remains at the hall main desk during various hours, seven days a week. The entire Residence Life staff of approximately 120 persons receives varying levels of training on evacuation procedures, security procedures and policies, crisis intervention, confrontation, alcohol and drug abuse, and responding to emergency situations.
College Park Commons is owned and controlled by the SU Foundation.
What is the SU policy for housing students during low-occupancy periods, such as holidays and vacations?
During vacations and other low-occupancy periods from late August to mid-May, most residence halls are vacated by residents and are locked and secured. During these low-occupancy periods, entrance to the occupied residence halls is restricted via the card access system to only those students approved to stay on campus. University police officers patrol and check the buildings during these periods.
What is the SU policy for housing guests or others not assigned to student housing or not regularly associated with the University?
University housing is primarily for full-time registered students. Special arrangements may be made for part-time students with the permission of the Director of Housing and Residence Life or the Assistant VP of Student Affairs.
Students are permitted to host guests in their residence hall rooms. Every guest is subject to university rules and regulations, and guests are the responsibility of the resident host. The university reserves the right to deny access to any person who presents a threat to the peace, safety, and welfare of other residents.
The university does not permit cohabitation or patterns of extended visitation in the residence halls or apartment complexes. All guests must follow proper registration and check-in procedures as prescribed by the appropriate staff. Overnight guests are permitted to visit and stay in university-owned and affiliated housing for defined periods of time, but the rights of the roommate take precedence in issues involving a guest. Patterns of visitation, which interfere with the rights, privileges or privacy of any resident student will not be tolerated and may subject the host to university judicial action.
College Park Commons is owned and controlled by the SU Foundation.
What security considerations does SU use in the maintenance of campus facilities?
University facilities and lighting on campus are maintained to minimize hazardous conditions. Malfunctioning lights and other unsafe conditions are reported through work orders filed with the work management department for repair or correction. Plant growth is also monitored. Any growth considered a security hazard is reported to the grounds maintenance department for action. In addition, the University Police Department conducts periodic checks of the surveillance system, and also conducts twice-monthly testing of all emergency telephones on campus. If any issues are discovered with the cameras or emergency telephones, the appropriate individuals are contacted to have the items repaired or replaced. The work management department can be contacted at (717) 477-1454.