Residence Life
Student & Administrative Services Center, Rm. 1033 · (570) 320-8023 or (800) 367-9222
Policies, Regulations & Guidelines
Listed below are policies that Pennsylvania College of Technology has developed to help ensure appropriate student conduct. These policies are in addition to the information outlined on the Student Rights and Responsibilities Web site.
* Opens Student Rights and Responsibilities Web site in a new window
| Illegal Activities & Prohibited Items | Facilities Use | Hours & Miscellaneous Policies |
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The use, consumption, possession, transportation, sale, or abuse of alcoholic beverages is prohibited by all residents living in Penn College on-campus housing facilities (including individuals who are over 21 years of age). All empty alcoholic containers (includes, but is not limited to, bottles, cans, kegs, party balls, bottle caps) are also prohibited and constitute a violation of the alcohol policy. This includes alcohol bottles that are used for decorative purposes. The consumption of intoxicating beverages is not considered an excuse for irresponsible behavior within the residence halls. The College takes action against residents who drink irresponsibly. Individual residents are held accountable for the actions of their guests.
Note: This policy is in addition to the information outlined on the Student Rights and Responsibilities Web site.
Firearms, Explosives, Incendiary Devices, and Weapons
Firearms, explosives, incendiary devices, and weapons of any kind are not permitted in the residence hall for any period of time. This includes, but is not limited to, slingshots, archery equipment, b-b guns, paintball guns, potato guns, smoke bombs, firecrackers, bullets, and flares.
Students are required to carefully watch their food while cooking in their apartments. Smoke from scorched food may set off a false fire alarm, which is a violation and subject to a $50 fee.
Physical abuse and harassment, including verbal abuse or threats against any individual, are expressly forbidden. Harassment issues can include, but are not limited to, harassment based on gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Both individuals and groups can be targets for harassing behavior.
Note: This policy is in addition to the information outlined on the Student Rights and Responsibilities Web site.
Prohibited Items (items not permitted in the residence halls)
- Water-filled furniture including waterbeds, pools, toys, etc.
- Fish tanks larger five gallons
- Hanging beds, loft bed frames, and all other types of hanging furniture
- Space heaters
- Exterior antennas
- Outdoor clotheslines
- Any attachments or alterations to the interior/exterior of any apartment other than provided for that specific purpose
- Stolen merchandise
- Extension cords without a UL approved circuit breaker
- Metal tipped darts for dartboard sets
- Running wires beneath floor carpeting
- Fog machines
- Locks on bedroom door handles
- Gas or charcoal grills
- Sports equipment (i.e. baseballs, lacrosse equipment, footballs) other than soft, foam “Nerf-style” (These items can be stored, but not used in apartment buildings.)
- Drum sets
- Dead plants or trees (includes trees without roots)
- Street signs
- Cigarettes that smell like marijuana
- Stickers on doors or other surfaces within the apartment (memo boards permitted)
- Stickers and tape on apartment exterior doors
- Signs, posters, banners, flags, or like items that are hung on, over, or near windows
- Remote-controlled cars with gas-powered engines
- Holiday/string lights
- Pool tables
- Personal air conditioning units
- Chlorinated, dyed, or fragranced water treatment in toilet tanks
- Wireless or Ethernet routers (wireless systems)
In an effort to make the residence halls as fire safe as possible, students will automatically be issued a $50 fee for the following activities in the residence halls:
- Possession of candles (this includes decorative and fragranced candles)
- Possession of incense
- Possession of gas, propane, lighter fluid stored outside of a lighter, kerosene, nitrous oxide, lamp oil, motor oil (includes gas powered engines)
- Possession of hot plates with an exposed coil
- Possession of sun lamps
- Possession of holiday string and rope lights
- Smoking in non-smoking areas (note: All residence halls are designated non-smoking. Smoking areas exist in specified locales outside of the buildings.)
- Possession of halogen lights
- Possession of upright/top-loading toasters
- Accidentally setting off a fire alarm
- Possession of car tires
- Possession of charcoal
The Residence Life staff reserves the right to confiscate prohibited items from a student’s apartment. A notice will be left for the student indicating that the item has been taken and what the student needs to do to get it back. The item will be returned to the student at the time in which the student can permanently remove the item from the complex. The Residence Life staff will attempt to assure that items are kept in a safe place, but assumes no responsibility for any damage that may occur to the item. This includes, but is not limited to, loss or theft of the item from storage.
Smoking is not permitted in any building at Penn College. This includes the hallways, lobbies and laundry rooms of the residence halls. The College reserves the right to require students not to smoke within a particular exterior area if the smoke interferes with other residents. Residents of Rose Street, College West, and Campus View apartments must smoke outside in the designated smoking area (the smoking pavilion located in each complex). Students must dispose of cigarette butts in appropriate trash receptacles.
Note: This policy is in addition to the information outlined on the Student Rights and Responsibilities Web site.
Residents will be held accountable for behavior that occurs in their apartment. This includes behavior of guests, damages, prohibited activity, and prohibited items found in their apartment. Therefore, residents should take action to monitor who is permitted to enter their apartment. Students should keep their apartment door locked at all times.
Apartment Sanitation/Trash Removal
Residents are required to maintain their apartment in a clean and sanitary manner. They are also solely responsible for bagging trash that accumulates in their apartment and disposing of such trash by depositing it in the designated receptacle and recycling containers. Students may not leave trash outside of their apartment door. There is a $25 minimum charge for improperly disposed trash.
External Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
Due to the possibility of a breach in the College’s computer network security, students are not permitted to connect a computer to an external Internet Service Provider.
Residents and their guests are expected to follow all official requests from all Penn College staff members (including but not limited to Coordinators, Resident Assistants, Penn College Police, College Administrators, etc.). Failure to comply with an official request will result in disciplinary action. Residents will be held responsible for the actions of their guests.
Furniture, Fixtures, and Personalizing Your Room
In consultation with fellow roommates, students are allowed to personalize their room so that it is more comfortable and homelike; however, certain conditions, policies, and procedures must be followed. These are outlined here to help students to utilize the facilities provided and to ensure that they understand some of the limitations and guidelines that are necessary within the housing environment. Students may make modifications such as moving certain pieces of furniture (see below) or bunking the beds (pegs for bunking beds can be picked up at the of Residence Life Office).
You may not:
- remove or store College furniture outside of your living unit;
- suspend beds and/or furniture from walls, ceilings, or loft units;
- affix materials to the walls, windows, or ceiling in a manner that might damage the surface (e.g. nails, duct tape, etc.);
- place wallpaper or adhesive paper on the walls or windows;
- place adhesive paper in cabinets or on shelves;
- paint living unit (walls, doors, floor, etc.); this includes writing on walls with detergent;
- remove window screens at anytime;
- replace light bulbs in apartment fixtures with black lights;
- place stickers on doors or other surfaces in the apartment (Items should be fastened to doors using magnetic tape with the magnetic side of the tape in contact with the door.);
- place carpets/rugs in areas that will cause damage to doors;
- move appliances (refrigerators, microwaves, stoves) from their set location;
- move wardrobes from their set location;
- hang items from the light fixtures or fire safety equipment;
- turn bed legs over by removing them and fastening them upside down.
Flyers, pamphlets, brochures, etc. are not permitted to be hung or distributed without the permission of the Residence Life Office. All materials must be brought to the Office to be stamped for approval. Once stamped, the appropriate staff members will properly distribute the information. Except for official College material, the “stuffing” of mailboxes will not be permitted.
For purposes of clarifying the policies, the Residence Hall complex is defined as the area inside of the gate at each complex and the parking lots designated as parking for a particular complex.
Due to obvious potential injury, snowball and water fights are prohibited within the residence hall complex (this includes the area inside of the residence hall gates). Absolutely no snow is allowed inside the residence hall at anytime.
Solicitation and Business Operation
Selling or campaigning door to door in the residence hall is not permitted. In addition, students are not permitted to operate a business from a residence hall facility. This includes businesses operated through the Internet.
For reasons of health and safety, nothing is to go in, out, or be thrown or hung from any residence hall window or balcony. Individuals are not allowed to lean out of windows or over balconies, sit on windowsills or balcony railings, or remove screens.
Students are reminded that living in a residence hall requires consideration of others. At all times noise must be kept at a level where it cannot be heard outside of the apartment and where it is not disturbing other residents or the surrounding community. Additionally, daily quiet hours are from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from midnight to 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
While quiet hours are in effect until 10 a.m., it is occasionally necessary for General Services to perform outside work during the quiet hour period.
During finals week of both semesters, quiet hours will be in effect all day and night except for a two-hour period between 5 - 7 p.m. each evening.
All students must enter and exit the complex through designated gates. Climbing over the fence to either enter or exit the complex is not permitted at any time. After 10:15 p.m., student may enter or exit only via the front gate by the residence hall complex Police office. It is the responsibility of all residents to show photo identification to the police officer at the main gate of the complex after security hours have begun. Security hours will conclude at 5 a.m. In the event the front gate is locked, residents can enter using a key issued to them. It is the responsibility of the residents to lock the gate behind them and to not allow people who are not residents of the complex or registered guests to enter the complex.
While residents are allowed to keep bicycles in their apartments, riding bicycles inside the residence hall buildings is forbidden. Residents keeping bicycles in their apartments are reminded that they are held accountable for any damage occurring to their apartment.
With the exception of fish in a tank no larger than five gallons, animals are not permitted to fed, or harbored in the residence hall.
During winter months it is sometimes necessary to close specific residential parking lots so that snow can be cleared. When a lot closing is necessary, notice will be given to residents at least 12 hours in advance by email to on-campus residents and notices posted within the residence halls.
The notices posted in the residence halls will state that a lot clearing is in effect and that students should check their Penn College emails for details. The email will state the time the lot is to be closed, list alternate locations where residents can move their vehicle, and specify the time by which residents must have their vehicles moved out of the alternative locations.
It is the resident's responsibility to be sure he/she receives this information and moves his/her car according to the established procedures. Vehicles remaining in the lot at the time of clearing may be towed at the owner's expense.
The Residence Life Office respects the student's desire for privacy within the realm of the group living experience and protects this privacy. However, in the interest of maintaining an environment that facilities scholarship and provides for the health and safety of residents, it is occasionally necessary for authorized staff to exercise the contractual right to enter a student's room.
Staff members entering student rooms use discretion. Student rooms may be entered under the following conditions.
- To provide room maintenance or repair services
- For routine health and safety inspections. These inspections will occur at least once a semester.
- For emergency situations
- To maintain an atmosphere that promotes the scholarship of residents (e.g., unattended stereo, alarm clock, telephone, answering machine). This is only done with the approval of the Residence Life professional staff.
- To ensure that room-closing procedures have been followed when a resident vacates a room for break period.
- If a Residence Life staff member believes that a room or apartment contains items that are contrary to College regulations (which include federal, state, and local laws).
In virtually all cases, some act of misbehavior will precipitate the concerns addressed here.