Welcome to Residence Life information and instructions

The following information will assist you in completing MyHousing Self-Service. It explains choosing a roommate, answering personal preference questions, and the different meal plan options. Please read it carefully before completing MyHousing Self-Service.

Choosing a roommate

It is the philosophy of Residence Life that a university education should include out of classroom learning experiences for well-rounded experiences. In our residence hall setting, you are encouraged to:

• develop an awareness of and respect for the rights of others
• understand the responsibilities of community living
• develop a sense of independence and self-discipline
• enhance relationships with people of diverse backgrounds
• encounter new ideas, attitudes, and value systems
• become a productive citizen of our campus and town community
• and explore opportunities for involvement and leadership

The selection of roommates is a critical factor in this learning process and has the potential to enhance your development. Whether you choose someone you have known for years as a roommate, or opt to have the staff match you based on your personal preference responses, there will be many new things that you will learn about the person as you live with them. How will they deal with their new found freedom? How will you? Are their living habits compatible with yours? What will happen when you both begin to meet new people and enjoy their company as well as each other's? We realize that it is difficult to predict the answers to these questions now, but this is what we mean by new learning experiences. A residence hall is all about people, how they live, think, feel, and deal with the day to day happenings in their lives. Words to keep in mind: flexibility, tolerance, communication. It is our goal to help you refine these qualities through your experiences with your roommate(s) and others on your wing, hall and university community.

Choosing a Roommate: If you wish to request a roommate(s) you will need to log in to MyHousing Self-Service and enter a roommate request. You will need that person’s name and BU ID # to make the request. Please be sure to notify them that you have made a request to be roommates as they must go on and accept/confirm the request. We will only honor mutual roommate requests.

Personal Preference Questions

While some freshmen opt to pick their roommate, many prefer to be assigned roommates based on the personal preference questions. Survey results indicate that many students want to be assigned a roommate for a new experience, to meet new people or because they don't know anyone coming to Bloomsburg. The personal preference questions are designed to help us match students who have compatible living habits. No assignment system can ever guarantee that all matches will be successful. This includes requesting a specific roommate(s). Realizing this fact, we use this process in the hope of significantly reducing those conflict factors most commonly responsible for roommate disharmony.

The personal preference questions are used to make roommate assignments for those students who do not request a roommate (or who lose a roommate prior to arrival). While we recommend that parents/guardians and students discuss these questions, it is important that the student complete MyHousing Self-Service. We base roommate assignments on these answers so honest responses help us make the best possible match. Please answer all Personal Preference questions even if you are requesting a specific roommate.

Selecting a Meal Plan

All meal plans provide access to the Scranton Commons for "all-you-care-to-eat" meals and come with cash equivalency, and a starting FLEX balance. The meal plan rates are based on having $250 FLEX as indicated by the number 1 after the letter. Or students may choose a starting flex balance of $300 indicated by the number 2 after the letter. Cost for all meal plans can be found at http://www.bloomu.edu/mealplan.

Note: The Plan D (5 meal per week) and Plan F (75 meal per semester) plans are options for on-campus apartment and off campus students only and include $300 flex. There is no $250 flex option for Plan D or Plan F.

See How Meal Plans Work for complete details on how the dining service program works at Bloomsburg University.

Housing Types

Residence Life's housing initiatives are a response to the needs and changing preferences of our students reflected by surveys, pilot studies and continuing consultation with Residence Hall and Campus Apartment students. The majority of students are assigned to coed side-by-side housing as this is the most common and preferred type of housing available.

• Single Gender Floor: students on the floor/wing are all of the same gender (limited rooms available). To request placement on a single gender floor or wing email buhouse@bloomu.edu no later than June 1. We cannot guarantee to meet your request but we will consider and accommodate it if possible.
• Coed Side-by-Side Residence Hall: two female students may be assigned a room next door to a room housing two male students.
• Coed in Room Residence Hall/Apartment: coed or gender inclusive housing is available on the 2nd floor east wing of Northumberland Hall or in the Montgomery Place Apartments only. Current on-campus students interested in coed living must complete the HOST process and select housing in one of these areas. New students must email buhouse@bloomu.edu no later than June 1 to request placement in one of these areas. Students will be assigned as space is available.
• Suite Style Residence Hall: range in size from 1 to 4-person single bedroom, shared bathroom and common space suites; limited availability 4-person/2-bedroom, shared bathroom suites.
• On-Campus Apartments: range in size from 2 to 6-person single bedroom apartments or 4-person/2-bedroom shared bedroom apartments.
• 12 Month Housing: this housing is only available to students who submit an advance written request stating why they need housing over semester & holiday breaks. Students must also submit an Interim Housing Agreement to secure housing over breaks (upon notification that the agreement is available). Housing and dining charges will be applied at that time.

There is a gender neutral bathroom on the 2nd floor east wing of Northumberland Hall. Students will be randomly assigned to all residence halls, however if you prefer placement in this area please email buhouse@bloomu.edu no later than June 1. Gender neutral means the bathroom is available for both male and female use at the same time. There will also be a female bathroom on 2 East and male and female bathrooms on 2 West.

Accommodations

Triple Accommodations

In order to accommodate all students who request or are required to live on campus, some new students are tripled at the beginning of the semester. We have been tripling new students for 25-years and we make every effort to de-triple those rooms as quickly as possible with many being de-tripled within the first few weeks of the semesters. Each tripled room is furnished with a bunk bed and a loft system.

Tripling is not done for profit, but as the best way to accommodate demand for on-campus housing. Tripled students who during the course of the semester, have one student leave the room, will be credited as outlined in the triple credit policy. The credit will be applied toward outstanding bills or if your account is paid in full, the difference will be refunded to you. The credit does not apply to students in voluntary triples, triads, suites or quads.

Physical/Medical Considerations

If you have any health condition or physical disability you believe requires special assignment consideration, you are required to contact and work through the Students with Disabilities Center and the Student Health Center to document (1) your specific condition, and (2) any special needs you have in relation to this condition.

Air Conditioning (A/C)

All campus apartments, the new residential suites, Columbia and Elwell Halls have air conditioning. A limited number of rooms in our other residence halls have been designated as air conditioned rooms; either with a wall-mounted or window air conditioner. The wall-mounted units will be turned on at the beginning of each semester and will remain on throughout the semester. The window units have been permanently installed to reasonably withstand winter temperatures and will NOT be removed at any time.

All rooms equipped with air conditioning are billed at a higher rate than regular non air conditioned rooms.

• Floor Model Air Conditioner
• For reasons of need or convenience, you may provide your own floor model only air conditioning unit not to exceed 10,000 BTU's with no fee charged by the university. You do not need to submit an AC Request Form or doctor's note to bring your own floor model unit.
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  Permitted Portable Air Conditioner Unit

  

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  Click here to view images of a permitted floor model. Students may not provide or install their own window air conditioner.
• Medical Requests for University Provided Air Conditioning
• All students who have a medical need for air conditioning: review and complete the Air Conditioning Request Form by the July 1 deadline for Fall start students or January 1 deadline for Spring start students. Requests for medical need must be accompanied by a doctor's note and received by the deadline to be assured placement in an air conditioned room. Your physician must fax a note confirming your medical need for air conditioning to the Residence Life Office at 570-389-5070 by the deadline specified on the Air Conditioning Request Form.
• Air conditioning requests received after the deadline will be accommodated only if there are air conditioned rooms or spaces available. This means roommates requests, living learning community participation or other housing accommodations may be disrupted to fulfill an air conditioning request. Once our air conditioned rooms are filled, we will not be able to accommodate your request. You may purchase your own floor model only air conditioning unit not to exceed 10,000 BTU's.

Learning Communities

Learning Communities are all by invitation only. For more information you can visit the Learning Communities website at http://lc.bloomu.edu/.

Computer use in the halls

Information is available for getting connected to the on-campus network at the Residential Computing web site at http://rescomp.bloomu.edu.

All students residing in residence halls and apartments are provided high speed wireless access that is included at no additional charge. All rooms, and select common areas in apartments, have Ethernet jacks installed, but are inactive. The cost to maintain both a wired and wireless network access system is high with less than 10% of students opting for wired connections. As a result, most of the infrastructure that supported the wired network has been deactivated in an effort to keep housing rates as low as practical. A limited number of wired connections are still available, but at an additional charge. Computers that do not have wireless cards in them (i.e. desktop computers) are typically easy to convert with the purchase of a wireless network card or USB adapter that is most often less expensive that the cost to activate deactivated network jacks.

The University requires minimum computer hardware and software specifications prior to granting access to the University's computer network. Refer to the Residential Computing web site for guidelines for getting connected. Computers can usually be configured to meet the University standards prior to moving in which can get you up and running upon arrival to campus.

All questions and concerns can be emailed to rescomp@bloomu.edu. The Residential Computing web site also has a service request form for anyone having problems in getting connected.

Meningitis Vaccine

As of August 2002, Pennsylvania state law requires that all students residing in campus owned facilities must either have received the meningitis vaccine or sign a waiver after having received information concerning the benefits of this vaccine. This information must be completed before you move into the residence halls.

Certain college students are at increased risk for meningococcal disease; potentially fatal bacterial infection commonly referred to as meningitis. In fact students living in dorms are found to have a six-fold increased risk for the disease. The American College Health Association recommends that college students, particularly first-year students living in residence halls, learn more about meningitis and vaccination.

Pennsylvania has passed (Senate Bill 955) stating all students residing in a residence hall or housing unit must have the vaccine or sign a declination statement after having received information concerning the benefits of the meningitis vaccine.