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The residential life program's main goals are to create a sense of community among the residents of each building and to provide an environment where students may learn and develop positive social and academic habits. If a resident's behavior interferes with or infringes on the rights of others, the Residential Life staff will intervene and discuss the matter with the individual. If discussion does not alter the inappropriate behavior, the student will be referred to the student conduct process.
The following conduct is prohibited in or around University residence halls, and violators are subject to immediate action and/or removal by University personnel:
- Misuse of University property or furniture (e.g., moving beds out of the bedroom area, reconstruction of bunkbeds, moving furniture from public areas into individual rooms, removing University property from a room/suite/apartment or building);
- Removal of window screens; suspension of articles from windows or ledges; placing of neon signs in windows; signs, symbols, or logos referring to alcohol and visible from outside the building;
- Presence on building roof areas, window ledges, or other unauthorized areas;
- Tampering with multi-room/apartment heat control valves;
- The playing of any type of sports in hallways, suites, apartments, and rooms.
Students are members of a community and are expected to act responsibly and not to interfere with the rights, comfort, or safety of their roommates, other students, and neighbors in the West Haven community.
Courtesy hours are in effect 24 hours a day. Your neighbors have the right to ask (and expect you to comply) that you hold noise to a level that they will not be able to hear.
Residential Life Quiet Hours are as follows:
Sunday - Thursday: 10 p.m. - 8 a.m.
Friday & Saturday: 1 a.m. - 8 a.m.
During final exams: 24 hours a day
Be considerate of your neighbors and the greater residential community. You may be asked to take electronic equipment home if repeated noise violations occur.
For the purposes of this policy:
- A housing unit is defined as any room, suite, or apartment in any University housing in which one or more assigned students reside.
Guests are defined as anyone present in a University of New Haven housing unit other than the student(s) assigned. Guest policies are designed to protect all students in the residence halls.
Residents are responsible for the actions of any guest in their housing unit and building, as well as the actions of guests who are not members of the University community anywhere on campus.
As such, guests must always remain with their host and be ready to show their approved guest pass when asked by University staff. If a guest is displaying inappropriate behavior, the host will be held responsible for such behavior. All guests must comply with all University rules and regulations.
Occupants of a room/suite/apartment have a right to expect that they and their assigned roommates will be the only persons residing in that room/suite/apartment. Please be courteous to your roommate(s). If a student or staff member suspects that a resident is permitting a guest to reside in their room beyond the outlined Guest Policy expectations, they should talk to their roommate to reset and reinforce room expectations and the outlined Guest Policy. If a student has spoken to their roommate and the issue is persistent and on-going, they can submit a report through the LiveSafe App and/or immediately report the concern to their Resident Assistant/Community Supervisor.
Residents are permitted to entertain guests, provided the following guidelines are observed:
- Residents will be limited to two (2) guests per student
- All guests must be 18 years of age or older. If guests are younger than 18, they must always be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
- Guests who are not currently University of New Haven students must register to be a guest on campus and receive a guest pass. Guest passes must be available to always present to a representative of the University. Guests who fail to present their pass when requested will be escorted from campus.
- All guests must always be escorted by their host with whom they are registered to be on campus.
- Guests are not permitted to sleep in commons areas or in the lounges of any University building.
In addition to the Guest Policy, overnight Guests and their University of New Haven hosts are also responsible for the following policies and procedures.
- The maximum number of overnight guests permitted is two (2) per University of New Haven resident student. Overnight guests are permitted throughout the week for a maximum of three (3) consecutive nights and a maximum of 10 nights within a 30-day period.
- Roommates should agree to a guest remaining overnight before any guest stays overnight.
- Students wishing to register an overnight guest must register the guest with the Office of Residential Life or at the desk in your residence hall. Overnight guests will receive a digital overnight pass on their phone to show they have been signed in correctly.
- Guests are only permitted to stay overnight in the building for which the sign-in occurs. Guests signing into any other building on campus must follow the standard guest policies described.
- Hosts must have the permission of their roommate if the guest will be using the roommate's bed.
- Residence hall rooms, including suites or apartments, are not suitable for overnight stays by parents/guardians. Parent(s)/Guardian(s) are not permitted to be signed in as overnight guests. The presence of parents/guardians for an extended length of time or for overnight visits has proven to be a source of uneasiness and discomfort among students/residents in the past. For these reasons, parents/guardians may not stay overnight in a residence hall for any reason. Additionally, parents/guardians will not be permitted access to a student's room without the student present.
Students living in University housing must register their University Affiliated and non-University Affiliated guests. Please see below for specific information:
- University Affiliated Guests: A University Affiliated guest is any person who is a member of the University community who does not live in the host student's residence hall (for example, a student who lives in Bixler Hall visiting a student who lives in Gerber Hall). University Affiliated guests must always be accompanied by their host. After 8pm, University Affiliated guests should be checking in at the front desk of the residence hall they are visiting. In an area where there is not a front desk, University Affiliated guests should be prepared to present their University Issued ID card if requested by a University Official and should always be accompanied by their host.
- Non-University Affiliated Guests: A Non-University Affiliated Guest is any person who is not a member of the University community (parents, siblings, family members, friends from home, etc.). Non-University guests to University Housing are required to be registered through myHousing and must receive an electronic guest pass. Once registered, guests should be ready and able to provide their electronic guest pass at any time at the request of a Residential Life staff member.
- The following residence halls have security staff present at the desk 24/7 and should prepare guests to show their electronic guest pass to security each time they enter the building: Atwood and Park View.
- The following residence halls do not have a front desk at their location: Dunham Hall, Savin Court, and Ruden St. Apartments. However, you are still required to register your non-University Affiliated Guest through myHousing and ensure they are prepared to present their electronic guest pass is prompted by a University authority. While Forest Hills does not have a duty desk, your guest may be asked to present their electronic guest pass at the guard shack.
A University official may request at any time that a guest leaves the residence hall. In the event of a policy violation, a University Official may deny a guest permission to visit the building pending the outcome of a student conduct hearing.
Guest policies for Homecoming and Spring Weekends may be adjusted for each residence area to ensure compliance with building occupancy guidelines as directed by the Fire Marshall. Residents should seek additional information from Residential Life staff.
All students and their guests must adhere to the specific policies and procedures set forth by the Office of Residential Life for these weekends as communicated via University of New Haven email.
The University expects a certain level of cleanliness and fire and safety standards to be maintained in its residence halls. To ensure that these standards are met, the Residential Life staff will conduct regular health and safety inspections of each room/suite/apartment. Students will be notified of the regularly scheduled Health and Safety Inspection period 24 hours in advance. Please note that University officials reserve the right to conduct unannounced inspections if there is reason to believe the health and wellness or safety of residents are at risk.
During a Health and Safety inspection, attention is paid to the cleanliness in every residence hall room/suite/apartment. Removal of trash to the appropriate assigned area is also critical to note in each inspection. Finally, any other situation that is deemed a health hazard will be noted.
If a problem is noted, you will receive a written request to rectify it by a specified date. At that time, the room/ suite/apartment will be re-inspected. Failure to correct a documented problem can result in a $25 fine and possible referral to the student conduct process.
If prohibited items are found in a student room/suite/apartment, they may be confiscated and/or discarded by University personnel, and possible referral to the student conduct process.
We hope that the inspections will remind you of the importance of upholding University standards and being considerate of the health and safety of the people with whom you live. Every student has the right to a clean and safe living/learning environment.
Please remember to do your part to conserve energy. Turn off lights, unplug appliances that are not in use, keep your windows shut when the heat is on, and report any problems, such as leaky faucets and heat problems through the Facilities Work Order System available on myCharger.
Although the University has included the cost of electricity in the housing fee, students should know that an account of each apartment's electricity use will be kept on file in the Facilities Department. With this in mind, students should conserve their use of electricity.
Any apartments found to be using an above-average amount may be billed for their excessive use.
Due to the inherent risk to personal safety, the following items are prohibited within the residence halls:
- Animals and/or pets of any kind are not permitted in the residence halls, except fish in a small tank (no more than 5 gallons), emotional support animals approved by the Accessibility Resources Center, and service animals. Residents will be required to remove prohibited animals/pets from the residence hall within 24 hours. Failure to comply with requests to remove an animal/pet will result in further documentation, a conduct hearing, and sanctioning, including but not limited to, probation, a $50 fine, and removal of the prohibited animal;
- Smoking, in all forms, is not permitted in any University owned or sponsored residential facilities. Any devices such as bongs, bowls, pipes, hookah pipes, vapes, or any object used to smoke in any form is prohibited;
- Weightlifting equipment (small hand weights are permissible), dart boards (when mounted on wall); exercise equipment such as, but not limited to, treadmills and stair climbers
- Bicycle storage outside of individual student rooms (may not block egress);
- Motorcycles other than in student parking areas (must be registered with University of New Haven Police Department);
- Outside TV or radio antennas/satellite dishes;
- Electrically amplified instruments, subwoofers and/or drums, DJ equipment (items may be stored but not utilized in the residence halls and must be used in designated practice areas);
- Non-University beds, mattresses or lofts (including waterbeds), cinder blocks, wicker furniture, cardboard cutouts, carpets with a foam or rubber backing, trash cans larger than 15 gallons, hoverboards; and all electric scooters and other electric-transportation devices.
- Possession of live Christmas/holiday trees or greens, non-LED string decorative lights (only LED lights with supporting factory tags are permitted in the residence halls);
- Use of prohibited electrical equipment and appliances including air conditioners, open-coil cooking units, small convection ovens, homemade lighting devices, neon lights and signs, octopus style lamps with multiple arms and plastic light covers, extension cords, halogen lamps, heating blankets, multi-outlet adapters (UL approved power strips are allowed-one per outlet), sun and heat lamps, in-door portable stove top grills, dishwashers, washers, dryers, small freezers, larger than 3.2 - 3.3 cubic feet non-University supplied refrigerators;
- No cooking is permitted in Bergami, Bethel, Bixler, Gerber, and Westside Halls except in the kitchen area. As a result, the following items are prohibited from use: hot plates, heating coils, electric frying pans, toasters, toaster ovens, deep fryers, air fryers, and crock pots. One microwave unit less than 10 amps is permitted per room.
- Students in Atwood, Park View, Sheffield, Winchester, Celentano, Forest Hills, Dunham, Ruden, and Savin Court wishing to cook may bring closed-coil automatic shut off cooking units such as hot pots, hot plates, crock pots, coffee pots, electric fry pans, closed-coil grills (George Foreman style), toasters, and toaster ovens. One microwave oven unit less than 10 amps is permitted per apartment. All cooking and food prep must take place in University designated kitchens.
- Use of space heaters, candles, incense, charcoal and gas grills, or anything which uses open flame;
- Construction of additional walls or partitions or physical alteration of a room/suite/apartment, additionally all repairs or alterations to University property must be processed through the University work order system as well as completed by University employees;
- Free-hanging room dividers used for privacy such as blinds, sheets, bedspreads, curtains, bamboo shades, etc. are against the fire code and are prohibited. Additionally, all room doors shall be able to open to a minimum of 90 degrees.
- Installing additional locks or chains to any door in the residence hall rooms or apartments;
- Kegs, empty kegs and alcohol cans or bottles or their use as "furniture", or the installation of a bar in any room or apartment, beer pong tables and setups, binge drinking paraphernalia, common source containers, ice luges;
- All personal upholstered sofas, couches, recliners, and other chairs may not have any rips, tears, or defects;
- Posters, tapestries, and wall coverings may not cover more than 20% of a wall or hang from a ceiling.
Students may not post/hang/stick anything on their windows in their rooms. This includes but is not limited to flags, decorative stickers/window clings, holiday décor, string lights, and other signage. Additionally, any outwardly facing decorations that defame specific individuals or groups may be incompatible with the University of New Haven Freedom of Expression Statement . In situations where concerns regarding the content of the expression are raised, University of New Haven staff members may discuss with students the appropriateness of the decoration and its impact on the community in addition to asking them to remove it from the window.
Posters, advertisements, flyers, etc. approved by the Center for Student Engagement, Leadership and Orientation or Office Residential Life may be delivered to the Office of Residential Life during business hours for posting within the residence halls in approved locations. Any poster in violation of University's policies can be removed at the discretion of ORL staff.
Posting materials on windows, walls, doors, entrances, etc. is not permitted as this can block the visibility and/or cause damage to the surface.
Solicitation, Advertising, and Political Canvassing
Solicitation, sales advertising, and political and religious canvassing by students and non-students are not permitted in the residence halls.
Students are not permitted to function as on-campus agents or representatives of off-campus private or commercial firms or enterprises or to conduct a business from any residence hall room or apartment.
Individuals violating this policy will be reported to the Office of Residential Life or the University of New Haven Police Department.
Solicitation, sales advertising, and political and religious canvassing by students and non-students are not permitted in the residence halls.
Students are not permitted to function as on-campus agents or representatives of off-campus private or commercial firms or enterprises or to conduct a business from any residence hall room or apartment.
Individuals violating this policy will be reported to the Office of Residential Life or the University of New Haven Police Department.
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