Residence Life and Housing Policies

Residence hall living is one of the best ways for students to learn essential life skills—negotiating with community members, adapting to new experiences, communicating with others, and learning to live successfully with people different from themselves are just a few. With so many students living together in community, expectations that support a healthy living and learning environment where all students’ can thrive personally, socially, and academically were developed. Occasionally, students, like everyone, make mistakes. When these mistakes involve University policy, the University utilizes the Student Code of Conduct and Conduct Review Process to respond. The policies detailed below are specifically for the residence halls and are a supplement to the policies found in the Student Code of Conduct. Students are responsible for following these guidelines in addition to those set forth by their signed residence hall contract. A complete contract is available in the Department of Residence Life and Housing.

Noise / Quiet Hours / Courtesy Hours 

It is the responsibility of residents to be courteous and to maintain reasonable conditions for studying throughout the day. The right to study and sleep precede any other privileges such as visitation and/or excessive noise. Noise levels should be limited so as not to disturb other residents (i.e., 24-Hour Courtesy Hours). Quiet Hours are specifically designated hours in which noise should not be heard in the hallways, stairwells, or outside residence hall rooms. Quiet Hours begin at 11pm Sunday-Thursday and 1am Friday and Saturday.

Guest Policy 

Roger Williams University students are responsible for the behavior of their guests. University alumni are also considered guests. The minimum age for an overnight guest is 16. University students who wish to host a guest under the age of 18 must get permission in advance from the Graduate Community Director (GCD) of their building or residence area and complete the release form. All guests must register in advance by completing The Non-RWU Overnight Guest Request form found on HawkLink. Upon approval, print out a copy of the approval email for your guest to have for the duration of their stay. The University reserves the right to restrict the number of guests each student may host on weekends when a larger volume of guests is anticipated (i.e. Fall Concert Weekend, Spring Weekend, etc.) In addition all hosts and guests must follow these guidelines:

  1. The guest must carry a photo of the confirmation guest pass and a photo ID on their person for the duration of their visit. Any overnight bags or luggage for a guest may be checked by any authorized University official.
  2. Any unregistered guest may be escorted off campus and issued a no trespass warning by Public Safety.
  3. Any University student host who fails to properly register their guest will be held accountable through the University Conduct process. Fines and limitation or loss of guest privileges may occur.
  4. Any University student hosting a guest is required to remain with that person for the duration of the visit.
  5. The minimum age for an overnight guest is 16 - any guest under the age of 18 must work directly with Community Director of building for approval
  6. RWU students are limited to TWO guests at any time. The University also reserves the right to additionally restrict the number of guests each student may host on weekends when a larger volume of guests is anticipated (i.e. Fall Concert Weekend, etc...).
  7. The duration of a guest's stay is limited to 3 days and 2 nights
  8. All guests are required to have a temporary parking permit and park in the parking garage located at North Campus. Any violations of this policy will result in fines and possible loss of privilege.
  9. All Guests must be Fully Vaccinated, including Booster.

Residence Hall Safety 

Prohibited items/behaviors include:

Cooking

  1. Cooking in all residence halls, except in kitchen areas in Bayside Courts, Almeida and North Campus Residence Hall Apartments or Community Kitchen; and only as designated by the Department of Residence Life and Housing.
  2. Microwaves, toaster, hot plates, fry pans, indoor grills and other cooking appliances are only allowed in the private kitchens at Almeida, Bayside and North Campus Residence Hall Apartments. *Keurig single serve coffee machines are allowed in traditional style housing*
  3. University students may use the University-owned stationary charcoal grills to cook food for their personal consumption or their own charcoal grills that are secured a minimum of 15 feet away from all Residential Halls under the following conditions:
    • Students must only use “match-light” charcoal – lighter fluid
    • Students must dispose of the used charcoal in the metal charcoal disposal box located near each grill at the designated grilling location.
    • Students may not use the grills to cook food to sell to University or community members.
    • Students may not use propane or natural gas grills, or alcohol stoves. Personal grills may only be charcoal grills less than 22.5 inches in diameter, and only used with “match-light” charcoal briquettes.

Decorations 

Please review the Fire Safety Policies set by the Environmental Health and Safety Office as well to determine appropriate decorations for your space. 

  1. Attaching anything to, or hung from any ceiling (i.e., tapestries, posters, hammocks, flags).
  2. Tapestries, flags, and other cloth materials hung on the walls or over windows. (curtains hung on a curtain rod are excluded from this policy)
  3. Incense, candles, or oil lamps may result in a fine and additional conduct review
  4. Obstructing windows or doorways with items such as unauthorized blinds, curtains, posters, towels or tapestries, etc. (curtains hung on a curtain rod are excluded from this policy)
  5. Any items displayed for public view (e.g., room windows) cannot be alcohol/drug related, offensive or discriminating. The University will be the arbitrator of what is offensive or discriminating in the best interest of the community.
  6. Room doors, egress doors, and ceilings shall be free of any decorations, posters, tapestries, writing etc.
  7. Students can only hang magnetic memo boards on room doors – boards hung with adhesives will be removed and any damages assessed.
  8. Cinder blocks
  9. Road signs, traffic cones, construction lights, construction signs or traffic lights.
  10. Live/cut trees/wreaths.
  11. Screens removed from windows
  12. Fog machines
  13. Certain prohibited items may be confiscated and stored until the next University break. It is up to the Department of Residence Life and Housing to use discretion in this manner. The University does not have to store any items confiscated. The student is responsible for contacting the CD to coordinate a pick-up date and time. The University assumes no obligation for the care or safekeeping of the confiscated items while in its possession. Items not retrieved will be deemed abandoned and disposed of at the University sole discretion.

Furniture 

  1. Receptacles, vehicles, furniture or other articles or obstructions placed inside or outside of the halls, grounds, other common areas or passageways, including the Bayside “U”.
  2. Waterbeds, lofts (not provided by the University) or the lofting of beds on desks or other furniture
  3. No personal furniture may be left unattended outside a room/apartment (Hallways, stairways, courtyards, grounds, etc.). Items will be removed and students will be billed accordingly. University furniture cannot be removed from a room/apartment
  4. The removal of University furniture from lounges and public areas shall be treated as theft and may result in a $50.00 fine and additional conduct review.

Electrical 

  1. Electrical appliances such as space heaters, air conditioners, electric blankets, and immersion heater coils are prohibited in the residence hall environment.
  2. Only portable refrigerators up to a maximum of five cubic feet are permitted in residence hall rooms. Microfridges rented or purchased from the Department of Residence Life Housing are approved appliances to be used in the residence halls.
  3. Halogen lamps (i.e. Lava Lamp) of any type are not allowed.
  4. Electrical cords may not be strung together for use.
  5. Strip lights can be hung in the Residence Halls. No more than three (3) can be strung together at one time. 
  6. Self-adhesive strip lights are allowed, but be mindful of the paint damage caused  to walls within the space. All damages will be assessed by the Department of Residence Life and Housing and charged appropriately. (approximately $350 for full room)

The University reserves the right to confiscate and dispose of any appliance deemed hazardous. It is the student’s responsibility to check with the Dept. of Residence Life and Housing whether appliances other than those listed above are allowed.

General Safety 

  1. Entering or sitting on the roofs of buildings and/or on fire escapes/ladders, as well as balconies, patios or windows are not to be used as entrances unless in the event of an emergency egress from the building.
  2. Throwing items out of windows or at buildings is prohibited
  3. Snowball throwing and/or snowball fighting are prohibited in or around on-campus housing
  4. Aerials attached to the outside of the buildings
  5. Any sports-related activity (including but not limited to: using sports equipment, Metal-tip darts, ball playing, rollerblading, skateboarding, water/food fighting, etc.) and activity, which could cause personal injury or cause damage to property is prohibited within on-campus housing.
  6. Students are advised to leave all exterior doors closed and free of any items that might prop the doors open.
  7. Students will not enter/exit from alarmed doors except in emergencies.
  8. Motorcycles and other motorized vehicles may not be stored in the residence halls.
  9. Animals or pets (dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles, snakes, birds, lizards, etc.) except for fish are not permitted. Fish tanks may not exceed 20 gallons and may only contain fully aquatic animals, such as fish. No more than two (2) 20 gallon tanks are permitted per apartment/room.

Cleanliness 

  1. Defacing (e.g., write/paint/draw on doors, door frames, walls, floors) any surface inside of or outside of the residence hall buildings is prohibited.
  2. Room trash should not be left on patios, in hallways, laundry rooms, lounges, bathrooms or other common areas.
  3. Residents cannot refuse bathroom cleaning services
  4. Students must maintain the cleanliness of their living environment, including the common areas.
  5. No receptacles, vehicles, furniture or other articles or obstructions shall be placed inside or outside of the halls, grounds, other common areas or passageways, including the Bayside “U”. To do so violates local and state fire regulations and this Contract.

Solicitation Policy 

University residences are private living quarters and residents should not be bothered or harassed by solicitation/commercial endeavors. The University does allow individual students or groups of students to make presentations in student rooms with the agreement of any and all roommates. Any illegal activity or activity that would draw negative attention to the student or the University would be prohibited. The solicitation of any credit card on campus is prohibited.

Administratively revised August 2023

For a full list of Roger Williams University's policies go to the Policies & Guidelines page.