Roommates

General Expectations

Part of the University experience is the introduction to people from different cultural experiences than you. You should therefore be prepared to encounter situations while living in such a diverse community that may challenge you. Your enjoyment of life in campus housing will depend on the thoughtul consideration you demonstrate to your roommates and your neighboring floor mates and hall mates. In addition to abiding by the Student Code of Conduct and the Housing Policies, Housing expects you to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with your roommates.

Room Changes

Students are permitted to change rooms during the course of an academic year, but only after the first two weeks of classes are completed, if alternative space is available.

Administrative-Initiated Room Changes and Consolidation

The University reserves the right to close a residence or reassign residents to another comparable unit when the unit is no longer fully occupied, when premises are unsuitable for residence, or when it is deemed necessary for health, safety, financial, or disciplinary reasons.

Room Change Request Process

Room change requests may be directed to a Housing Desk location and will be forwarded appropriately to staff (Email: lodge@uas.alaska.edu). Before approval is granted, roommates experiencing conflict are expected to actively engage in formal conflict mediation with a Resident Advisor (RA) and to make a genuine attempt to uphold compromises and agreements for a reasonable period of time.

Room Change Fees

Any unauthorized room change will result in an automatic charge of $100.

Roommate Relations

Rooms in residential facilities are assigned to each student for the academic year. A voluntary change in room assignment must be approved by Student Housing staff before any change is made. We reserve the right to make changes in room assignments when the departments deems it is necessary, but will notify the affected students in advance of these changes, whenever possible. Residents are expected to work to communicate with roommates and to establish shared expectations for conduct and chores within the suite or apartment. Conflicts should be addressed and resolved as adults, and assistance in conflict mediation can be requested of any Resident Advisor (RA). In all conflicts, residents and staff should consider the Roommate Bill of Rights.

Rights and Responsibilities

As a UAS Housing community member, the following are rights you can exoect and have a responsibility to maintain:

• The right to read and study free from undue interference in one’s room (unreasonable noise and other distractions inhibit the exercise of this right).
• The right to sleep without undue disturbance from noise, guests, etc.
• The right to expect respect for one’s personal belongings.
• The right to a clean environment in which to live.
• The right to free access to one’s room and facilities without pressure from a roommate.
• The right to personal privacy.
• The right to host guests (with the understanding and permission of the roommate) with the expectation that guest are to respect the rights of the host’s roommate(s), other hall residents, and Residence Life policies.
• The right to address grievances. Student Housing staff members are available for assistance in settling conflicts.
• The right to be free from fear of intimidation, physical and/or emotional harm, and racial, sexual or other prejudicial harassment.

Communication Tips

The key to any relationship, including the one with your roommates, is communication. You need to be open- ask, listen, and discuss. Don't wait until things build up inside and get out of hand. Before it gets to that point, talk it out. Explain in a mature fashion what is bothering you and help your roommates understand why.

Always...

• Be genuine and state what is going well and what isn't going well.
• Listen! Realize that good listening is hard work that takes practice and good intentions.
• Be sensitive to each other's moods. Everyone has bad days
• Clearly state what you are willing to share and not share within the room (i.e. you are willing to share your refrigerator but not your TV).
• When things cannot be worked out, seek the assistance of your RA.

Roommate Agreements

Roommate Agreements are great when used proactively, at the beginning of the semester to establish the needs and expectations of the whole living unit. They are a great conversation piece to incorporate to prevent many roommate conflicts.

UAS Student Housing requires all residents to complete a Roommate Agreement in order to ensure proper communication regarding expectations within shared units. Please meet with your roommate within the first week  of move in to complete your roommate agreement. All residents are expected to approve their roommate agreement, and Student Housing staff will be able to view and suggest changes, if needed.

Student Housing staff will gladly meet with individual units to help work through this process and serve as a neutral mediator for this informal group consensus activity. Student Housing staff will also expect a roommate agreement to be completed prior to reporting minor concerns such as cleanliness and communication challenges. Major health and safety concerns should be reported directly to Student Housing staff.

When your roommate agreement is completed, deliver the original to the desk location in your area- the staff will create a copy and return the original to you for your records.

In some units where residents are experiencing continuous roommate conflict, Student Housing staff may be called in to formally mediate the situation. During this mediation, Student Housing staff will review and revise the existing roommate agreement. Compliance of this revised agreement is required and violations of the formal roommate agreement may lead to disciplinary action.