The Office of Residence Life has designed the Resident Student Handbook to provide all SMCM students with information pertaining to resources, policies, and procedures for residence life. The Resident Student Handbook can be found at http://www.smcm.edu/residencelife/resources/housing-policies/).
All residential students should be aware of the policies outlined in “To the Point,” the Resident Student Handbook, as well as the housing contract. All students, including commuter students, should be aware of the following policies which are also outlined in the Resident Student Handbook.
Disorderly Conduct
Failure to comply with directions given by a Residence Life staff member, Public Safety Officer, or other College official, or to use any type of harassment or abusive language toward any Residence Life staff member, Public Safety-Officer, or College official in the performance of assigned responsibilities, shall be considered disorderly conduct and subject to conduct action. Non-students shall be asked to leave the campus and may be subject to criminal charges.
Full-Time Housing and Registration Policy
The Housing Contract states “On-campus housing is available to students classified by the College as full-time (12 or more credits). Students who wish to drop below full-time status must receive prior written approval from the director of residence life.”
Students with extenuating circumstances may be approved to drop below 12 credits for one semester while remaining in housing. Extenuating circumstances may include (but are not limited to): failing a course and wanting to drop it in order to focus on the student’s other courses and/or to avoid causing a precipitous drop in the student’s GPA; medical or psychological reasons with documentation provided to and a recommendation from the Office of Accessibility Services; a senior in their final semester who needs less than 12 credits to graduate. All resident students must register for at least 12 credits by the published deadline prior to the start of each semester and may be permitted to drop courses after classes start. Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All requests must be submitted in writing and include the reason(s) for the request.
Requests to remain in housing while being registered for less than 12 credits may be granted under the following conditions:
- The student must remain registered for at least eight credits during the semester.
- The student should attend all of their remaining classes unless they are ill and communicate that to the student’s professor(s).
- The student is to maintain exemplary conduct and adhere to all College policies.
- There is no refund on the full-time tuition and students are responsible for the full-time rate.
- The student is strongly encouraged to check with their insurance companies to ensure continued coverage.
- The student must register for at least 12 credits next semester if not a graduating senior.
Guests
A resident’s guest (whether a student from another residential area, commuter, or someone not affiliated with St. Mary’s) may stay no more than four days /nights in a given month and at no time should a roommate be displaced. (Refer to the visitation policy in this section.) Guest must be registered and 18 years of age or older with the Office of Residence Life. The online registration form can be found at the staff offices in each residence hall. Residents are responsible for informing their guests of College policies and guests who are not members of the St. Mary’s College community and who are in violation of College policies may be asked to leave the campus. Host students are responsible for the conduct of their guests and any violations of school policies by their guests may result in disciplinary action against the host students.
Quiet Hours, Noise (in and around the living areas, including DPC)
Quiet hours are 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and on weekends (Friday and Saturday) from 1:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. During these hours, noise must be kept to a minimum in and around the living areas (including DPC, the athletic, near academic buildings that are adjacent to residential spaces). However, courtesy hours are always in effect and residents should respect the rights of others who wish to sleep or study. Stereo speakers and amplifiers are not permitted to be directed and projected out of any windows in residential communities, including townhouses, at any time. Exterior speakers need to be kept at a reasonable level during courtesy hours and must be muted if they cause a disturbance, if there are community complaints, and during quiet hours. Speakers with extension cords extending from the inside of any residential unit are prohibited. Even before quiet hours, staff may instruct students to lower volumes from within individual units if disturbances are reported by the community. Bands, live music, amplifiers and/or amplified music are not permitted in the traditional halls. These areas are not suited for this type of activity. Arrangements for more appropriate performance space can be discussed with the Music Department, The Dodge Performing Arts Center, or the Office of Student Activities.
Student bands/live music are allowed to rehearse in the suites, apartments, and townhouses Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Quiet hours are in effect for 23 hours during final exams. The one-hour “study break” is 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. nightly. During final exams, residents are prohibited from band rehearsals within housing.
Solicitation
In the residential facilities, solicitation and selling (e.g., merchandise, food, items through multi-level marketing networks, etc.,) door-to-door, from a student room, or in a public area are not permitted without prior, written authorization from the Office of Residence Life. Electronic solicitation is also not permitted in the residence halls, suites, apartments, and townhouses; and students should not assist vendors who attempt to enlist students to arrange campus canvassing. Students are not permitted to use the residential facilities for commercial purposes or for conducting a business enterprise. Residents should contact Residence Life staff members when unauthorized solicitors are canvassing in college housing. Student Government Association sponsored organizations or organizations sponsored directly by the College, who wish to fundraise for their organization need prior approval from the Dean of Students or the Director of Residence Life.
Visitation
St. Mary’s has developed a visitation policy that provides for a degree of flexibility to accommodate varying lifestyles. Because some students prefer a restricted visitation policy and others desire a greater degree of choice in entertaining guests in their rooms, roommates must determine their own limitations.
The visitation policy is based on the College’s confidence in the ability of St. Mary’s students to make mature decisions about their social behavior. The College also believes that no individual has the right to infringe upon another’s freedom, privacy, happiness, and safety, and that students are willing to accept both the rights and responsibilities of such a policy.
Open visitation hours are not to be construed as permission for students or guests to sleep overnight in another’s room or to conduct themselves in such a way as to invade a roommate’s privacy and full use of the room. Guests are permitted to stay overnight only with prior permission of the roommate, suitemate and housemates and for no more than four nights in a given month. Should such behavior come to the attention of Residence Life staff, disciplinary action may be taken.
Should visitation arrangements lead to problems between roommates, they should, after trying to resolve the problem privately, ask the Residence Assistant staff to assist. The staff, in turn, will participate in the resolution of the problem, which might include, among other things, a change in the roommate agreement.
Registration of guests are required for any non-student who remains on campus after 8:00pm. Students must submit their guest registration form no later than 4pm the business day (Monday – Friday) prior to their guest’s arrival on campus. Students can find the Guest Registration form at the door of the RA office for their building.
Residents are responsible for escorting guests within the building and assume responsibility for their guests’ behavior and location while on campus
Due to fire, health and safety regulations, the number of people permitted into each residential space is as follows. The occupancy includes the residents and guests within each unit.
- Residence hall single: 4 occupants
- Residence hall double: 7 occupants
- Six-person suite: 16 occupants
- Eight-person suite: 18 occupants
- 10-person suite: 18 occupants
- 14-person suite: 24 occupants
- Apartment/Townhouse: 24 occupants