Housing and Residential Life
A Department in the Student Affairs Division
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WentworthHousing Policies and Procedures The Housing and Residential Life Office works to offer students a rich living and learning experience. To make this environment work, students are responsible both for their individual actions, the actions of their guests, and in a collective sense for the actions of each member of the residential community. An atmosphere conducive to academic growth and social awareness requires everyone’s cooperation. The starting point for this communal success is individual adherence to Institute policies. All students are held responsible for knowing the policies that govern the Institute, and for understanding the policies and procedures that prevail in the residence halls. These policies are subject to change during the academic year and it is the student’s responsibility to know the current policies and regulations.
These policies are subject to change during the academic year. Click on the policy that you want to go to. **Please click here for the entireWentworth Student Code of Conduct**
Checking Out of the Residence Halls During examination week, students must leave within 24 hours of their last final or by 6:00 p.m. on the final day of exam week if they have a final exam on that day. Each student must check out with a Housing staff member and sign their Room Condition Form. Students who fail to hand in their keys will be charged a lost key fee and students who do not checkout in the proper manner will be charged an improper check-out fee. For additional Closing information please see Closing Procedures. Microwave ovens are permitted in the residence halls. Open coils, hot plates, toasters, toaster ovens, and electric hot pots are prohibited. The Residential Life staff will confiscate items with open heating elements. Students living in areas equipped with kitchenettes should pay particular care when cooking to avoid any possible fires. All doors (bedroom, suite, apartment, studio, etc.) must be kept free of any writing, stickers, papers or other things that could create damage. Memo boards may be attached to doors as long as it does not mark the door and is removed before vacating. In the event of an emergency, fire alarm or at the request of a Wentworth official, all students must leave the building and not renter until authorized. Failure to leave the building may result in disciplinary action. Emergency instructions can be found on the back sides of your residence hall room door. Failure to Comply with Administrative Action Members of the Institute and Housing and Residential Life staff are charged with maintaining environments conducive to living and learning. Staff members may take immediate action in response to a given situation. The instructions of a staff member acting in the fulfillment of his or her duties are to be followed. Failure to comply with these instructions is a serious breach of the Personal Conduct section of Wentworth’s Student Code of Conduct and will result in disciplinary action. Creating a fire hazard or situation that endangers others including candles or any flame/heat-producing objects. These items are strictly prohibited and will be confiscated. Non-approved electrical equipment will be confiscated and may result in disciplinary action. Candles, incense, halogen lamps, gasoline/kerosene tanks, or any flame or heat-producing items are strictly prohibited and will be confiscated. Wall hanging and overloaded electrical sockets are also considered fire hazards. All electrical appliances and equipment authorized for use within the residence halls must bear the Under no circumstances may students perform any electrical wiring within their room/suite/apartment. If a student has an electrical concern, he/she must contact the Office of Housing and Residential Life and submit a work order. Wentworth affords its students the opportunity to have guests on campus. Wentworth defines guests as any persons who are not current residents of the room/suite/apartment they are visiting – internal guests (current residents) and external guests (non-students, off-campus students and alumni). At all times, guests must be in the presence of their student host. The host student is responsible for the behavior of his/her guest and will be held accountable if the guest violates the Student Code of Conduct. Public Safety may make an arrest at their discretion depending upon the nature and severity of a violation.
GUESTS Students at Wentworth Institute of Technology have the privilege to entertain guests in his or her room or suite, as long as the room/suitemate's rights to access, privacy, and to study and sleep free from disturbance are respected. A resident may not entertain guests in a room over the objections of a roommate. Each host student is responsible for the conduct of his or her guest and the consequences of that conduct. Guests are expected to comply with all residence hall regulations and Wentworth policies. ROOM OCCUPANCY Due to Massachusetts State Housing Code restrictions on maximum occupancy within a limited living space, the number of guests any student can have at any time are limited to two per resident. Due to possible injury to a bystander or damage to the facilities, hall sports of any kind are not permitted. The use of roller blades, bikes, skateboards, and scooters is also prohibited within the residence halls. Students responsible for violating this policy may face disciplinary action. Each student is required to fill out and sign a housing agreement either during room selection or the first day of the new semester. Housing agreements are binding for a full academic year. Students will not be released from this agreement unless they are leaving for co-op, study abroad, or transferring. (Please see below Housing Agreements Release section for more details.) Each student should read the housing agreement carefully and ask questions if anything is not clear. Each student must have a signed Room Condition Form for the room in which they live. Guidelines and policies outlined in this document are to ensure that both the Institute administrators and resident students are aware of their responsibilities. Transfer students and first year students sign a full-year agreement at orientation or upon admission to the housing system, and are given a room assignment by the Office of Housing and Residential Life. Students will not be released from this full-year agreement unless the housing system is "over occupancy" and then only at the discretion of the Director of Housing and Residential Life or his or her designee. Students who withdraw from housing without such a release may lose their deposits and could also be obliged to pay a full year’s room charges. Any violation of the housing agreement will be dealt with by the residential life staff. Depending upon the severity of a violation, a student’s residency may be reviewed immediately. If the student’s behavior raises serious questions about his or her suitability for community living on campus, the Director of Housing and Residential Life may revoke the student’s status as a resident student. Intentional Destruction of College Property Policy The Institute will not tolerate the intentional destruction of property and any intentional or unintentional theft, damage or destruction of property is a violation of the Personal Conduct section of the Student Code of Conduct. A student should assume that an incident that is determined to be intentional destruction, such as, but not limited to, graffiti, tagging, or tampering with elevators, may result in housing suspension. Students found responsible may face disciplinary sanctions and be referred to the Director of Housing and Residential Life. Quiet hours are considered important for study in all residential areas. Residents should refrain from noise that interferes with the Institute community. It is an individual’s responsibility to inform others when noise becomes disruptive; however, should the disruptive conduct continue, a member of the Housing and Residential Life staff should be contacted for appropriate action. Residence halls should be reasonably quiet at all times. Quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 8a.m., Sunday through Thursday; and midnight to 9 a.m., Friday and Saturday. Quiet hours are in effect 24 hours a day during mid term and final exam weeks. If a member of the Institute community judges that the volume of noise infringes on the orderly conduct of Institute affairs (such as faculty offices, classrooms, or administrative offices), he or she should contact the Office of Housing and Residential Life. Stereos in particular are considered privileged items and should be used for personal enjoyment. They are to be used within the confines of one’s room at a volume that does not infringe on the rights of others within the community. Students are not permitted to have pets, other than fish, in their rooms. Fish cannot be contained in an aquarium larger than 10 gallons. Students are prohibited from propping exterior and room doors or entering through propped doors. Students are prohibited from using WIT facilities or resources for commercial activity such as creating products or services for sale. The Wentworth Institute of Technology requires all first-year and second-year students enrolled for twelve (12) or more semester credit hours reside in Wentworth residence halls and participate in a meal plan. This requirement excludes summer sessions and is applicable until the attainment of junior academic standing (as determined by the Student Service Center) or receipt of an exemption from the Office of Housing and Residential Life. Exemptions to this requirement must be requested in writing to the Director of the Office of Housing and Residential Life (or designee) using the “Request for Exemption from Residency Requirement” form and appropriate documentation. Exemptions to this policy may be granted under certain conditions. These exemptions are:
All requests for exemption must be made to the Director of Housing and Residential Life (or designee) at the following address: Director of Housing and Residential Life Fax 617-989-4171 Any student not granted exemption under this policy who fails to reside in Institute housing may be required to pay all room and board charges for the semester(s) in which the student failed to reside in Institute housing as required under this policy. The Institute reserves the right to inspect any room. In addition, the Residential Life staff have the right to enter the premises at any time for any reasonable cause to take those precautions that they find necessary to protect the health and safety of the occupants or other persons therein and to enforce Institute policy. Members of the physical plant staff and Public Safety officers routinely enter rooms in the performance of their duties or at times of safety or emergency. The Residential Life staff shall have the right to conduct health and safety inspections of all student rooms at any time. The staff shall have the right to enter the premises at a reasonable hour in the day or evening, to make such requests for repairs, additions, or alterations as deemed necessary. Notification of inspection time and date need not be posted. When Wentworth officials have reason to suspect that a violation of Institute policy is occurring, they reserve the right to investigate the situation and confiscate evidence of such violations. In addition, they may search a student’s person, motor vehicle, and room, including refrigerators, closets, desks, and large bags or boxes. Material evidence, such as alcoholic beverages and containers, drug paraphernalia, suspicious odors, disruptive behavior, or behavior which is suspect, will generally be considered grounds for such a search. Confiscated evidence will then be used in disciplinary proceedings. It also should be noted that federal, commonwealth, and local officials may exercise their legitimate authority to conduct searches on campus without the consent of the Institute. The Office of Housing and Residential Life recognizes that not all people are compatible and, at times, a room change may be the only solution. Students contemplating a room change should first discuss the situation with their roommates and then, if needed, seek the assistance of their Resident Assistant. Additionally, the entire Housing and Residential Life staff is available to assist residents with any roommate conflict. Every resident student signs an agreement to occupy a specific room in a specific building. That student is financially responsible for his or her assigned space for the duration of the agreement. A room change is an amendment to this agreement. All room changes must be initiated with either the Resident Assistant or Resident Director of the student’s assigned living area. A change of room requires the written approval of the Resident Director. Unauthorized room changes may result in disciplinary action. During the first two weeks of the semester, no student-initiated room changes are allowed. After the first two weeks of the semester, residents may change their rooms, providing space is available. To initiate such a change, these students must see their Resident Director. Wentworth Institute of Technology reserves the right to change room assignments at its discretion. All bedroom, common area and kitchen furniture provided by the Institute must remain intact and configured as it was upon move in. Any changes to the furniture configurations must be designated and approved by the Resident Director. A clear path to doors must be maintained at all times. Residents are responsible for the cleanliness of their respective rooms/suites/apartments, which are subject to inspection for health and safety reasons. Perishable foods may not be stored in student rooms unless they are kept refrigerated. Other food items kept in rooms must be stored in closed containers to avoid attracting and harboring insects and to avoid contamination of food. Carpeted floors should be vacuumed weekly and whenever there is dirt, dust, crumbs, etc. visible. Hard surface floors should be swept and mopped weekly and again whenever the need is apparent. Cleaning of the kitchens and bathrooms within these units should be done daily. Residents are expected to work out an equitable schedule among themselves to maintain these standards. Residents must bag and tie all trash on a regular basis and dispose in designated locations per building. Students that fail to maintain the cleanliness of their rooms will be subject to cover the cost of having the living area professionally cleaned as well as face disciplinary action. Nothing is allowed to be placed on or suspended from the ceilings. Approved wall decorations are allowed but must be attached in such a way as to not mark or damage the surfaces. Putties and non-damaging adhesive strips are available in most office and school supply stores. Duct tape should never be used to attach anything to a painted surface. Wentworth Housing Procedures During examination week students must leave 24 hours after their last examination, or on the last day of examination week, if they have an examination that day. Follow these procedures if you will be out of your room for any extended period (vacations, long weekends, etc.): • Take all valuables home with you when residential areas are closed. (TVs, DVDs, etc.) The Institute does not tolerate students causing damage within the residence halls. Damage results in increased housing costs, as well as creating an environment that is not conducive to the growth of community. Students who are found responsible for damaging Institute property within their rooms, suites, halls, or building will be brought forward to a disciplinary hearing. Disciplinary sanctions may include restitution, housing probation, suspension from housing, or expulsion from the Institute. Unless a specific in dividual(s) takes full responsibility for a damage to your room, suite, or apartment, each student assigned to the space will be charged for the damage as outlined below: Disciplinary Dismissal from Housing If you are dismissed from the residence hall for disciplinary reasons, you may be placed at the end of the housing waiting list. However, a process of petitioning for re-admittance has been established and details are available from the Director of Housing and Residential Life or the discipline system of Wentworth Institute of Technology. An individual who loses residence privileges due to disciplinary sanctions will not receive a refund. The Housing Office conducts Health and Safety Inspections of the Residence Halls periodically each semester. These inspections can occur at any time and consist of a visual assessment of the rooms to check for items that are not permitted in the residence halls. If the following items are found in a room they result in an automatic$25 placed on the student account: hazardous appliances (toaster ovens, electric heaters, or appliances with open coils), halogen lamps, candles, incense, and shot glasses. The room is also inspected for cleanliness and overloaded electrical sockets. Violations of this kind will be given an opportunity to be remedied and will be inspected within a week of the original inspection. Students wishing to claim individual responsibility for violations should contact their area Resident Director within 48 hours of the inspection. If this is not done, all members of the room or suite in which the violation occurred will be held responsible. Candles and shot glasses will not be returned to the students and will simply be disposed of. ACADEMIC YEAR AGREEMENT STUDENTS Valid reasons for students not returning in the Spring may include: -Being dismissed from the Institute -Getting a coop outside of the greater Boston Area -Transferring to another Institution -Encounter academic situations which do not allow a student to return to the Institute -Has an unforeseen medical situation All requests to release a student from their academic year Housing Agreement will be examined and approval will be determined by the Director of Student Financial Services and the Director of Housing and Residential Life. FULL-YEAR AGREEMENT STUDENTS Valid reasons for students not returning to campus may include:
All requests to release a student from their academic year Housing Agreement will be examined and approval will be determined by the Director of Student Financial Services and the Director of Housing and Residential Life. Housing Deposit and Deposit Refunds This section is excerpted from the Housing Deposit Refund Policy approved in Spring 2002 Semester. Director of Housing and Residential Life.
Each entering first year student is required to live on-campus, and must pay a housing deposit of $500.00. Housing deposit refunds received in writing (or email) and postmarked on or before May 1st will be granted. No verbal requests will be honored. After May 1st,the housing deposit is non-refundable and forfeited to the Institute, except in certain situations outlined below: · A first-year student who paid the housing deposit and has selected a major that is wait-listed, and will not be allowed to attend classes within that major for the academic year or is on the housing waitlist can request a refund regardless of whether or not they have been offered housing. · A first-year student who decides not to live in housing can still use their housing deposit as a credit towards their tuition charges. Returning First-Year or Upper-class students: After Room Selection is over, the housing deposit is non-refundable and forfeited to the Institute, except in certain situations outlined below:
Other situations are examined on a student-by-student basis. Students who have not met satisfactory academic progress and subsequently lost their financial aid may (or may not) be eligible for housing refund. All requests for housing deposits after the final day of room selection must be received in writing or by email to housing@wit.edu. These requests will be examined and approval of return or forfeiture of the housing deposit will be determined by the Director of Student Financial Services and Director of Housing and Residential Life. No refunds will be granted to any requests that arrive after September 1st. All students who are off campus for the Fall Semester and intending to come back to housing for Spring Semester must submit a $500 housing deposit (Due dates will be published at this website and on Campus Pipeline during the fall semester). This deposit is non-refundable except in the following circumstances:
Summer Semester: All requests for the summer housing deposit refunds must be requested by the due date (See room selection timeline) to be refunded. This deposit is non-refundable except in the following circumstances.
Insurance Information for Students and Parents Students at Wentworth are strongly encouraged to provide their own personal property loss insurance. Parents should check with their homeowner's insurance to see if the loss of their students' property is covered under their existing policy. If not, it is strongly encouraged that a rider is added to cover students’ property while they are living in the residence hall. Wentworth Institute of Technology is not legally liable for damages or loss of property, nor for failure or interruption of utilities, nor for interruption of services due to weather or acts of nature. Legal Liability of the Institute Wentworth Institute of Technology is not legally liable for damages or loss of property, nor for failure or interruption of utilities, nor for interruption of services due to weather or acts of nature. Students are strongly encouraged to provide their own personal property loss insurance. As a student living on an urban campus, you should be aware of your surroundings and observe all safety tips, including the following: • Always walk in well-lit areas. Report broken or burned-out lights to the Public Safety Office immediately. • When walking at night, remember the buddy system and walk with a friend, or call the Public Safety Office at 989-4400 to request an escort. • If walking alone at night, walk briskly and be alert to your surroundings. Don’t offer directions to approaching cars. If you feel you are being followed, go where there will be other people around and where assistance is available. • Keep your room locked at all times. • Keep draperies and shades drawn in the evening and at other appropriate times. • Be aware of the emergency telephone numbers on campus. Keep them handy. • Keep exterior doors of the residence buildings locked. Never prop doors open and always close the doors if they are open. Door propping is prohibited and may result in disciplinary action. The following procedure should be followed in the event of a room vacancy: 1. The roommates of the person vacating a room assignment may request an appropriate replacement from the pool of students living on campus. If no request is made, the Office of Housing and Residential Life may then offer the space to another student. 2. In the event the person declines the offer, he or she is placed at the end of the waiting list. If you have placed your name on multiple waiting lists and you accept an offer of a new placement, your name will be taken off all waiting lists. 3. If the occupants of a room with a vacancy attempt in any way to block the filling of a vacant room, or to dissuade a prospective roommate from moving in, they will be subject to strict disciplinary review. This action could include removal from campus residence. In addition, any room vacancy not filled due to action on the part of the current residents will result in the cost of the vacant bed being pro-rated and charged to the current residents of the room with the opening. Vacating Residence Halls During Holidays During periods in which the Institute residence halls are closed, students must follow certain guidelines. It is expected that you will leave campus at the time designated by the Office of Housing and Residential Life and not return until the residence halls are officially re-opened. Any student who violates these guidelines will be subject to strict disciplinary action. Academic requirements, distance from home, and varsity athletics are the only valid reasons for submitting a request to remain in campus housing during an interim break. Vacation housing is not afforded byyour housing contract. The Institute reserves the right to deny interim break housing to any student for any reason. Students may not be allowed to remain in their regular room assignments in all cases. For security and cooking purposes, students may be asked to move into temporary interim assignments. Please note that there are no exceptions to this policy. Withdrawal from Housing, Study Abroad or Co-op The procedure for withdrawal or study abroad is outlined below. 1. Contact your Resident Director or the Office of Housing and Residential Life and inform them of your decision to withdraw. 2. Contact your Resident Assistant and complete an exit inventory. Be sure to sign your exit inventory or you forfeit the right to contest any damages. 3. Return your room keys to your Resident Assistant, Resident Director, or to the Office of Housing and Residential Life prior to leaving. If you do not, you will be charged for a lock change and new keys. 4. Co-op or study abroad students wishing to participate in spring room selection should fill out a change of address contact card in the mailroom or in the Office of Housing and Residential Life before leaving. Information will be sent to you about room selection for the following academic year early in the next semester. 5. Contact the Student Service Suite for refunds. 6. Students who withdraw from Institute housing and are not studying abroad or on co-op are not eligible to participate in the room selection process for the next academic year. 7. Institute housing is intended to accommodate eligible students for their full tenure required to complete an undergraduate degree. Housing is generally not available to part-time students unless authorized by the Director of Housing and Residential Life.
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