SJU Housing Policies

Housing Policies

2009-2010 SJU Room Lease Agreement
Holiday & Semester Break Policies / Lease Agreement
Room Consolidation Policy
Moving Rooms and/or Switching Roommates
On-Campus Living Requirement
12 Credit-Hour Housing Policy
Loft Building Policy
Pet Policy
Quiet / Study Hours
Residential Posting Policy
Political Campaigning within the Residential Communities
Housing Options for Students.
Where can I live and who can be my roommate?
Residential Smoking Policy
Residential Open House / Visitation Policy
Residential Solicitation Policy

Other Policies

Refunds

Due to limited space and resources within our residential areas, students who live in a double room by themselves may be required to move or accept another student as a roommate who is in a similar rooming situation. In the interest of floor/building community, students will not be required to leave the floor or building community in order to consolidate rooms except in emergency situations. BUT they will be required to take a roommate if the situation necessitates it. Because of unknown emergency situations that develop each semester, students will not be allowed to pay for the extra space in their double room in order to keep the space as a single.

Moving Policy:

Moving, Switching Rooms, and/or Switching Roommates for Students.

First-year students wishing to move from their current room into another room must first understand that due to limited space and resources within First-year housing areas, such moves may not be possible. Roommates are not expected to become “best-friends”, but are expected to work out any differences through reasonable means. Any student having complications with their roommate is STRONGLY encouraged to discuss the issue with their Faculty Resident and/or Resident Assistant(s) as soon as possible! Residential Life staff (RAs & FRs) are trained on how to mediate most roommate conflicts into a healthy & balanced resolution. Moving out of a room or switching roommates is considered a last resort by the University.

Please note, if it is determined that one roommate is purposely creating a hostile living environment for the other roommate, then the hostile roommate may be evicted from campus housing. If a first-year student is evicted from campus housing, they may be forced to withdraw from the University. This is due to the University housing policy that requires all Freshmen & Sophomores to live on campus.

All first-year students are expected to have a roommate. First-year students are not allowed to live in double rooms as a single occupancy room, except in extreme and/or unavoidable situations. First-year students living in a single space during the Fall semester will be assigned a roommate for the Spring semester. Because of unknown emergency situations that develop each semester, students will not be allowed to pay for the extra space in their double room in order to keep the space as a single.

First year students wishing to move into a new room due to roommate conflict(s) must complete the following steps:

Talk with their current Faculty Resident and Resident Assistant(s) about the room and/or roommate situation and determine whether or not the situation can be resolved through mediation with Residential Life staff. All mediation options must be exhausted prior to moving onto step 2.
After receiving consent from your current Faculty Resident, talk with the SJU Housing Coordinator at bfrank@csbsju.edu about other housing options that may exist on campus. Please note that due to limited space and resources moves may not be possible.
Explore other housing options per the coordinator's instructions. If an opportunity is discovered, proceed to step 4.
Talk with the FR from the community you wish to move to. That FR and your current FR all must consent in order for the move to be approved. Campus Life & Housing will not override the decision of the Faculty Residents involved except in the most extreme circumstances. Once consent from all Faculty Residents involved has been received in writing to the Campus Life & Housing office, proceed to Step 5.
Meet with the housing coordinator to receive final approval of the move and to complete all necessary administrative paper work (room leases, room condition reports, etc.).
All moves must be completed within one (1) week of approval.

Any groups of students wishing to trade or switch roommates with another group of students must complete the following steps:

Make sure all parties involved are agreeable with the move. If any one person doesn’t want to make the switch, the move will not be allowed. Please note that any coercion or hostile acts toward any person(s) involved in the move that influences their decision will be considered a violation of University policy and could result in eviction from campus housing and/or expulsion from the University.
If all students involved with the move are agreeable, they need to consult with their respective Faculty Residents and Resident Assistant(s). Written approval from all Faculty Residents involved with the move must be received by the Campus Life & Housing prior to any final approval.
Once approval from Faculty Residents is received, all students involved with the move must meet with the SJU Housing Coordinator (bfrank@csbsju.edu) for final approval and to complete all necessary administrative paper work (room leases, room condition reports, etc.).
All approved moves must be completed within one (1) week of approval.

Housing Policy for Semester & Class Break(s):

Students who need to stay on campus over Semester Break must sign a Semester Break Lease at the Campus Life/Housing Office, Sexton 210, by the deadline set by the housing office. Regular locks will be changed to security locks in all residential areas, except rooms/suites/apt. where residents have been granted permission to remain on campus over the break. Access codes in Placid/Maur will be deactivated in all apartments, except those where residents have been granted permission to remain on campus over the break. Codes will be reactivated when the break is over. Only varsity athletes, out of state/or international students and student employees (in essential on campus services), will be granted permission to remain on campus over Semester Break. Housing representatives will confirm employment with employers before permission to remain on campus is granted to any resident. Local students working on or off campus over the break must receive permission to remain on campus from the SJU Housing Coordinator. Coaches have been asked to submit the names of athletes who need to be on campus over break for practice and games. Students must check with their coach to make sure he submits their names. All athletes must sign a Semester Break Lease.

Life Safety Services is only authorized to unlock a residence area during the break for extraordinary reasons. There is a $20 charge for this service. Students who return to campus prior to the opening date, without permission from Residential Life, will not be allowed entrance into any of the residence areas on campus.

This policy has been created because:

Semester Break is three weeks.
Most campus facilities will be closed over break.
Many services/departments will be downsized over break.
We have limited residential staff available during semester break to monitor the residential communities.

Other policies to remember:

There are no open house hours and no parties allowed in any residence area during Semester Break.
No overnight guests will be allowed during Semester Break.
Violation of any semester break policies, outlined in the lease, will result in immediate eviction from semester break housing and further University sanctions including possible loss of campus housing during the regular academic year.

SJU Posting Policy for Residence Hall

Any on-campus / off-campus organization, group, or individual(s) who wishes to post signs, posters, advertisements, or any items in the SJU Residence Halls must follow the following steps:

All materials must be pre-approved by Campus Life and Housing (Sexton Commons 210)
The organization, group, or individual(s) are responsible for posting the materials in the appropriate location(s) (see #3) and after the event or notice, removing them.
Materials may only be posted on Bulletin Boards. Materials are not permitted to be posted on doors, walls, above urinals, bathroom mirrors…etc. Only Bulletin Boards!
Materials that are found in locations other than the Bulletin Boards will be removed and thrown away. The group responsible for the material(s) will be contacted by Campus Life and Housing. The first offense results in a warning. Any offense beyond that could result in suspension of posting privileges in the residence halls.

Any questions or concerns can be directed to the Campus Life and Housing Office.

On-Campus Living Requirement

The private, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts identity of Saint John's University is such that we are providing an overall experience which includes a centrally important community living component. Thus, beginning with the class of 2012, all students will be required to live on campus. Students in classes graduating prior to 2012 will be required to live on campus their Freshman and Sophomore years. To be released from this requirement, students must meet the following criteria and receive permission from the Dean of Campus Life.

Older than 23
Participating in internships, student teaching or clinicals
Married/Married with children
Living at home with parents or legal guardians within a 20 mile radius of SJU.
Veteran or veteran of military service
Studied abroad
Acheive junior or senior status and obtained prior permission to live off campus.
Documented Medical Reasons

Criteria for Denial

Academic Probation
Judicial Probation
GPA lower than a 2.0
Falsification of information to live off campus or violation of the residency policy and could result in judicial action including housing costs being billed to the students account.

In addition to filing the appliction students making the request must:

Submit a recommendation from: FR, campus employer, coach, etc.
Must submit a transcript
Might be asked to defend request before the Off Campus Housing Committee

PLEASE NOTE: If a student is evicted from Campus Housing, without fulfilling this University requirement, they may be forced to withdraw from SJU.

12 Credit-Hour Housing Policy

Students must have at least 12 credit hours to be eligible for campus housing. A student with fewer than 12 credit hours must receive special permission from the Dean of Campus Life in order to be allowed to stay in the SJU Residential Community.

Loft Building Policy

SJU students are no longer allowed to construct lofts in any SJU residential area. The only lofts that will be allowed in the Residence Halls are the one's rented via Campus Lofts Inc. Our school code is GEKA.

Housing Options for Students.
Where can I live and who can be my roommate?

First-year students are only allowed to live in designated First-year areas (currently St. Mary Hall & St. Thomas Hall). They are not allowed to move into any other residential area outside the designated First-year areas. This includes moving in with upper-class students into their residential areas. First-year students may only live with other First-year or transfer students.
The only exception to this policy is given to those First-year / Transfer students of a "non-traditional" age or status as designated by Residential Life.

*Please note that total number of credit hours of a student does not have an influence on this policy. Due to advance college classes taken during High School and/or AP credits, a First-year student may have enough credits to be considered a Sophomore in light of their total credit hours, but would still be considered a First-year student by Campus Life & Housing.

Second-year students are only allowed to live in the following residential areas:
St. Thomas Hall (1st Floor Only); St. Patrick Hall; St. Boniface Hall; St. Bernard Hall; St. Gregory House; St. Joseph Hall; St. Benet Hall.
Second-year students may live with other upper-class students, but only in areas in which both students are eligible to live. For example, a Sophomore and Junior may wish to live together as roommates. They could live in St. Bernard Hall, St. Benet Hall, St. Gregory House, & St. Joseph Hall, but could not live in St. Patrick, St. Boniface, St. Thomas Hall (1st floor), or any campus apartment because of the class-standing criteria for each area. (see chart below)
Third & Fourth-year students are allowed to live in the following residential areas: St. Benet Hall; St. Gregory House; St. Joseph Hall; St. Bernard Hall; Edelbrock House; Virgil Michel*; Seton*; St. Vincent Court*; Metten Court*; St. Placid House*; St. Maur House, and the new Flynntown Apartments*.
*Please note the next section of criteria to be eligible to live in the campus apartments.

Apartments. To be eligible to live in any on-campus apartment, one must meet the following criteria:

Have Junior or Senior class standing based on cohort.
Sophomores and First-year students are not allowed to live in any campus apartment.

Also note:

St. Placid & St. Maur House, St. Vincent Court, & Metten Court apartments are designated "Senior-majority". That means over half of the occupants of the apartment must be of Senior class standing. For example, in a 6-person apartment, at least 4 of the tenants must be of Senior-standing. All 6 residents can be Seniors, but the maximum number of Juniors in a 6-person apartment is 2. This requirement will not be waived except when general campus occupancy needs warrant a change.
To live in Virgil Michel Apartments, resident must have Junior class standing.

Housing Chart

Building	Population	Room Type(s)

St. Thomas Hall	Freshmen	Double
1st Floor	Freshmen; Sophomore	Double
St. Mary Hall	Freshmen	Double

St. Patrick Hall	Sophomore	Double

St. Boniface Hall	Sophomore	Double

St. Bernard Hall	Sophomore; Junior; Senior	Double; Suites (2 & 3 Person)


St. Gregory House	Sophomore; Junior; Senior	Single; Double; Triple

St. Joseph Hall	Sophomore; Junior; Senior	Single; Double

St. Benet Hall	Sophomore; Junior; Senior	Single; Double; Suites; Apartments

Seton Apts.	Junior; Senior	Apartments (4-Person)

St. Maur House*	Junior; Senior	Apartments (4 & 6-Person)

St. Placid House* Flynntown Apts.*	Junior; Senior Junior; Senior	Apartments (4 & 6-Person) Apartments (2 & 4-Person)

St. Vincent Court*	Junior; Senior	Apartments (6-Person)

Virgil Michel House	Junior; Senior	Apartments (2 & 4-Person)

Metten Court Apts.	Junior; Senior	Apartments (4-Person)

Edelbrock House	Junior; Senior	House

* = Senior Majority

Residential Smoking Policy

Both The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University campuses prohibit smoking and the use of tobacco in all campus buildings and college/university owned and operated vehicles. Smoking outside the buildings MUST take place at least 25 feet from any building entrance and/or exit. Our smoking population should pay particular attention to the location of the building fresh air intake, as this has become a frequent violation and a means to circulate smoke into the buildings. Smoking and environmental (second hand) smoke has widely been documented to cause health problems and can aggravate many other existing health conditions.

For your reference, CSB/SJU policy statement on smoking and use of tobacco product is located in our existing handbooks. Also, the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act “Freedom to Breath” http://www.health.state.mn.us/freedomtobreathe/ which prohibits cigarette smoke in public places became effective on October 1, 2007.

Pet Policy

No pets, except for fish, are allowed in any student residence on campus.

Quiet / Study Hours

We value a community that balances individual and group needs. Courtesy, respect and consideration are the normal expectations in the apartments, houses and residence halls 24 hours every day. To support academic achievement and recognize personal and group needs, there are specially designated quiet hours in effect as noted below:

Sunday-Thursday, 9 p.m. - 10 a.m.
Friday-Saturday, midnight - 10 a.m.

Students of any community may vote to lengthen these hours if desired.

In the best interest of us all, please be considerate of neighbors and respect quiet hours as stated. Courtesy hours are always in effect. If you are being disturbed by someone else's noise at any time, it is expected that you will go directly to them and request that they lower their noise level. If the problem is not resolved in this manner, contact the RA on duty.

To support academic achievement, the weekend prior to and throughout the Finals week, all SJU Residential communities observe as 24-7 Quiet/Study Hour policy. There are also no parties or social gatherings allowed during this time.