Residential Life Policies, Processes, and Forms

Utica Community
Living on Campus
Residential Life and Student Living
Residential Life Policies, Processes, and Forms

All the most important information you need when it comes to living on campus at Utica University. From your Residence Hall Agreement, to residence hall policies and waiting lists, changing rooms, reporting room conditions, and more.

All incoming first-year students are required to live in University residence halls for their first two years, unless residing at home with their parent or legal guardian who live within a 30-mile radius. All transfer students are required to have lived on campus for four semesters. This means incoming second-year transfers are required to reside on campus unless residing at home with their parent or legal guardian.

Residence Hall Agreement / Housing Contract

2022/2023 Housing Agreement (PDF)

2021/2022 Housing Agreement (PDF)

Alcohol Policy

Alcohol is not permitted in common floor spaces within the residence halls (kitchen, lounges, hallways, laundry rooms, bathrooms, etc.).
If any person who routinely uses the residential room is under 21, there is to be no alcohol in that room.
- Bedroom: Both/all roommates need to be 21 or over.
- Common room/kitchen/bathroom within suite/cluster: ALL suite/apartment residents need to be 21 or over.
- All guests in a space need to be over 21 in a room if there is alcohol present.

Amounts Permitted:
- Each resident who is 21 or over may have up to:
- 6 cans/bottled of beer OR 1 (750 ML) bottle of wine OR 1 (16 OZ) bottle of liquor.
- Utica University or Off-Campus Guests (even if 21 or over) cannot have their “own” alcohol.
Empty Containers
- Residents may not keep empty bottles in their room or on display and are subject to documentation for possession of alcohol paraphernalia.
- Residents under the age of 21 may not possess empty alcohol containers. They are subject to documentation for possession of alcohol paraphernalia and possibly underage possession of alcohol and/or underage persons being in the presence of alcohol if there is alcohol present at the time of the situation.
Paraphernalia
- Other items may be considered paraphernalia when they are used to violate a policy. Items such as folding tables, solo cups, shot glasses, wine glasses, ping pong balls, etc. are not documentable policy violations unless they are being used to violate a campus policy, such as water/beer pong or underage drinking. Student Living staff members may have a conversation with you about these items and their usage.

Guest Policy

The College will generally permit guests to stay overnight in the residence halls in reasonable number and for periods not exceeding three consecutive nights or more than six nights in a month, subject to consent of all roommates, but the College reserves the right to deny such permission. If the College terminates its permission for any reason, guests must vacate immediately without further notice. Guests staying more than three nights must be approved by the Office of Student Living and College Engagement.

Quiet Hours Policy

Quiet hours are designated from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday -Thursday; and on weekends (Friday and Saturday) from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m. Quiet hours are defined as time during which all students should be able to sleep and/or study without disruption and that noise should not be heard outside the room, including from outside of the building.

For more information on other residence hall policies please see the Residence Hall Agreement and the Student Code of Conduct.

The Office of Student Living and Campus Engagement, in conjunction with the Office of Campus Safety and New York State, have extensive policies in order to keep the residential community safe. As a residential student, you are expected to abide by policies that pertain to fire safety and prohibited items. Brief information on these policies can be found below. You can also refer to the Residence Hall Agreement and the Code of Student Conduct for more information.

Prohibited Items List and Fire Safety Policies
Tapestry Registration
Confiscated Items Policy

All students will receive a Room Condition Report upon check-in and should compare the comments to the actual condition of their room to ensure accurate recording to avoid damage charges upon check-out. Students may add additional comments with their Resident Assistant at the time of check-in. Students are also encouraged to send any pictures that they may wish to provide as documentation to slce@utica.edu and include their name, residence hall, and room number in the subject line. If a student notices damage shortly after move-in they are encouraged to bring this to the attention of their Area Coordinator immediately.

Students will have the opportunity to complete a Room Condition Report when they move out of a room (due to room change or at the end of the academic year). This document will be used to determine applicable damage or cleaning fees. Should a student decline the opportunity to complete this report, that student waives the right to appeal any charges.

Students may add additional comments when they complete their check-in RCR with a Student Living staff member.

If a student notices damage shortly after move-in they are encouraged to bring this to the attention of the Student Living staff immediately.

If at any point, a student notices a facilities or maintenance concern in their space, a work request should be completed by the resident.

Each year, students planning to live on campus the following year will go through a housing selection process. After this process is complete, the Office of Student Living and Campus Engagement keeps a waiting list of students who would like to request a different space, such as a single or a space within a particular residence hall. Students can place their name on the waiting list by filling out the Residential Waiting List Form. This form is to be used after the housing selection process is complete, prior to the start of the academic year.

The Office of Student Living and Campus Engagement is committed to providing an educational, safe, and supportive environment for all residents. There may come a time when a resident feels a room change is necessary and they can initiate a request by filling out the Room Change Request Form. The form will be reviewed by the Assistant Director for Student Living and handled by the appropriate professional staff member. Please note: our philosophy to provide an educational environment means that a room change may not be instantly granted (and sometimes available space does not permit it). Our staff has a five step process that involves the student communicating their concerns with their roommate, at least one staff member facilitating a conversation, and then a possible room change may be granted. Be advised that if you are having a conflict with a roommate your Area Coordinator will discuss the procedure more in-depth with you.

Steps in the Roommate Conflict Process

Conflict Acknowledged: It is crucial that you acknowledge the conflict with all parties involved. We recommend keeping it to the point and letting the other person(s) know how you are feeling. We do NOT recommend doing this in any way other than in person (social media, texting, etc., normally makes the situation worse).
Roommate Resolution: Residents should try to resolve the conflict on their own before the Student Living staff gets involved. By doing this, roommates are sometimes able to come to common agreements on their own and avoid a staff member getting involved. This also prevents someone from being blindsided when a staff member intervenes in steps 3-5.
RA Resolution: Residents will meet with their Resident Assistant to have the RA guide a roommate mediation conversation. The RA will not be the one to make decisions and will be an unbiased mediator in the situation to help you find a solution.
Area Coordinator Resolution: Sometimes meeting with an RA does not always solve the problem or the situation may be deemed a little more serious/pertinent and a professional staff member will hold the mediation session. Area Coordinators have gone through more in-depth training so they are able to guide these conversations a little further.
Room Change: Sometimes the Student Living professional staff may find that it is in the best interest of our student(s) for a room change to occur. While we try our best to assist students in resolving conflicts, sometimes we are not able to achieve this. In the event that we reach stage 5 the Area Coordinator will discuss options with the residents to find a resolution.

*Please note: Not every conflict will go through this exact process. If there is an extenuating circumstance or if there appears to be an immediate threat to safety some of these steps may be disregarded at the discretion of the Student Living staff.

Any student who is not returning to the residence halls for the following semester must fill out the Exit Interview Form. This includes: studying abroad, out of town internship, transferring, not returning to the institution, and/or being approved to move off campus.

Exit Interview Form

During the summer, Utica University offers a safe, convenient, and affordable housing option to current Utica University students who remain in the area for summer courses, internships, work, or other extenuating circumstances. For Summer 2023, the cost of summer housing is approximately $183 per week. Students can apply for summer housing by filling out this form.

Once a student fulfills the two-year residency requirement, they are free to make a decision about whether or not they would like to live on campus for the next year. If students are looking into off-campus housing but want to keep their options open, we encourage them to go through the housing process.

Those students have until June 1st, at 11:59 p.m. to submit a Housing Release Application and receive a refund of their housing deposit. As of June 2nd, the residence hall agreement is binding for the entire academic year.

If you meet the above requirements and decide to move off campus, please remember to fill out the Exit Interview Form.

Searching for an Off-Campus Apartment

There are a variety of apartments located near the Utica campus. Students can obtain information from the Utica area Yellow Pages under the listing "Apartments" and from the apartment ads in the Utica Observer-Dispatch.

If students do live off-campus, we ask that you be a good neighbor and respect those who live in the community around you. Please keep your houses/apartments and yards clean as well as keep an appropriate and reasonable noise level. Students are subject to the Student Code of Conduct as off-campus residents as well.

Students are cautioned to inspect the condition of any rental property, looking especially for fire safety measures (smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguisher, fire exits, etc.). If the property you are considering is in the City of Utica, you should ask the landlord to provide written proof of current rental registration with the City of Utica, which does inspect rental properties for fire safety compliance; the other neighboring jurisdictions do not yet have such a requirement for rental properties. Students are also advised to review the landlord's lease very carefully before signing, as leases vary significantly in terms and conditions (whether certain utilities are included, etc.).

Housing Accomodations at Utica University

Utica University working to to find a housing arrangement fit just for you!

The Office of Learning Services is responsible for evaluating whether to grant or deny requests for a medical accommodation. For more information, please contact the Office of Learning Services at (315)792-3032 or visit www.utica.edu/learning. Students will receive specific information in regards to deadlines for working through the medical accommodation process.