In addition to the University Community Standards’ Alcohol Policy, Residence Life Policies include:

• Alcohol presence, consumption, or storage in any space in which any student or guest is under age 21 is prohibited.
• In individual bedrooms, alcohol can only be present, consumed, or stored if all residents are 21 years of age or older.
• In common spaces, such as living rooms and kitchens, in Townhouses and Independence Plaza, alcohol can only be present, consumed, or stored if all residents of the townhouse or apartment are 21 years of age or older.
• Alcohol presence, consumption or storage in common areas such as lobbies and lounges, regardless of age, is prohibited.
• Residential Life prohibits guests from bringing alcohol into any building.
• Residents who are present in a room containing alcohol must possess valid identification, including birthdate and a picture, and will be required to provide identification to any University employee who asks.

Aside from using approved microwaves, residents must only cook in approved kitchens and must stay nearby while appliances are in use. Indoor grills and hot pots are not permitted. Residents who leave the kitchen, even for a short time, must turn off the appliance(s) in use. Ensure plastic does not go into the oven and styrofoam does not go into the microwave. Keep anything that can catch fire away from the stovetop. 

Residential Life prohibits removing furniture from common spaces, using common areas in a way that excludes other residents, and using common areas for personal storage (excluding storing items in kitchens). Students and guests must also follow room capacity guidelines for common spaces. 

Residential Life prohibits attaching decorations in a manner that causes damage to walls or furniture, and using non-removable shelf paper on cabinet and closet shelving. All decorations must be noncombustible, fire-resistant, and carry the label of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL).

Decorations or combustibles are not permitted on residence hall room doors, door frames, or handles, whether inside or outside, with the exception of a single dry erase board on the exterior and items for religious purposes. Nothing, including decorations or combustibles, should be placed on the door space, including above the door or hanging in front of it. Dry erase boards must be affixed using adhesive.

Students must register their guests in the Housing Portal prior to their guest’s arrival. Students must meet their guest at the RHM (Residence Hall Monitor) desk upon their guest’s arrival, and guests must have a State ID, Driver’s License, or Thomas Jefferson University ID to check in. A student can sign in two guests at a time.

Students must always escort their guests to all areas of the residence hall and guests may not stay in the residence hall if their host leaves. Guests may be prohibited from entering the residence halls at the discretion of University staff. Guests who are 16 years of age or younger must be accompanied by a parent/guardian and are not permitted to stay overnight (past 2am).

If a student wishes for their guest to stay overnight, they must obtain permission from their roommate(s). Overnight guests are limited to two consecutive nights within a seven-day period, and an individual guest may spend no more than nine nights per month in any residence hall. Residential Life reserves the right to regulate the number and frequency of overnight guests. Hosts are responsible when their guests violate our Residence Life Policies. Professional staff may ask guess who violate our Residence Life Policies to leave.

All hallways must remain clear of any decorations, such as candy bowls, welcome mats, or pumpkins, that could obstruct safe passage and evacuation during a fire emergency. Additionally, residents are required to keep hallways free from garbage, unauthorized furniture, and other items that pose fire safety risks.

Residential Life prohibits the following:

• Painting any University property
• Making structural modifications to any room
• Mounting a television or any other entertainment device on a wall
• Tampering with electrical wires or cable lines
• Depositing bodily waste in an area not designated for such use
• Disposing of personal trash in a bathroom or laundry room trash can
• Placing any furniture directly up against HVAC units.
• Not maintaining proper ventilation when completing academic or personal projects
• Hanging anything from the ceiling or draping anything from one wall to another, including but not limited to flags, posters, wires, cables, string lights, etc.
• Sleeping in common areas outside of individual bedrooms and apartments
• Participating in any activity that could cause damage to property or harm to others

Students are not permitted to share keys or swipe into a residence hall with another student's ID. Students also must report lost keys and IDs to their Resident Assistant immediately. 

Residents are prohibited from tampering with, covering or dismantling any life safety device, including smoke detectors, sprinklers, and other systems. Residents must refrain from hanging items from these devices and ensure that all decorations, furniture, and other items are kept at least 3 feet away from them.

The following items are prohibited:

• Candles and incense.
• Wax warmers without automatic shutoff.
• Halogen bulbs; non-LED lamps; painting light bulbs.
• Lanterns; lava lamps; torchiere-style lamps; multi-arm lamps; flexible floor lamps. All lighting must bear the label of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL)
• Items with a heating element, such as hot plates; coffee makers without automatic shutoff; blenders; electric frying pans; counter-top grills; irons; immersion coils; rice cookers; electric kettles; panini presses; popcorn poppers; air fryers; sous vide machines; mini-cooking appliances (egg cookers, waffle irons); toaster ovens; and other similar devices. However, residents in Independence Plaza and Townhouses may use any cooking devices with automatic shutoff.
• Hoverboards; powered scooters; powered segways; powered skateboards; powered bicycles, and similar devices that are not for ADA purposes approved by Student Accessibility Services and include a lithium-ion battery or gasoline fuel source. Residents are also prohibited from charging lithium-ion batteries for these devices inside any residence hall.
• Air conditioners; space heaters.
• Microwaves not rented through the University. However, Independence Plaza and Townhouse residents may bring a microwave .6 cubic-feet or smaller.
• More than 1 refrigerator or MicroFridge in single or double rooms; more than 2 refrigerators or MicroFridges in triple or quad rooms; refrigerators larger than 4.3 cubic feet.
• Flammable decorations, such as evergreen (fir or pine) trees and streamers.
• Sheets and/or tapestry hung from ceilings.
• Water beds and other liquid-filled furniture, including tanks and hot tubs.
• Unauthorized, unapproved lofts.
• Flammable liquids, including but not limited to gasoline, oxygen tanks (except when permission is granted for medical reasons), lighter fluid bottles, charcoal, turpentine, oil-based paint.
• Open flames of any kind.
• Cinderblocks.
• Power tools.
• Smoking and vaping in the residence halls.
• Wallpaper.
• Fireworks, firecrackers, and explosives.
• Weapons of any kind, or anything that resembles a weapon, including paintball, airsoft guns, and items created by a 3D printer.

Courtesy Hours are in effect 24 hours a day; noise should never exceed the level established in community agreements, and should not impact other communities.

Quiet Hours are from 10pm-8am, Sunday night through Friday morning, and 1am to 10am, Saturday morning to Sunday morning. During Quiet Hours, noise must be limited to the confines of a resident’s room and must not be able to be heard more than 3 doors away.

Students and guests are expected to clean up after themselves when using the restroom.

• 1-person room: maximum 3 individuals, including you
• 2-person room or apartment: maximum 6 individuals, including you
• 3-person room or apartment: maximum 9 individuals, including you
• 4-person room or apartment; all townhouses: maximum 12 individuals, including you

Students may not change rooms in any residence hall, or change bedrooms within apartments and townhouses, without following Residential Life’s room change procedures. Students with vacancies in their room must also welcome and accept new roommate assignments.

Students are required to maintain clean living spaces by following a regular cleaning schedule, disposing of trash properly, securing food in closed containers, and managing laundry. Shared areas must be kept clean, and respect for roommates is expected.

Residential Life prohibits posting signs or posters unapproved by Residential Life. Residential Life reserves the right to deny or discard any posting that does not meet requirements.

No electrical cords or lighting shall be hung around, attached to or under any bed frame, door frame, wall, or ceiling, or placed underneath a carpet. Extension cords must bear the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) label. Only one power strip is to be plugged into any one outlet at any time and no two power strips may be connected to one another. Do not overload any power strip or outlet. All electrical cords, lights and power strips must have at least a 3-foot clearance from all combustible and flammable materials.

Residential Life prohibits entering or occupying any roof, mechanical room, basement, data closet, housekeeping closet, or other space not intended for resident access.

Residential Life prohibits tampering with or removing screens from windows, using windows as a point of entry or exit, and throwing or dropping any objects from or into any window. Furniture must be arranged in a way that does not interfere with being able to exit a building through the window during a fire.

Open Spaces
When vacancies occur, the University reserves the right to show rooms and assign new occupants to fill those vacancies. The University reserves the right to consolidate students in partially filled rooms or apartments/townhouses.

In spaces with University issued furniture, residents of partially filled rooms may occupy only one set of furniture in order to accommodate a potential new roommate. The other set(s) of furniture should be clear and ready for occupancy. Any student occupying two sets of furniture is subject to disciplinary action.

In a partially filled room or suite, the Office of Residential Life may, at its sole discretion, allow the resident to find a new roommate to fill the vacancy or may assign a new roommate at any time without requiring current resident approval. Residents in shared spaces without a roommate may receive a roommate at any time. ORL staff will attempt to inform residents within 48 hours of a new roommate being assigned, although this is not a requirement.

New Roommates
When a new resident is assigned, the current occupant(s) are expected to welcome the new roommate and treat them with respect. Failure to demonstrate respectful behavior by any current occupant of a room is considered a policy violation and subject to disciplinary action.

Examples of inappropriate actions include, but are not limited to:

• telling the student assigned that you do not want anyone living with you;
• expressing to the student that you do not want them living with you; 
• telling the student that their experience will be difficult in the assigned space;
• or communicating any other disparaging comments made to or about the new resident or assignment process including but not limited to: in-person comments, words or actions about or directed towards the newly assigned resident.

Roommate Consolidation
Any time the occupancy of a room or apartment drops below the minimum occupancy, roommate consolidation is a possibility. In this situation, students in an on-campus space which is below occupancy may be relocated in order to fully occupy a space. One, two, or three roommates may share an accommodation up to the maximum occupancy. Alternatively, roommate consolidation may occur if there are any other persons in an on-campus space that is below the minimum occupancy.

If a resident decides to remain in a contract for a shared unit, roommate consolidation remains an option. The Office of Residential Life reserves the right to consolidate space at any time during the course of an academic year. ORL staff will facilitate consolidation and assist residents in finding roommates during the consolidation period.

Students living in, Fortess, Mott, Ronson, Partridge, Scholler, Independence Plaza, and the Townhouses can pay their housing fees through their student account at the beginning of each term. Housing fees will appear on the tuition bill. If you received financial aid and the disbursement includes room fees, the financial aid monies will go directly towards paying the housing fees. Please be advised that not all academic terms are budgeted by financial aid, which is dependent on the academic program. Students should consult with the Office of Financial Aid regarding what housing fees their financial aid covers.

Housing assignments for new incoming students are computer-generated and students will not be able to choose what building they are placed in. Returning students should follow the guidelines published at the start of the spring semester for returning student Housing Selection. The University reserves the right to change assignments in case of emergency.

Roommate Preferences
Roommate preferences for incoming students must be mutual and submitted via the Housing Portal. If students wish to live together, all applications and agreements must be submitted on time. Returning students may select their roommates during the Housing Selection process in the spring semester. 

Accessibility Accommodations
Any requests for housing based on accessibility are handled through The Office of Accessibility Services.

The following information will help you prepare to move out of University housing.

• If using a Microfridge, remove all food from the Mircofridge, defrost the unit and unplug it.
• Prior to a resident vacating their housing assignment, at any time during the course of the year, even if a resident is simply relocating to another space on campus, that resident is required to remove any and all personal belongings, including any and all trash, leaving the space restored, cleaned, and furnished with original furnishings.
• In the event that a room has been damaged requiring a repair, that resident shall not attempt to make the repair themselves.
• Any and all fixtures within the space, including, but not limited to, university-owned refrigerators and stoves, must be emptied and cleaned.
• All costs incurred by the university as a result of any repairs required to be made, any additional cleaning required, and/or for removal of any and all personal property shall be apportioned equally to the residents, regardless of responsibility or fault of any one resident for the same. Upon a resident vacating their housing assignment, the space shall be inspected by a Residential Life Professional Staff member and, if said unit is not in acceptable condition as defined herein and determined at the discretion of the Residential Life Professional Staff Member, repair/cleaning/removal service shall be ordered, and the resident(s) shall be held jointly and severally liable for the entire cost of the same.
• Failure to vacate your housing assignment within the prescribed period shall result in an hourly fine, in which case the University shall not be responsible for student belongings and reserves the right to confiscate and dispose of such belongings beginning 48 hours after a student's scheduled check-out time.
• Appeals of any charges assessed for repair/cleaning/removal of personal belongings shall be filed in writing no less than five (5) business days from the date said bills are sent to the resident. Thereafter, any right to appeal is waived.
• Please do not attempt to patch any holes in the walls. Notify ORL staff so that damages or possible charges can be minimized.
• Carts and hand trucks will not be provided during move-out. 

The University recognizes and respects the basic interest of each resident to maintain privacy and control of personal living space. The University also has the responsibility to provide safe and secure residential facilities for both present and future occupants.

Right of Entry - Thomas Jefferson University reserves the right to enter residents' rooms for administrative reasons under the following circumstances:

• The overall well-being and order of the residential community is thought to be in jeopardy;
• Completion of a work order for a room repair;
• Danger, including, but not limited to, floods, fire, and life- or injury-threatening situation is thought to be occurring or is imminent;
• The occupant cannot be located for an extended period of time (a search for this purpose will solely be to enter the room and look for the occupant);
• It is necessary to inspect for, correct, repair, or remove hazards to health or personal safety. These checks, called Health and Safety Checks are conducted at a minimum of 2 times per semester. These times include: prior to Thanksgiving break; prior to Winter Break, prior to Spring Break and at closing;
• It is necessary to inspect a vacant/unoccupied portion of a room/apartment in order to prepare it for occupancy;
• It is believed that a resident is using their assigned space in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of the housing agreement or other University policies.

Room Inspection
ORL staff inspects the room/apartment before occupancy. Another inspection takes place when the room is vacated. Residents are responsible for any damage that takes place during their occupancy. Upon move-in, each resident will receive instructions on how to complete their Room Condition Report. All comments and edits must be submitted before the published deadline. In order to avoid being charged for damages upon move-out, it is important that each resident note anything needing repairs on this form. Additional inspections will take place during the residents' occupancy to ensure fire safety and adherence to University and/or departmental policies.

When a resident's room is entered for reasons described above in the Right of Entry policy, the University official generally will conduct a "plain view inspection." Only under exigent circumstances involving threats to health, safety, or potential violations of the University's policies, as determined by the Dean of Students Office, will a thorough room search be conducted. Illegal and/or prohibited items may be confiscated.