Liability

• College Housing is not liable for loss or damage to personal property in resident Rooms, public areas, laundry, or storage rooms.
• It is the residents’ responsibility to keep their rooms locked at all times. Residents may be covered by their family’s personal property insurance or may wish to carry a private insurance policy to cover their property against loss.
• Residents are responsible for long distance charges on their Room phone.

Cancellation of Contract

The Room and Board Agreement is binding for the entire academic year. Residents who wish to terminate this agreement must submit a written request to the Office of Residence Life & Housing Operations.  Residents will receive a written response informing them if their request was approved or denied. After Check-In, residents may only be released from the agreement for one of the reasons below:

• Resident is admitted but fails to register, or cancels registration.
• Resident is withdrawn. This includes withdrawal from the college, graduating from the college, participating in a college planned educational leave program (such as study abroad or a medical leave), dismissal from the college for academic reasons (dismissal for inappropriate conduct is specifically excluded), or being denied admission or readmission to the college.

For more information regarding the process to terminate your agreement please refer to the Housing Policy and Room and Board Agreement.

Room Furnishings

A bed frame, mattress, dresser, desk, desk chair, and hanging space are provided in each room.  Mattresses provided are extra-long, measuring 35" x 80". Students may not move additional items into the room from public areas of the hall or from other student rooms. Water furniture are prohibited.

Care should always be taken not to damage walls or the general condition of the room. Residents will be charged for any damages or changes to the general condition of the room or its furnishings. Students may decorate their rooms to reflect their interests and make them personally appealing.  All windows have shades; however, curtains are permitted. Tape and fun tac may also be used to put up wall hangings.

Bathrooms

In some residence halls, bathrooms are located outside of students’ rooms so residents are encouraged to bring shower caddies for transporting towels and toiletries.  Committed to minimum paper waste, the college does not provide paper towels in residence hall bathrooms. 

Refrigerators

Small refrigerators (not to exceed a capacity of 6.5 cubic feet and outside dimensions of no more than 48 inches in length or width) are permitted in student rooms.  Only one refrigerator is allowed in each bedroom.

Laundry Equipment

All residence halls are equipped with washers and dryers. Use of the laundry facilities is FREE!

Windows and Screens

Window screens should never be removed. Screen removal will result in a repair charge to residents of the room. Residents should not place any items on the ledges of windows. Throwing objects from windows is prohibited. Residents of a room from which objects are thrown, will be held judicially responsible.

Fire Safety and Security

Smoking is not permitted in any of the residence halls.

The Office of Residence Life and Housing work in cooperation with the Public Safety and Building and Grounds departments in providing safe residence halls for students. Safety is a serious matter and one that is shared by all members of the Curry College community.

All college residence halls are equipped with smoke detectors that are linked to a building alarm system. In compliance with Massachusetts state law, nearly all of our residences have been equipped with sprinkler systems in order to add an additional layer of safety. Whenever an alarm sounds, residents and their guests are required to vacate the building. Public Safety and Residence Life staff will indicate when it is safe to reenter the building. Failure to vacate the building not only places you in danger but is also a violation of Massachusetts state law and Curry College’s Code of Conduct.

Tampering with or misuse of fire safety equipment is prohibited. Fire safety equipment includes, but is not limited to, fire alarms, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers. Anyone apprehended vandalizing or using fire safety equipment for any purpose other than safety could be subject to interim suspension from the College pending a judicial hearing, which could include losing the privilege to live in College housing, as well as criminal prosecution. The College will prosecute to the full extent of the law where fire and safety and security are concerned.

Candles, incense, hot plates, toasters, toaster ovens, space heaters, exposed-element appliances, and other potential fire hazards are strictly prohibited. Disciplinary action may result from possession of these items.

Health and Safety

Residence Hall Health and Safety Checks
Periodically, the Office of Residence Life will conduct unannounced and announced safety inspections throughout the year in the Residence Hall. These inspections will include a check of areas such as:

• Electrical, heating, and cooling appliances
• Housekeeping, health hazards, and pest control
• Other unauthorized hazard items
• Illegal cooking items

Search and Seizure
In the interest of maintaining an environment that facilitates scholarship and provides for the health and safety of residential students, the College reserves the right, when necessary, for authorized personnel to enter or search a College-owned room. The regulation applies to all living units under the administrative control of Curry College. Students specifically agree to abide by the Search and Entry procedures of the College. The Residence Life staff is authorized to inspect student rooms anytime for acceptable standards of safety, hygiene, and observance of residence hall policies and procedures. Nothing in this policy shall operate to prevent police officers from entering rooms or searching and seizing in according with applicable statutes, policies, rules, and regulations.

Searches of rooms by Residence Life staff will be authorized and conducted under the following conditions:
The occupants of the room give their consent; or an appropriate legal body has issued a warrant; or reasonable cause exists to believe there is a violation of Residence Hall Policies, or the Code of Student Conduct
College officials, including Residence Life staff members, reserve the right to enter a student's room, locked or unlocked, anytime deemed necessary for immediate resolution of problems such as rule enforcement, maintenance problems, illness, hazards, and similar emergency situations.

Any evidence resulting from the Search and Entry procedure shall be considered admissible for all College discipline and prosecutorial purposes.

For the maintenance of necessary standards of health and safety, the use of the following is prohibited in and around College operated residence halls:
1. Electric appliances with exposed heating elements and/or designed for the preparation of food (including, but not limited to, hot plates, immersion heaters, indoor/outdoor grills and toaster ovens) are not permitted in student rooms.
2. Refrigerators are not to exceed a capacity of 6.5 cubic feet and outside dimensions of no more than 48 inches in length or width
3. Firearms, weapons, firecrackers, explosives, harmful chemicals
4. Waterbeds
5. Aerials or other such equipment outside of the confines of the resident's assigned room
6. Decorative lights except as outlined in the Curry College Student Handbook (available on-line);
7. Internal combustion engines within the residence halls
8. Open flame and/or lighted objects such as candles, incense, and kerosene lamps, etc.
9. Lofts and/or bars
10. Halogen lamps
11. Microwave ovens are allowed, but cannot exceed .5 cubic feet or 600 watts
12. Humidifiers or dehumidifiers
13. Air-conditioners
14. Space heaters or other such heating appliances.

Room Keys
Room keys are issued by the residence director and are the sole responsibility of the residents to whom they are issued. Keys must be returned to the residence hall staff when a resident vacates an assigned room or suite.

If a key is lost or stolen, the resident is responsible for reporting it to their residence director and for paying to have the lock changed. Because of the security risk involved, it is important to report lost keys immediately. Residents are not allowed to loan, sell, or transfer a residence hall key, key card or student ID to any person. This includes tossing keys out of windows.

If a student attempts to turn in a key at check-out which was duplicated off-campus, the situation will be treated as a lost key. A key which is not returned in accordance with the proper check-out procedure will be considered a lost key, and the student will be billed accordingly. Keys slid under staff members' doors or left with roommates will not be accepted.

Lockouts

The following policy applies when a student is locked out of his or her room. This policy serves as a safeguard for both the student and the College.

Student room doors will be opened only for the occupant(s) of a room. If the student is not known by the staff member, the student will be required to show some form of picture identification. Building & Grounds staff will not unlock rooms for students. Students will be referred to a resident assistant or the residence director.  If the lockout occurs between the hours of 8:30 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on Fridays, student must go the Residence Life office to sign out an emergency key. Emergency keys must be retuned with 24 hours or the student will be charged for a lock change.

Note:   All residence hall keys and key cards remain the property of the college and may not be duplicated. Any violation of this key policy constitutes misuse of College property and is
a violation of the College Student Conduct Code.

Security

Security is primarily the responsibility of everyone. Doors should be locked whenever the resident is not in the room. Although precautions are taken to maintain adequate security, the College cannot assume responsibility for the loss of or damage to student possessions. Students or their parents are encouraged to carry appropriate insurance to cover such losses.

Security doors are a part of the security system in each residence hall. These doors are locked 24 hours a day and are not to be used at all except in an emergency. The resident has the responsibility to adhere to the rules in each hall governing the use of these doors. At no time should doors be propped open. Access cards are not to be loan or transferred at any time. Disciplinary action will result for unauthorized use of access cards.

Individuals found responsible for tampering with security doors and/or compromising residence hall safety will be put through the College judicial process.

Quiet Hours

It is each resident's responsibility to be respectful and courteous to other residents, at all times, regarding noise. Since this is a College, academic needs will take precedence over social or recreational needs at any time of the day. Residents are reasonable in their dealings with each other over acceptable levels of noise in the residence hall communities. Noise problems are best resolved as a community problem using discussion and, when needed, group contracts. Resident Assistants and Resident Directors are trained in conflict resolution and will assist residents at any time.

Students who consistently refuse to conform to the approved Quiet Hours in their hall may be referred to the judicial process. Excessive noise is defined as any sound, including amplified music, which can be heard inside a student room from another student room when both room doors are closed, or sound from the hallway when the room door is closed.