RESIDENCE HALL CLOSING: MAY 2023
You should plan to vacate your room within 24 hours after your last final exam.
- All residence halls officially close at 6:00 pm on Friday, May 5.
- Laundry rooms will be locked and unavailable starting at 12:00 pm on Friday, May 5.
If you are unable to move out by 6:00 pm on Friday, May 5, please see the "Applying for Late Stay" section below.
- Any student who is unable to move out by 6:00pm on Friday, May 5 must complete a late stay application.
- Who should apply?
- Graduating students
- Students participating in graduation
- Students with evening finals on Friday, May 5
- Additional extenuating circumstances
- Break Housing Request Form
- Students will not be permitted to stay without completing this form and receiving written permission from The Residence Life and Housing Office.
- The application must be turned into the main office of Residence Life and Housing
by 4:00 pm on Tuesday, April 25
- Email your completed form to bororeslife@pennwest.edu or physically drop it off during business hours.
- Applications received after the due date may not be reviewed due to time limitations.
- Residence Life and Housing will respond to each application via your student email by 4:00 pm on Friday, April 28
- If approved, hall staff assistance for late stays will be limited due to closing.
- All late stays must complete an Express Check Out (More information in the “How Do I Check Out” section).
- If approved, will I have access to the laundry room and community kitchen?
- Yes, after staff complete closing procedures these areas will be unlocked for use.
- We lock these areas to prevent late departures.
- Who should apply?
- A limited number of carts will be available (maximum of one per student).
- Carts will be placed in the main lobby of your residence hall. If none are in the lobby, none are currently available.
- Please do not keep carts in your room overnight. Plan your move-out so that you can return your cart as quickly as possible for others to use.
- Return carts to the lobby you borrowed them from, do not leave carts outside.
- Clean your room and common areas, you could be billed for excessive cleaning services.
- Remove all garbage to the trash room. Trash left behind in common areas could be billed between all roommates as Residence Life does not know who it belongs to.
- Remove all belongings. Any items left behind will be considered abandoned.
- Do not leave unwanted items(sheets, curtains, clothing, fans, food, toiletries, mini fridges, etc.) in the room. You will be billed if staff have to remove these items from your room. See “Non-Perishable Food Donations” section for more information.
- Leave command strips on walls. Attempting to remove these can cause more damage
- Double-check the furniture. Return furniture to the original configuration
- Close and lock windows
- Set heat on low
- Turn off lights
- Remove items from community fridge(s). Items not removed will be disposed of.
EXPRESS CHECK OUT OR STAFF CHECK OUT
There are no differences in these options, we just want to offer the opportunity to check out with staff, if you choose.
- Express Check Out: Checking out on your own time, without staff, at any time and any day.
- Note: Any approved late stays must complete an Express Check Out, there will be limited staff as they are closing the residence halls.
- Staff Check Out: Checking out with a staff member.
- Staff Check Outs, with your floor’s Community Assistant, are offered Monday and Tuesday. These check outs must be scheduled 24 hours in advance of your expected move out day/time. You can sign up at the front desk of your hall.
- Staff Check Outs, with rotating Community Assistant staff, are also offered at the
front desk of your hall during the hours below.
- Wednesday, May 3 10 am - 11 pm
- Thursday, May 4 10 am - 11 pm
- Friday, May 5 10 am - 4 pm
- Check outs outside of these hours, can only be Express Check Outs.
- If a staff member is not at the desk, please call the “After Hours Number” posted
throughout your residence hall during those hours. They may be assisting another student.
- H1, H2 & H7: 814-732-3280
- H5 & H6: 814-732-3243
- H3, H4 & Towers: 814-732-3287
- Returning Keys: All keys must be returned to an Express Check Out envelope and placed
in your lobby’s black key box OR returned physically to a staff member during Staff
Check Out.
- Make sure to review the step-by-step instructions! (Linked above in all red)
- Keys not returned to the black key box or physically to a staff member, will result in lock change charges. This is costly!
All items will be donated to the PennWest Pantry
- Non-perishable food items (cereal, soup, microwavable noodles or rice, dried or canned fruit, oatmeal, etc.) can be donated.
- Boxes will be placed in the main lobby of your residence hall.
- No other donations will be accepted.
Make sure to check your student mailbox one last time during mailroom hours!
- Final charges (if any) will be billed to your PennWest Student Account.
- If we cannot tell who is responsible for a damage the bill will be divided equally among room residents.
- It is important that you communicate with your roommate(s) about damages, trash removal, and responsibility for charges and payment expectations.
- Keep an eye on your student email for any communication from our office.
If you have any questions that are not answered here, please contact your Community Assistant.
The Office for Residence Life and Housing is open 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. If assistance is needed during closing, you must utilize your hall staff outside of these hours.
Residence Halls Staff Contacts
Highlands 1/2
Samantha Johnson
Highlands 3
Brandon Torres
Highlands 4
Brenna Nelson
Highlands 5
Abbigayle Day
Highlands 6
Jazzmine Harris
Highlands 7
Samantha Johnson
Towers
Brenna Nelson
Quarantines and Isolation in all Campus Housing
If you test positive for COVID-19 while you are staying with us during the year, we will ask you to go home to isolate or will review your situation and make arrangements on-campus for you. Please know that on-campus isolation housing is limited. If you have a roommate/suitemate, you will have to go home or relocate until your quarantine/isolation period is over. We understand there may be extenuating circumstances in which we will navigate and will address each situation individually.
If you have been exposed to COVID-19 and are not vaccinated, or if you have COVID symptoms and are waiting for test results, you will need to quarantine for the amount of days determined by Health Services/athletics staff. If you have a roommate/suitemate, you will have to go home or relocate until your quarantine/isolation period is over.
In all cases of isolation/quarantine on campus, we will provide meal delivery and
will be in touch to make moving arrangements. Be prepared to have snacks in your
room in case there a delay in meal delivery especially on the day we will be notified.