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Housing and Residence Life

It is our hope that students will form a community that is supportive and holds its members accountable. Occasionally things are broken or damaged. When something in the building/suite is not functioning properly, residents need to report this to a Resident Assistant (RA).

Residents should be concerned with the safety and handling of College property - in individual rooms and public areas - and should do their best to see that property is not misused or stolen. Respect for the residential environment is crucial to developing a residence hall or suite community that all members can be proud of.

You and your roommate/s are responsible for any damage, misuse, or theft of College property that occurs in your room, apartment, or suite, and you must pay replacement, reassembly, or repair costs for any missing or damaged property. Billing is done through the Office of Housing and Residence Life in conjunction with Physical Plant.

While we expect normal wear and tear, it is difficult to specifically define this for each item in a residential living area. Some examples of normal wear and tear include: wobbly chairs, loose screws, minor scuffs on walls, and slight scratches on bed ends. We do not plan to paint each room every summer, as wall paint should last for several years.

Individual Rooms and Residential Suites
Upon vacating a room or suite, you are expected to complete a check-out process that includes an inspection of your room with your RA. Using the Room Condition Report (RCR) Form that you completed when you moved in, you and the RA will check together for damage and missing property. Once the inspection has been conducted, the RA will forward the completed form to the appropriate Area Director. Using the RCR, the Assistant Dean for Campus Life or a designee will inspect your living space to compare the check-in condition of the room listed on the form to its present condition after you checked out. If the Assistant Dean/designee determines that the space has been damaged beyond normal wear, or that College property is missing, you and your roommate/s will be billed accordingly. The RA does not, under any circumstances, determine what is or is not billed.

Common Areas
When damage occurs in a residence hall or suite's common area, the Area Director will work with the students and staff to determine, if possible, who is responsible for the damage. Common area damage affects everyone in the community. It impacts students' use of the building and results in increased housing costs.

The Area Directors post signs for damages as they occur. Students have one week from the time of posting to provide information regarding who is responsible for the damage. After that time, the cost is evenly divided among all students who share the space where the damage occurred. These damages are posted to student accounts and listed as DRMDMG. They are posted at most once a week.

Students can avoid damage billing by doing the following:

Individual Damage Appeal Process
Once an assessment has been made of a student's living space, any damage found will be repaired and the cost to repair the damage will be posted to the student's account. Charges are posted to the Business Office twice a year at the end of each semester, and an itemized list of damage charges is mailed to all students' permanent addresses at the conclusion of the academic year. Students wishing to contest such bills must notify the Office of Housing and Residence Life in writing by the deadline listed on the bill. Any questions or appeals regarding damage billing should be directed to the Office of Housing and Residence Life. Please note: Students who did not complete the check-in or check-out process properly waive the right to appeal damage charges.

All written correspondence to contest damage charges should be directed to:

Damage Bill Appeal
Campus Life
PO Box 910
Rensselaer, Indiana 47978
Fax number: 219-866-6355
E-mail: housing@saintjoe.edu

Repairs
We need all residents to pay attention to the condition of their community. If something in your room, building, or suite is not functioning properly, damaged, or broken, please contact your RA and submit a work order to have it repaired. Students who live in the Residential Suites should send an e-mail to housing@saintjoe.edu with the work order information, which includes name, room, location in room, and description of issue. Unless it's an emergency, a resident of the room must sign the work order.

In the event of an emergency maintenance issue or a student is unable to find an RA, he/she should contact the Office of Housing and Residence Life at extension 6116 or Safety and Security at extension 6129.