Your Room
Appliances
The following UL-approved electrical appliances are authorized for use in residence hall rooms: clock, coffee pot, curling iron, electric blanket, electric toothbrush, fan, hair dryer, heating pad, iron, microwave, popcorn popper, radio, razor, refrigerator (4.5 cu. ft. or smaller), sewing machine, stereo equipment, study lamp (NOT halogen torchier), television, toaster and personal computer. Cooking appliances with closed UL-approved heating elements are allowed. Other heating or cooking appliances, sunlamps and hot plates are not allowed due to potential fire and sanitation hazards.
Refrigerator Guidelines
The DOR assumes no responsibility for the unit or its contents and reserves the right to ensure compliance with the standards below. Revocation of the privilege to use a refrigerator could occur if violations are found.
- The refrigerator should not exceed the following specifications: power: 115-volt, 60-cycle AC, 230 watts, 2-amp (when running), UL-approved, approximate capacity of 4.5 cubic feet.
- The refrigerator should be operated and maintained in full compliance with sanitary and safety standards, including the use of grounded extension cords and proper ventilation (not in a closet, etc.).
Bicycles
Bicycles should be parked in the racks provided near each hall. They may also be kept in rooms with the permission of roommates. No other storage areas are available. Bicycles left on campus following the conclusion of either spring or summer session will be considered abandoned and may be impounded.
Cable TV
Every room has a cable connectin. Cedar Falls Utilities cable services include basic and expanded channel selections. Once on campus, residents may purchase additional digital programming by contacting CFU directly.
Care and Damage Charges
Residents are responsible for the cleanliness of their rooms and are expected to cooperate in the maintenance of public areas. Residents will need to provide their own cleaning supplies and equipment. Residence hall houses will have brooms, dust pans and dust mops; some houses/halls have purchased vacuum cleaners for residents to check out.
Damage to residence hall property will be charged to the person(s) responsible for the damage. Residents are encouraged to maintain the physical condition of their room to avoid damage assessment charges. When damage is discovered in a student’s room or in a housing living area, the damage will be reported to the residence life coordinator. A charge will be levied in accordance with the assessed cost of repair completed by university personnel. This charge will then be added directly to the student’s monthly bill through the accounts receivable system or billed to the house in cases of house area damages.
Decorating Your Room
Residents are encouraged to creatively personalize their rooms in ways that satisfy roommates and comply with maintenance and safety standards. Ideas about room design and sources of materials, posters, etc. may be obtained from other residents, home decorating magazines and local merchants.
Students will be assessed for damages caused by the use of tape, nails, screws or tacks on or in the walls, furniture or fixtures. Plasti-Tac may be used on all surfaces except brick and student roomwalls in Hagemann, Noehren, ROTH and Shull. Residents should not use carpet tape to install carpet because it may break the floor tile when removed resulting in charges.
Electrical Modifications
No modification of light switches, lights or electrical outlets is allowed, including the installation of dimmer switches, ceiling fans, etc.
Furniture
Overstuffed chairs or sofas should be inspected to make certain they will not present health or safety problems. The university strongly discourages the placement of those items in rooms because of their potential to contribute to serious fires.
Furniture Storage
Bed ends, springs and mattresses can be stored in the residence halls. Contact the hall office or residence hall staff if you have questions.
Residents shall not take any other furnishings or equipment out of their assigned rooms or move any of the equipment or furnishings out of any residence hall. Students will be charged for missing equipment or furnishings at the end of the contract period.
Health and Safety
Students should not store perishable food items in open containers to limit the likelihood of insect infestation. It is the student’s responsibility to keep the room clean and to take trash outside to the dumpster on a regular basis.
Holiday Decorations
Holiday decorations are permissible in residence halls under the following guidelines:
- All hanging decorations in student rooms or corridors must be of fire resistant/proof materials.
- No live trees, branches or wreaths made from live trees shall be used in decorating student rooms or hallways.
- No candles shall be used at any time.
- Student room doors may be decorated as long as materials are not draped or hung so as to create an imminent fire possibility.
- Decorations of flame resistant materials are allowed in the floor lounge areas.
- Miniature lights that are UL approved and do not generate noticeable heat are permissible in student rooms, but no lights of any type are to be used in the decoration of student room doors.
- No decorations may be placed so as to obstruct access to hall, stairwell or exit.
- No extension cords are to be used from student rooms into the hallways at any time.
- All decorations should be removed from the hall’s public areas and house hallways within one week after the holiday has passed.
Light Bulbs
Burned-out bulbs in student rooms are replaced without charge by completing a repair request form (pink slip) at the hall office. Building light bulbs should not be replaced with higher wattage bulbs than those for which the fixtures are designed. Larger sizes may crack the reflector bowls, overload the circuits and create a fire hazard.
Loss or Damage to Personal Property
Residents are urged to keep their rooms locked whenever they leave and while they are sleeping. The university cannot be responsible for any damage or loss of personal property due to fire, facility failure, severe weather, theft or other incidents and does not carry insurance on residents and/or their property. Therefore, to provide coverage, it is necessary for students to have a personal policy or be eligible under a family policy. Residents could be liable for damages resulting from negligence and/or policy violations.
Repair Requests
Requests for room repairs (locks, faucets, heaters, light bulb replacement, etc.) should be made at the hall office by completing a maintenance request form (pink slip). If the office is closed and repair is needed immediately, contact your RA. If repairs are not taken care of in a timely manner, contact your residence life coordinator.
ResNet
Residents have the option of accessing the Internet from their rooms using
direct ethernet connections that are much faster than those accessing via
modems. If you have a computer in your room and want to be connected with
the residential computer network, sign up at www.resnet.uni.edu. Please
note that the university does not sell or install ethernet cards.
Students are expected to comply with policies pertaining to computer use.
Refer to the Computing Resources Policy Web site for full details of expectations:
www.uni.edu/pres/policies/954.html
Room Entry by Staff
The DOR, in order to maintain its property and a safe environment for students,
reserves the right to have its authorized personnel enter and inspect residence
hall rooms as it deems necessary.
Staff may choose to enter a residence hall room for the following reasons:
- when there is strong reason to believe that any term or condition of the contract is being violated;
- to maintain an environment that facilitates the scholarship of other residents;
- to conduct safety inspections;
- to complete repairs that have been reported;
- whenever someone moves out of a room;
- for pest control;
- and for any emergency reason (e.g., fire or broken pipes).
If residents are not in the room, they will be left a written note of such an entrance. When possible, residents will be notified in advance for safety inspections and pest control visits.
Telephones and Long Distance Service
To call on campus, dial the last five digits of the telephone number. To dial off campus, dial 9, listen for a dial tone, then dial the number you wish to call. All telephone repairs can be reported by calling 3-5555.
The University does not provide a long distance carrier for the residence halls.
Voice Mail
Each resident will be given a telephone number and with it will be a voice mailbox. You will receive specific written instructions about logging in to your mailbox for the first time, assigning a password, recording your greeting, and retrieving messages when you move into your room. If you have any questions about voice mail, please call 3-7778 or 3-5555.
The phone numbers are assigned to each space in a room. If you move from your room, you will be assigned a new phone number and voice mailbox. The hall office will inform you of the procedure and timeline involved with making this change.
Voice mailboxes are cleared out at the end of each spring semester.
Voice mail initial logon:
- Dial 3-7600 on campus or 273-7600 off campus
- Dial five-digit phone number, followed by the # sign
- Dial password (initial password is 9), followed by the # sign
Lofts
Please follow this link for further information about lofts.
Room Additions
Some residents choose to personalize their rooms by adding loft bed structures, lamps and furniture from home. While personalizing your room is encouraged, please remember that the DOR has certain requirements that must be met for personal and fire safety reasons. (Remember that halogen floor lamps with the bulb facing the ceiling are fire hazards and not allowed in student rooms.)
Water Beds
Because of the potential structural damage to the buildings and the difficulties of filling and emptying, waterbeds are not permitted in the residence halls.