Your signature on the 2023-2024 Housing Application, completion of the electronic application, or your acceptance of an assigned space or a room key, signifies your agreement to and acceptance of all the terms of this License and acknowledgment of the following conditions of the license agreement.
I. License:
This License is for use of an assigned space in a room/suite/apartment in any Mount Holyoke College ("the College") student housing. The College shall select and may change at any time, in its sole discretion, the space to which you will be assigned and or occupy as well as the furnishings, features and other occupants of the space.
II. Eligibility:
You must remain a registered Mount Holyoke student in good academic and behavioral standing throughout the License Period or the College will have the right to terminate this License, in its sole discretion.
III. License Period.
You must remain a registered Mount Holyoke student in good academic and behavioral standing throughout the License Period or the College will have the right to terminate this License, in its sole discretion.
This License is for the 2023-2024 academic year unless the student graduates after the Fall Semester, is a new Spring Semester check in, or this License is canceled or terminated as specified below. The License Period begins on the check-in date set by the College, and ends 24 hours after the student's last final exam but no later than the check-out date set by the College. You must vacate your room by noon on the check-out date unless approved in writing through the Office of Residential Life to remain beyond these deadlines, except for graduating Seniors, and those taking a 5-College exam.
Check In Dates: Fall 2023
Check Out Dates: Fall 2023
Check In Dates: Spring 2024
Check Out Dates: Spring 2024
The residence halls will remain open during the following breaks: October, November, Spring and Intersession. Any student who chooses to remain in the residence halls for any portion of Spring Break must complete a "Break Housing Form" in my.mtholyoke by the posted deadline prior to break. Students who do not meet this deadline are not guaranteed housing.
Early Arrival & Late Departure: No early arrivals or late departures are permitted without prior permission from the Office of Residential Life. Failure to comply with this may result in the assessment of charges and/or disciplinary consequences. Those approved may incur a $75 fee per day.
International students and any domestic students that have a hardship that will not allow them to go home are eligible for housing during December break. Limited meals are served and a minimal level of campus services are available. There is an additional fee to stay on campus during the winter break (December 20, 2023 to January 2, 2024). More information about applying for the winter break and the associated fees will be made available to students in October.
In the event of a fuel shortage or some other emergency not within the control of the College, the College reserves the right to temporarily close its residence halls and/or dining facility without making any adjustments in the charge. If such an emergency should arise, the College will assess the situation and work to honor its residential commitment for the duration of the academic year, unless the college needs to be closed and operate remotely based on the current pandemic situation.
I. Conditions of Occupancy.
The space assigned to you by the College must be your primary place of residence. You cannot transfer or assign any rights under this License to any other person. No commercial business operation, solicitation, sales, marketing or advertising will be conducted out of the assigned space.
You are responsible for the loss, theft, or damage to both College and personal property caused by the student or the student's guest. The College assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to the student's personal property, including belongings stored in residence hall trunk rooms. Each student is encouraged to take appropriate steps to safeguard and insure their property. The College is responsible only for damages caused through the direct negligence of its agents or employees.
You agree to abide by all policies and procedures of the College pertaining to residence in college housing. These include, but are not limited to, those policies and procedures in the Student Handbook and the agreed upon community standards of the floor/hall & room/suite/apartment-mate agreement.
Room Condition: You are responsible for maintaining the condition of your assigned space clean and sanitary, free of garbage, rubbish and other filth. You are responsible for properly placing all garbage in containers provided by the College. Students who have their own bathroom are responsible for supplies and maintaining their own bathroom areas. Upon termination of this License, you must leave the assigned room, and its contents in as good an order and condition as they were upon commencement of your occupancy. You will be financially responsible for damages that occur in your assigned space. Such cost shall be established at the College's reasonable discretion. In the event the cause of any loss or damage to the residence hall, its common areas, furnishings or fixtures cannot be determined after reasonable investigation by the College, the cost of such loss or damage shall be prorated to each student assigned to the residence hall (or room, suite, where appropriate) regardless of whether such student was present in the residence hall at the time of such loss or damage.
Pets: You are not allowed to have any animals living or visiting in any of the College's residences. Service animals, emotional support animals approved through Disability Services and fish that can be safely and humanely contained in a tank/bowl of five gallons or less are permitted. A resident who would like to have an emotional support animal must be approved for this accommodation by Disability Services before the animal comes onto campus.
Smoking Policy: All Mount Holyoke College residence halls are 100% smoke-free. Mount Holyoke is a smoke free campus and all smoking must take place off campus..
Fire Safety: Candles, oil lamps, incense, alcohol lamps, and open flame burners are prohibited. The policy also prohibits listed items for decorative purposes (i.e. unlit candles are not allowed.) Decoration must be flame-resistant. Please see the complete Fire Safety Policy.
Guests: Any non-resident of a room or suite/apartment is considered to be a "guest".
Noise: You are expected to be courteous and respectful of one another regarding room noise and activity at all times. Established quiet hours are 10 pm–8 am Sunday night through Friday morning and 2 am-10 am Friday night through Sunday morning. Designated Quiet Floors will have quiet hours from 8 am-10 pm. Silent hours from 10 pm-8 am. Outside of quiet hours and courtesy hours, there are 24-hour quiet hours during the examination period, which begin at midnight of the first reading day.
Common Room: Common rooms are primarily used for organized social activity as such you may not sleep in the common rooms. spaces.
The College reserves the right to adjust policies and procedures at any time. All students should read the online Student Handbook and the Policies and Procedures section on the Residential Life webpage.
If a student does not abide by the College's policies and procedures, they will be held accountable by disciplinary action through the Office of Residential Life, the Honor Code Council, or the Office of the Dean of Students. Disciplinary action may include, but is not limited to, social probation, community service hours, loss of participation in the housing lottery, or loss of housing privileges.
D. Adjustments to Room Assignments.
The College reserves the right to relocate housing assignments as deemed necessary. This includes relocating you to another room/hall or assigning a new roommate to any open space. You may be assigned to rooms with single, double, triple or quadruple occupancy. By executing this contract, you are agreeing to communicate and live cooperatively with the roommate(s) occupying their assigned space, and to be respectful of their differences and respective living habits. Room changes will not be considered as an effective form of conflict resolution and you will be expected to go through mediation if/when conflicts arise. Room changes are not a matter of right and you will not be allowed to move from your assigned room without the permission of the Office of Residential Life. Note: There is a 2 week housing freeze at the beginning and end of each semester where no room changes are permitted.
E. Trespassing on College Campus.
The College, as the lawful owner of the buildings and premises of the Mount Holyoke College campus ("the Campus"), has the right and obligation to control or limit access to the Campus by any individual. If an individual has been excluded from any College building or facility or from the College premises by the College Administration or Department of Public Safety & Service, whether or not a formal trespass notice is served on an individual, no student may authorize or permit such an individual to enter upon or remain on College premises contrary to such instructions. A trespass notice or other order excluding an individual from a part or all of the Campus may be withdrawn or modified only by the authorized College Administration office from which it was issued.
F. Right of Entry.
The College, as the lawful owner of the buildings and premises of the Mount Holyoke College campus ("the Campus"), has the right and obligation to control or limit access to the Campus by any individual. If an individual has been excluded from any College building or facility or from the College premises by the College Administration or Department of Public Safety & Service, whether or not a formal trespass notice is served on an individual, no student may authorize or permit such an individual to enter upon or remain on College premises contrary to such instructions. A trespass notice or other order excluding an individual from a part or all of the Campus may be withdrawn or modified only by the authorized College Administration office from which it was issued.
G. Going on Leave/Withdrawing Mid-Semester.
If you go on leave/withdraw at any point during the semester, you must vacate your housing assignment within 3 days and are responsible for removing all of your possessions from college housing. You must also return your keys before going on leave. The college reserves the right to reassign this space if your registration and or housing status has changed. Fees will be assessed for failure to turn in keys or damage and custodial services need to attend to rooms left in a substandard condition.
H. Property of Keys and One Cards.
Keys and One Cards are the property of Mount Holyoke College and are on loan to you. Keys and One Cards are not to be duplicated, loaned, or transferred. Should keys be lost or stolen, contact the Office of Residential Life or Campus Police immediately. If your One Card is lost or stolen, you should contact LITS Help Desk or Public Safety & Service immediately. Your failure to return your keys at the end of your semester/year in residence at the College or in the event you change rooms will result in a charge of at least $75.00.
I. Room Damage.
Residential Life and Facilities Management assess the condition of each room at the beginning of the academic year. This assessment indicates the physical state of the room and all of its contents at the time of your arrival in the fall. You will have a chance to review the room condition report. Any missing furniture or change in the state of the room or its facilities beyond reasonable wear will be billed to you. You will be charged for actual labor and replacement costs for major repair to a room. A $150 cleaning fee is assessed if personal belongings or trash are left behind in the residence hall room when they vacate at the end of the year. Any painting of rooms or College furnishings is prohibited. There will be a minimum $400 fee for any painting in a room or on College furniture.
IV. Personal Safety/Safety of Others
You are responsible for your personal safety. Failure to follow reasonable safety precautions may lead to an increased risk to your safety. You are expected to assist in keeping outer doors locked and to admit only those who have proper form of identification or their own personal guests. The outer doors of all residence halls will be locked at all times. You are also expected to keep their room doors locked at all times. The use of roofs, ledges, fire escapes or balconies only accessible via windows is to be used for emergencies only.
VI. Termination of License
Your right to reside in college housing shall be forfeited upon failure to return at the beginning of any academic term or upon ceasing to be a registered student at the College. If the College is notified that illness or other extenuating circumstances will delay the student's return, exceptions may be made on a case by case basis by the College.
The College reserves the right to terminate this Contract for breach by the student or for violation of the College's policies and procedures, including but not limited to those in the online Student Handbook and Policies and Procedures section on the Residential Life webpage. If the contract is terminated, there will be no refund of room charges. We will not issue any housing refunds if students must unexpectedly vacate college housing due to changes in university operations resulting from COVID-19 or other public health emergencies in the 2022-2023 academic year.
This license has been updated with the most current information that was available at the time. Given the changing nature of the current pandemic, it is possible that other policies and guidelines outlined in this document may need to be adjusted during the year. When feasible, changes will be announced prior to their effective dates, but the College assumes no responsibility for giving any particular notice of such change. Any new documents or policies outlined based on these needs will supersede any policies or procedures outlined in this residence license.
