Winter Break & November Closing

On-campus residence halls and apartments close for break periods during the academic year. Make sure you know when to leave, when to return, and how to keep your safe space while you are gone.

Residence hall students: All residence hall students are expected to depart campus within 24 hours after their last final, or by 10 a.m., November 25, 2026, whichever comes first.

To support your academic success and provide an environment conducive for sleep and study, all residence hall and apartments are to abide by a 24-hour quiet hour policy from 9 p.m., November 17 through 5 p.m., November 24, 2026.

Before leaving for break, there are a few steps all students need to take in order to have a smooth departure.

On the day of your departure, you are to ensure the following steps have been completed:

• Residence hall students: unplug, defrost, empty, and clean any College-provided or personal microfridge.
• Apartment students: remove food that will spoil, clean the College-provided full-size refrigerator, and leave it plugged in. If you have a microfridge in your bedroom, please unplug, defrost, empty, and clean it.
• Deposit all trash and perishables in the proper receptacles in the trash and recycling rooms/dumpsters.
• Close and lock all windows.
• Close all blinds.
• Turn off all lights.
• Lock your door.
• Check for any remaining mail and packages and check out in the Housing portal.

Thank you for your cooperation. After your departure, Residential Education (ResEd) team members will be checking all residence hall rooms to ensure that these items were completed. As per the direction of Fire and Life Safety Services, ResEd team members will unplug any appliances left plugged into outlets (with the exception of Apartment College-provided refrigerators), close windows, and open microfridges not opened and defrosted by the student. Any alleged College policy violations observed while performing safety checks will be noted and you will be contacted in Winter Term 2027 regarding how to resolve the concerns.

If ResEd team members need to complete closing tasks that were your responsibility, ResEd is not responsible for the following:

• Loss of data due to the unplugging of electrical equipment.
• Loss of fish as a result of having to unplug an aquarium.
• Loss of food or medicine left in refrigerators.

If you are completely moving out (e.g., taking leave of absence, studying abroad, taking a withdrawal, etc.), you must also complete the following steps:

Step 1: Remove ALL personal belongings. Double-check all drawers, closets, and under furniture to ensure all personal items have been removed.

• Any items left in your room/apartment after you depart will be considered abandoned and will be donated/disposed of as appropriate. The College is not responsible for items left in the room.
• If you rented a Microfridge or Bigger Bed, you should work with the vendor to arrange pick up from your assigned space.

Step 2: Complete light cleaning inside your room.

Step 3: Turn in your key(s) to College Park Hall Campus Safety or the ResEd Office in Reamer 409, utilizing the contactless checkout process:

• Pick up an Express Checkout Envelope from one of the two locations. You are to turn your key(s) in using the envelope at the designated area. The envelope should be signed and dated. You are to place your key(s) into the return envelope, sign and date the envelope, and place it in the designated location. Failure to return your key will result in a lock core change and a $100 fee for bedrooms and $125 for front doors.