Housing Policies

You can reach the Residential Life Office by phone at (972) 825-4748 or by email at [email protected] . If you need to get in touch with the Dean of Students, you can email Lance Meche or call (972) 825-4747.

Nelson University fosters a community life on its campus that will properly reflect a Christian attitude. Cooperation, respect for the rights of others, respect for property, respect for authority, cleanliness and good personal habits are factors that are important in residence hall life. Violations of these standards could result in a fine or further disciplinary action.

An on-campus student is any student living in a residence hall. All students under 23 years of age are expected to live in one of the Residence Halls. All students who are 23 years of age or older must be approved by the Dean of Students to reside in a residence hall.

Room Reservation

• All new students and incoming transfer students are charged a $150 non-refundable room fee. Each semester, returning students wishing to reserve a room will pay in advance a non-refundable reservation fee of $50. These reservations are taken during the last months of each semester. After the first three weeks of this reservation period, all remaining rooms are available on a first come, first served basis. This $50 fee will be credited to the student’s account at the close of late registration upon proof of dormitory occupancy. Room selection is only guaranteed until the close of the first day of registration.
• However, if the returning student pre-registers for the following semester classes, the $50 fee is waived, simply by showing the course schedule from the Registrar’s Office to your dorm pastor or the Housing Coordinator.
• Room Consolidation: At times, reservations are made for new students or returning students which are not filled by that individual. As we are informed that a room reservations is not going to be filled by said individual, the individual who has arrived and properly checked in may be required to consolidate to or with another single student. It is our sincere desire to have all rooms and residents set by first Monday after classes begin. Should a student refuse to move or graciously accomodate a roommate being placed in his/her room, the University reserves the right to add an additional room fee at half the cost of another person for the room.

Room Usage

• The room will be taken care of by its occupants. Decorations and pictures may be hung after receiving approval from dorm pastor. Nails or the equivalent should not be driven into the walls, closets, or furniture. Tape with hooks should be used to hang pictures. Curtains should be hung under the direction of the Residence Hall Supervisor. DO NOT glue mirrors or cork to the walls. Fines will be levied if permission and approval is not sought and the student may be required to have the room repainted in an appropriate fashion at their own expense. A $1 fee will be assessed for reentry of students dorm room.

Room Furniture

• Every student is provided with a dresser or chest of drawers, desk, chair, and a bed. Students are expected to take care of University furniture. When assuming occupancy, the student becomes responsible for the room furniture. Students will be charged for defacing or destruction of room furniture. FURNITURE MUST NOT BE MOVED FROM ONE ROOM TO ANOTHER OR ONE DORMITORY TO ANOTHER OR TAKEN APART WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE DORM PASTOR.
• Dorm residents are permitted to personalize their rooms with their own furnishings. However, residents are encouraged to remember rooms are limited in size and roommates share an equal right to personalize their room.

Room/School Property

• Students will be charged for the repair of any damage done to school property. The Director of Maintenance will assess the damage and make recommendation to the Dean of Students. Residential Life will notify the student in writing and inform the Accounts Receivable Office, who will add the charges to the student’s school bill.

Room Cleanliness

• A direct relationship exists between the way rooms are maintained and student attitudes. Each student is responsible for the daily care and cleaning of the room. A planned room inspection occurs once a week. Unannounced room checks will be made periodically to insure that rooms are kept neat and clean.

Loss of Personal Property

• For one’s own protection, rooms should be locked at all times when not occupied. The university is not responsible for the loss of personal belongings of students in any building. Students may check with the Office of Information and Security for any lost items.
• Nelson assumes no responsibility for any loss of or damage to personal items, supplies, clothing, personal furniture, carpets, etc. due to fire, theft, inclement weather or otherwise. Students desiring to protect personal property should contact their insurance carrier to purchase “renters type” insurance. The business office may be contacted for a referral to an insurance carrier if needed.

Residential Hall Lobby

• Furniture is not to be rearranged in residence hall lobbies without permission from the dorm pastor. Students are required to observe the lobby regulations each dorm pastor establishes for his/her lobby. Students are to treat the lobby furnishings with respect, and will be charged for any damage to lobby furnishings. Lobbies are considered “closed” during all chapel services and regular times for Sunday and Wednesday church services.
• Residence Hall lobbies will close during the following times for worship services:
• Sunday Morning: 9:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
• Monday Evening: 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Curfew

• Beginning last day of registration, Nelson University follows this schedule:
• Sunday-Thursday 12:00 Midnight
• Friday and Saturday 1:00 a.m.
• **Each night the gymnasium and volleyball pit will close no later than 1/2 hour before curfew, and/or earlier as posted.
• Since the security of Nelson University is a matter of utmost importance, residence hall entrances are locked promptly at curfew. Students are expected to be in their residence hall by curfew. All students arriving after curfew will report with their I.D. card to the Security Station. After logging in, the student(s)will then be escorted to their respective dorm and given entry. No persons will be given entry to the dorms after curfew who are not residents of the dorm of entry. Students within the dorms are not authorized to give other students late entry. Reports of late entry will be forwarded to the Dean of Students. Failure to comply with proper procedure will result in disciplinary action.
• Grace times are as follows:
• Freshmen 60 minutes per semester
• Sophomores 75 minutes per semester
• Juniors 90 minutes per semester
• Seniors 105 minutes per semester
• Exceeding grace time will result in the following fines:
• 1-20 minutes $5
• 21-40 minutes $10
• 41-60 minutes $20
• over 60 minutes $40 +automatic visit with the Dean of Students for further disciplinary action

Late Permission

• If a student needs to be out of the Residence Hall after curfew, written permission needs to be received from the Dorm Pastor. Since attendance at hall fellowships is required, the Dorm Pastor must approve permission for absence.

Working Students

• If a student needs to be out of the Residence Hall after curfew due to employment, that student must submit proof of employment and the hours scheduled for work to the Dorm Pastor.

Overnight Visit/Weekend Off-Campus

• All resident hall students must sign out to stay off-campus during a school term, even breaks and holidays. This can be done by filling out the online over-night sign out form found in their student portal. This cannot be completed on a mobile device. Failure to comply with this is an infraction. NOTE: As a courtesy, every student should inform their Resident Assistant anytime they will be off campus overnight.
• Before a student can take a single person of the opposite sex home for a weekend, that student’s parent(s) must contact the Dorm Pastor by 5 p.m. Thursday and issue an invitation for them to visit their home. The parents must be present during the requested visit. Any exception to these guidelines must be made by the Dean of Students.

Single Student Visits in Residences of Opposite Sex

• Single students are not permitted in the residences of single students of the opposite sex. Students who are found to have been in the residence of a member of the opposite sex may be terminated from enrollment at Southwestern. This applies to all students whether they reside on or off campus. (See the Dean of Students for special permission to visit in the residence of single students of the opposite sex.)

Students in Room of a Member of the Opposite Sex

• Students who are found to have been in the room of a member of the opposite sex may be terminated from enrollment at Nelson University. Permission may be obtained from the Dorm Pastor for special circumstances.

Room Guests

• Guests who are not part of the specific Dorm community are expected to leave the Resident Hall at curfew unless the Dorm Pastor has received and approved a written request for them to stay in the Residence Hall.
• If the overnight guest of an on-campus student is an off-campus student, family member, a personal friend from out of town, or an alumnus of Southwestern, the student must obtain written approval from the Dorm Pastor for his/her guest(s). The guest(s) may stay a limit of three (3) nights without charge maximum (one visit per month maximum). If the guest(s) stay longer than three (3) nights, approval must be given and the student or guest must pay $15 per night to the Dorm Pastor. During the summer session all room guests pay the $15 overnight fee.
• If the guest of an on-campus student is not approved by the Dorm Pastor, the student is charged for the nights the guest has stayed in the resident hall and the guest may be required to leave.

Quiet Hours

Quiet hours are from 10:00 p.m.-10:00 a.m. in each of the Residence Halls. Quiet hours shall be strictly observed to insure each student opportunity for privacy, rest, study, and spiritual renewal. Therefore, the following guidelines will be enforced.

• Students must learn to live in mutual respect. Nelson University is an institution of higher learning and students should respect one another’s need for study and appropriate sleep.
• Stereos, cassettes, compact discs, musical instruments, and radios may be used but the noise level must not be heard outside the room during quiet hour. Drums are strictly prohibited from being played in the dorms.

TV, Video Viewing, and Video or Computer Gaming

• Students must learn the value of budgeting time. All videos and computer games must be approved for use by students’ respective dorm pastors in advance. No X, NC-17, or R rated videos or computer games are permitted on campus. The Dorm Pastors may impound any equipment that is used in a fashion that offends Nelson University policies.

Prohibited Items

• Toasters, electric skillets, popcorn poppers, George Foreman Tabletop grills, or rice cooker, woks and any other cooking appliances are not permitted. Coffee makers will be allowed. Violation of this safety policy will result in the impoundment of the appliance.

Fireworks or Firearms Prohibited

• All firearms, weapons of any kind (including but not limited to paint guns, slingshots, and archery equipment), and fireworks must be turned in to the Dorm Pastor or will be confiscated.

Secure Doors, Windows, Alarms, Thermostats & Electrical Panels

• Unauthorized use of windows, exits and secured doors in non-emergency situations is not permitted. Setting off or tampering with security alarms, thermostats, and electrical panels is strictly forbidden. Talking, whistling, gesturing, or yelling out of windows is prohibited at all times, in all buildings. Students are not permitted to remove windows, screens, or doors. Nothing should be thrown from the windows.Those violating this guideline may be required to appear before the Student Conduct Committee.

Telephone Use

• Each room is equipped with a university phone. A phone number is assigned to each phone. Phone features include room to room, campus, and local calling. Long distance is available only with calling cards. All roommates are responsible for unreasonable wear and/or damage to the phone assigned to their room. Retail, off the shelf phones, will not work.

Computer Network Access

1. Each student is to supply his/her own personal computer, but the University does provide the use of a limited number of computers located in Nelson Memorial Library and various other locations.
2. PCs must have an operating system of Windows 2000 or higher.
3. Macs are acceptable on the network, but Information Technology offers limited support for these machines.
4. Internet is available to each student in the dorm room via the wired network. To access this network, the student will need to provide an Ethernet cable. In addition, wireless coverage is available throughout the entire campus. The wireless standards available to use are A/B/G/N. For more information on how to connect to the wireless network, see your Residence Assistant or Dorm Pastor, or contatct the Information Technology department.
5. Each student is provided an email account and is expected to use this account to correspond on campus. This email is provided by a third party in order to provide the greatest service. Students are allowed to keep up to 7GB of email in their accounts. Currently, this email address is available for the indefinite future. However, if the account is not accessed for a period of 9 months, all emails will be deleted and the account deactivated. There is no way of restoring any emails should this happen.
6. Each student has access to a network storage drive. Up to 400 MB of information can be stored. This drive is cleared at the end of every academic semester. It is highly encouraged to purchase a USB “flash drive” for storing and transporting files.
7. Nelson University has a moral obligation to filter internet access in order to uphold our core moral values. Internet logs are examined on a regular basis. Reports are turned in to the Dean of Students for accounts that appear to have willful and repeated attempts to view sites not in harmony with Nelson University’s standards.
8. Network accounts and passwords are synchronized throughout the computer sofware systems (Network, Email, CAMS, Blackboard, Internet, etc…) The password can be changed or reset by visiting the CAMS Student Portal at https://estudent.nelson.edu. When creating a new password, it must contain three of the following four characteristics: lower-case letter, uppercase letter, number, special character. Passwords must also be at least 6 characters long.
9. The CAMS Student Portal uses pop-ups to display information. To correctly view the portal, any pop-up blockers should be configured to not block ecams.nelson.edu.
10. While there are no specific bandwidth allocations per student, there is the expectation of responsible internet use so it is equally available to all students. Examples of unacceptable use of the internet would be extreme downloading, unauthorized downloading of copyrighted materials, and any other action that would legally or otherwise affect the University or the overall usage of the internet by other students. Unacceptable use of the internet may result in restrictions being placed for the user, with prior appropriate notification of any action being taken when possible.

Attempting to circumvent controls put in place may result in immediate suspension of internet privileges. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of the legal aspects of what is accessed on the internet.

Searches

• Room searches are discouraged and seldom performed. If a serious need warrants it, the Dorm Pastor may search any or all rooms only with approval from the Dean of Students and as long as the occupant is there at the time of the search. If the occupant cannot be notified the Dorm Pastor shall be accompanied by two witnesses.

Meetings and Hall Fellowships

• All on-campus students are required to attend all announced meetings and student fellowships. The Dorm Pastor must approve any exception. Failure to attend may result in disciplinary action.

Checking Out of the Residence Halls

• All students must clear check out with the Dorm Pastor, turn in their keys, and have their rooms inspected for satisfactory condition before leaving school. Rooms must be completely vacated and cleaned out by noon the day the Residence Halls close (see Calendar). The only exceptions will be students who contract to reside on campus for the summer. If rooms are not left clean and in good repair, the student’s account may be fined up to $150 for cleaning and minor repairs. Anything left in the room becomes the property of Nelson University and will be discarded. Failure to properly check out of your Residence Hall will result in an additional fine being assessed.

Summer Storage

• Regrettably, due to space limitations, annual maintenance, and use of the university facilities by many outside groups, summer storage of student possessions is a service which cannot be offered. Student possessions left on campus during the summer will be disposed of. This includes bicycles left on bike racks.

Summer Housing

The University offers summer housing. The summer contract is available through the Residential Life Office. This contract shares the pertinent information for an agreeable living arrangement for the summer. It also includes cost information.

Note the following procedures:

• Obtain an application from the Residential Life Office.
• Read in full and sign, then turn in to the Residential Life Office.
• When the countersigned document is returned to the student, the student is to pay the summer fee in advance at the cashier’s window.
• The cashier will provide a receipt to validate payment for the student.
• The student will take the receipt to the Residential Life Office for room assignment.

Off-Campus Housing

• The University’s Board of Regents has an established criterion for its resident program. All undergraduate single students under 23 years of age taking seven (7) or more hours are required to live in the Residence Halls, unless approved for off-campus. Off-campus applications for the upcoming semester are only accepted during the scheduled reservation time. Approved off-campus applications must be renewed annually. Students that reside off-campus are required to abide by Nelson University’s Dress Code, as well as all other guidelines contained in the Student Handbook.

Room Changes

• Changing Rooms within the Residence Hall
• A student may not change dorm rooms without the specific and written approval of the Dorm Pastor and Dean of Students.
• Moving from one Residence Hall to Another
• This is prohibited unless approved in writing by both Dorm Pastors and the Dean of Students. Contact the Housing Coordinator for assistance in changing rooms. Smart