Current Students

Policy Manual

We adhere to the policies in the Housing Policy Manual manual and encourage you to read and know the policies as well, as you could be held accountable for them at some point during your stay. Not reading or knowing policy is not an acceptable excuse for violations of policy or the housing agreement. Be wise! Read up!

Full Time Status

Full time status is required for all of our students living in the residence halls. You must maintain a workload of at least 12 credit hours (TRS credit hours count toward this). Students who fall below 12 credit hours for any reason at any time may be removed from housing. If you believe you are in jeopardy, please contact the Housing and Residence Life Office. Please note: if you are not doing well in or are failing to attend a class, a professor can drop you without your consent.

Parking

Residence hall students have a separate parking permit from commuter students. Please be sure to register your vehicle at the service desk each semester. 

Recycling

Please do it! The trash rooms are labeled and painted for recyclables vs. garbage. We provide recycling containers in your room. Use them - help us do our part to cut down on waste.

Room Changes

Room changes are available beginning 2 weeks after the start of the semester for a 2 week period. If you would prefer a different suite or room style or if you are having difficulty with your suite-mates, feel free to request a room change. Room change requests are accepted only in the Housing and Residence Life Office. 

Safety/Security

Our top priority is safety in the halls. If, at any time, you do not feel safe, need to report an emergency, want to request an escort,or want to report disruptive activities in the halls, please contact our Public Safety Office at 585-292-2911 (emergency) or 2912 (non emergency). This is a 24/7 service.

We have also placed individuals and equipment in the residence halls to assist with maintaining your safety.

Personnel

• Resident Assistants are highly trained students who live on each floor, They are there to help you get to know other people, work out issues in your suites, plan fun activities (called programs), and maintain a level of cleanliness and safety on your floor. They work in the capacity of a college official and should be respected as such. They are frequently called upon to hold their peers accountable - one of the most difficult jobs a student at this age can do.
• Resident Directors are professional staff members who reside in each building. These individuals have Masters degrees or have equivalent work experience in the field. They will take time to meet with you for pretty much any reason, but are specifically responsible for handling conduct cases, managing suite conflict that escalates past the Resident Assistant, overseeing the programming in their buildings, and overall operation of their areas (among many other things!). There is always an RD on call to handle crisis or emergency situations in the residence halls.
• Night Desk Attendants are student staff who are hired and trained through the Public Safety office. They add extra security to the residence halls from 6pm-12am by signing in guests (yes all of your guests must sign in and must have photo ID), checking bags (yes, we are able to check through your belongings to ensure the security of the building), and providing a level of service to students requesting Public Safety assistance.
• Public Safety 2s maintain the security of the buildings from 12am-6am. They sign in guests and check bags. Occasionally, PS2s can respond to incidents and handle incidents in the lobby area, almost always with the assistance of residence life staff.
• Public Safety Peace Officers are full time, academy trained, public safety officers. They have the right to carry fire arms and the ability to make an arrest if they deem it necessary. They walk through the halls during the day and maintain a presence with their front door security teams in the evening. In most cases, a peace officer will respond to incidents in the residence halls in conjunction with residence life staff.
• Community Police Officers are full time public safety officers. Some of them are also peace officers and do "double duty" to assist with building community and rapport with you in the residence halls. Community Policy Officers work closely with the residence life staff to program and provide educational opportunities for students based upon the current climate in the residence halls.

Safety Equipment

• Card Access Systems are in place to allow you to gain access to the residence hall, but to deter non residence hall students from having access. The residence halls, unlike the main campus, are not open to the public. Even parents are not able to just "walk in" to a residence hall to visit you without you letting them into the building. We highly encourage you not to just open the door for any individual waiting in the foyer - you never know if they live there or what their intentions are.
• CCTV Cameras are located in common areas, hallways and parking lots. Yes, we video-monitor the activity both inside and outside of the residence halls. CCTV has become a swift deterrent to crime and other incidents in the residence halls and is easily pulled for "evidence" purposes.
• Sprinkler/Fire Suppression Systems are installed in each of our residence halls. When a smoke detector is triggered, it sends an automatic alarm to the Public Safety dispatch office. Public Safety immediately responds whether the alarm activates in one suite or ends up "dumping" the entire building. Sprinklers are also installed in each common area, hallway and each room of a suite. These are temperature activated and dump a significant amount of water per second. It is not recommended that you tamper with any of the fire safety/suppression equipment as that is a swift way to lose your ability to live in the residence halls (and incur hefty fines!).

Students who find themselves in violation of college or residence hall policy will participate in the student conduct process. The student conduct process is meant to be a deterrent to deliberate violations of policy as well as an educational tool in the event that a student makes a poor decision. Community living requires standards of conduct, cooperation, negotiation, and respect for all community members, including students and staff. Through the process, we attempt to connect students to helpful campus resources, opportunities for them to learn/restore balance to the community for the harm their decisions may have caused, and teach lessons about personal accountability.

The student conduct process in an educational system is not a legal process. Lawyers may not be present for conduct hearings, we do not use language such as "guilty" or "not guilty", nor do we use the same standard of proof that is required for government court systems. Students do have the right to due process (notification of charges, a fair hearing, the ability to appeal).

In the Housing and Residence Life Office, there are three types of hearing officers:

• Resident Directors who adjudicate all but the most serious of residence hall incidents. RDs are empowered to determine responsibility and assign sanctions.
• Office of Housing and Residence Life: The Director or Assistant Director for Housing and Residence Life hear appeals of Resident Director decisions and adjudicate incidents in which high level sanctions (like residence hall removal) may be imposed.
• Office of the Vice President for Student Services:The Office of the Vice President for Student Services adjudicates the most serious of residence hall incidents, where college conduct regulations are also violated. This office may impose residence hall and college sanctions simultaneously.

When a conduct officer receives a notice of a possible violation of policy, they will review the report and schedule to meet with the referred student(s) for a student conduct hearing to discuss the incident. All correspondence regarding the conduct process will be sent to a student's MCC student email address, and students are responsible for checking this email and responding appropriately.

At this meeting, the student can expect to be provided with a description of the incident and the alleged violations. The students will be given the opportunity to hear the allegations and give their description of what happened. During this meeting the student is expected to be honest and encouraged to ask questions. The hearing officer may dismiss allegations based on insufficient evidence, refer the student to another office, find the student "responsible" or "not responsible" based on the evidence.

If a student fails to attend a student conduct hearing, the hearing may take place in the student's absence. The student is responsible for completing any and all assigned sanctions, but does maintain the right to appeal the decision of the conduct officer to the appropriate next level office within 48 hours of receiving the decision letter.

Possible sanctions (meeting outcomes) are listed in the policy manual.

Students may appeal the decision of any conduct officer to the next level. Appeals of Resident Director decisions would be submitted to the Housing and Residence Life Office. Appeals of an officer in the Housing and Residence Life Office can be submitted to the Office for review by another individual in the Housing and Residence Life Office. Appeals of a Student Services hearing would go to the Student Services Office to be reviewed by the President.

To submit an appeal, a student would submit a letter that clearly identifies the basis for appeal within 24-48 hours of receiving the conduct decision letter. Please note that an appeal may be rejected if the student bases the appeal on simply disagreeing with the outcome. Acceptable reasons for an appeal are:

• New evidence. Information relevant to the incident is brought forth that may influence the outcome of the decision.
• Violation of due process: Not being informed of alleged violations, provided the opportunity to discuss the incident, and given the right to appeal.
• Improper sanction: Acceptance of responsibility with the request for consideration of alternate sanctions.

Upon receipt of an appeal, the appellate may:

• Reject the appeal (no grounds)
• Recommend a modified sanction
• Uphold the original decision and sanction

The student may or may not be invited to an appeal hearing if additional information is needed. The student will receive written notification of the appeal decision. Appeal decisions are final and binding - you may not appeal an appeal.