Helping your student develop and grow at the University of Idaho is one of the main goals of the University Residences team. As a parent, you are a key partner in your student’s transition to college life and greater independence.

University Housing recognizes that parents are an important partner in a student’s college success, and we will always try to provide you with as much information as possible. We have also collected suggestions and frequently asked questions for parents.  If you have any questions or if there is a way we can better help your student succeed, please contact University Housing.

Helpful Tips

Talking with Your Student About the Importance of Agreements
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
Adjusting to College
Dealing with Residence Hall Concerns
Roommates
Homesickness
Helping Your Student Stay Informed

Frequently Asked Questions:

When do students get their room assignments?
How much does it cost to live in the residence Halls?
How do I help my student sign up for the residence Halls?
Can my student move in early/late?
Can my student change room assignments?
What kind of furniture is provided in each room?
What size are the beds?
What kind of computer hook-ups are in the residence halls?
My student has a bad roommate situation? What can he/she do?
Is alcohol/smoking permitted in residence halls?
What about safety and security?

Talking with Your Student About the Importance of Agreements:

Often the agreement to stay in the residence halls is the first legal document students sign. University Housing encourages parents to talk with students about this, and the importance of understanding and reading agreements before signing. The Residence Hall and Dining Services Agreement is a legal and binding document. 

Once a student signs and submits an agreement and it is accepted by University Housing and/or the student occupies his or her room, he or she is committed to the Terms And Conditions of the Agreement including any supplements to the Agreement such as the Residence Hall Handbook, Living Learning Community Rate Schedule and Residence Hall Rate Schedule, Fire Safety regulations, UI Residential Connection Privilege Agreement, and the Student Code of Conduct.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
Often a parent will call and request information about his or her student only to find that the requested information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).

The University Housing team will always try to answer as many questions as possible, we understand that parents are a crucial part of a student’s success in college, and will try to do everything we can to provide you with information unless we are prohibited by law from doing so.

The general rule of FERPA is that granting access to, or releasing "education records" to third parties without the student's written consent is not allowed. If you call and ask for information and are told that because of FERPA that information can not be released, you can always talk with your student who can access the information. A student can also sign a form giving a parent or parents permission to access their information.
 
Adjusting to College
The transition to college is one experienced by both the student and parent. Your support and connection with your student at this time is vital. While this also means developing a different relationship with your student, than the one you had when he or she was in high school, there are fantastic opportunities for both of you to learn more about one another, and to develop new ways to relate to one another that will last a lifetime. As your student transitions into new stages of independence your encouragement and support are key to his or her success.

It is also only natural that at times you will know less about your student’s college life than you did about the happenings of his or her high school life. For many students this time is a departure from the structured routine of high school. Although your student may never have lived away from you before, living in a residence hall, and learning the independence and responsibility, while also having the support of Residence Life staff and new found friends, is all part of the college experience, and an important process for your student. You have given your student the tools they will need for this experience by teaching them how to make good decisions.

The University of Idaho Residence Life staff is skilled at helping students make this transition, and will always have helpful suggestions, and be able to direct students to resources. Please encourage your student to share his or her concerns with the residence life staff, and to ask them for help with difficult situations.

Dealing with Residence Hall Concerns
Living in a residence hall can be one of the best parts of a student’s college experience. If your student is unhappy with an aspect of their living situation, this is an excellent opportunity to empower them to deal with these concerns. Encourage your student to take personal responsibility for seeking resolution to the issue that he or she is unhappy with. Show concern about their lives and understand their struggles. Ask questions, but try not to invade their privacy. Often students will let you know what is happening, but at their own pace and timing. Encourage your student to get to know the Resident Assistant on his or her floor, and other staff members in the area.

For the majority of your student's life you have been right there to help make decisions and choices. As a college student your student will need to be more independent and self sufficient. Although they will still want to talk about their experiences, you need to empower your student to solve their own problems by offering guidance, encouraging independence, and trusting your student's decisions. Handling difficult situations for them only impedes their development. Since students can and do resolve most of their own concerns, parental involvement is usually not necessary. However, University Housing is always here to answer questions and to help, you can contact us via e-mail at housing@uidaho.edu, or by phone at 800-681-9361  or 208-885-6571. Our staff will direct you to the person best able to respond to your questions.

Roommates
Roommate conflicts are natural and healthy. Living in the residence halls at any university is learning to live with a roommate. This experience will help your student to learn essential skills like communication and boundary setting. University Residences tries to help roommates live together and work with one another. You can help this process by challenging your student to actively work through the issues, instead of avoiding them or looking for easy answers. Changing roommates is often not the best solution. Often helping your student seek alternative solutions will enhance the learning that can come from this experience. There is a Resident Assistant on each floor, who has been trained to handle roommate issues. The Resident Assistant or your student can also ask for assistance from the Area Assistant or Resident Director as well.

Homesickness
Homesickness can be one of the hardest areas to help your student move past. For your student, life has changed and will never be the same. The first two weeks of the year are filled with many activities that help people get connected. Your student needs to take advantage of those opportunities in order to become a successful member of their new community. Throughout the year it is important to write letters, and send food and care packages, a sure sign of support and concern. You have no idea how excited students get when these arrive. At the same time students are often not as good at returning mail. Students are curious about what you are up to and may expect to know about what you are doing but are less inclined to let you know what they are doing. It is not unusual for your student to want to come home occasionally during their first year, but if they want to come home every weekend try to find out why, they may be struggling with the social aspects of on-campus living. Encourage them to give it time and get out and meet people.

Helping Your Student Stay Informed
E-mail is one of the main forms of communication at the University of Idaho, and much of the information your student will need can be accessed online via their vandal web account. Please remind your student to pay attention to e-mails sent to their Vandal e-mail account and encourage them to use their Vandal Web account. Many students bring cell phones to campus; students are encouraged to share this number with Residential Life as an alternative method for contacting them.

Community Expectations
Parents can help students by knowing about the institutional and legal expectations at the University of Idaho, and in the state of Idaho, to help students avoid complications. The rules and regulations in the University Residences, Residence Hall Handbook and Agreement are designed to protect the rights of students and encourage individual and community responsibility. They exist for the following reasons:

   * To support the requirements of local, state, or federal laws
   * To provide for the health, safety, and security needs of residents
   * To allow students the opportunity to sleep, study, and pursue their academic endeavors without undue interference from disruptive community members.

The Residence Hall Handbook and Agreement are documents that contain information about what is expected of students who live in the residence halls, and are great references if you our your student has questions about what is allowed in the residence halls.

Adjusting to College Academics
Students have greater control over how they spend their time while at college than they did in high school. Balancing this new freedom contributes to a student’s academic success. Don’t be afraid to talk with your student about managing their time, so they can meet people, have fun and succeed academically. Specific questions about college can be helpful as well; it lets your student know you are interested and elicit more concrete answers about academics and difficulties he or she may be encountering. This will also set a framework for times when your student is in need of help and advice.

It is normal for students with high-school marks in the 90's to see them drop a little. For many students a temporary drop in grades is typical. Don't let your student get depressed or discouraged; instead encourage them to get help. Tutoring, study skills workshops, and other academic support is readily available. Residence Life staff have information about the different organizations on campus that can help students with tutoring, studying, and academic planning.

What if My Student Calls Upset and Overwhelmed?
Many parents receive a phone call from discouraged and overwhelmed students. The call often comes just after midterms or near the end of the first term, when work is piling up, or if a student receives grades that are different that what he or she expected. If you receive a call from your student and he or she is upset, remind him or her that this is a very normal stage for students to go through when transitioning from high school to college. Often calm reassurance from you will help a student gain greater perspective. You can also encourage your student to take advantage of the tutoring, counseling and learning programs on campus that are designed to help students succeed. Your student can ask a Residence Assistant and other Residence Life staff for help and information.

Returning Home for the Holidays
While holidays are an exciting time for both parents and students, this may also be a difficult time of transition, since in many cases this will be the first long period of time you and your student will spend together since he or she left for the University of Idaho. Students often have difficulties returning home on holidays after experiencing life on his/her own. For the last several months he/she has become accustomed to /only/ his/her own daily routine - not the family's, and he/she has not been living with the house rules that may have been in existence in your home. Sometimes they come home with new expectations for family members.


Frequently Asked Questions:

Question: When do students get their room assignments?
Answer: Room assignments for first-year students begin in March and continue through the summer. (Returning students begin the room renewal process as February for same room renewal.) First-year students begin receiving their room assignments around April 1. Assignments are made in the order the deposit is received. If a student has not submitted his or her deposit by sending in a check or using a credit card online at www.vandalweb.uidaho.edu a room reservation can not be made.

Students can check for room assignments and other housing information online by following these steps.

Go to VandalWeb
Login with your Student ID or V number and PIN.
Click on Student Housing Information
Click on Housing Information Center

Question: How much does it cost to live in the residence halls?
Answer: Below is a chart with rates for the different residence halls, meal plans are not included in the residence halls rates. Students can choose from several plans, check out the Dining Services page to look at different plans and cost. Students living in the residence halls are required to have a meal plan.

Question: How can I help my student sign up to live in the residence halls?
Answer: Here is some information on how to sign up for a residence hall, if you have any questions along the way please call the housing office, or e-mail us.

1. Your student must be accepted to the University of Idaho before he or she can sign up for housing.
   
   
2. To sign up for a residence hall a student can send in a room reservation card (you should have received one in the mail, if not call us at the housing office and we will send you one)and check for their $250 deposit, or fill out the same informaiton online using his or her vandalweb account and pay the $250 deposit using a credit card.
   
   
3. To sign up for a room on vandalweb:
   • Log in using the student ID number and password
   • Select "Student Housing Information"
   • Select "Reserve a Room Online"
   • fill out the questions on the form. These questions will help us pair a student with a roommate, and find out what kind of community he or she wants to live in.
   • Pay the $250 deposit online using a credit card, or send in a check to Univeristy Housing, P.O. Box 442010, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2010, or call us and pay over the phone using a credit card.
     
     
4. Once the form is filled out and the deposit is paid, a room will be assigned to the student, the assignment is made by our assignment coordinator, and does not happen automatically after the reservaton is submitted online, it may take a couple hours or a day or two. (If the application is submitted in January-early March, please keep in mind that your student's application is very early and will be one of the first assigned, but we do not begin assigning rooms until Mid March).
   
   
5. A student can log into vandalweb and check to for a room assignment as well as roommate information by selecting "Student Housing Information" and then selecting "Housing Information Center."

Question: Can my student move in early/late?
Answer: Students must receive special permission to check in to a residence hall early, to request early check-in e-mail housing@uidaho.edu. If a student plans to check in late he or she must notify University Housing so his or her room will be reserved.

Question: Can my student change room assignments?
Answer: After ten days into the semester, room reassignments can be made for location changes and roommate requests. During fall semester, room changes are not allowed during dead week and finals week, (the two weeks before the beginning of break) so that students can focus on their studies. There is a $25 charge for changin rooms, that helps cover administrative costs for moving students.

Question:  What kind of furniture is provided in each room?
Answer: The furniture provided varies a for each residence hall, it is best to check the amenities section under the residence hall that your student is interested in living in. There should be a list of the furniture available, as well as photos.

Question: What size are the beds?
Answer: Beds in Wallace and the Tower are standard twin size. Beds in McConnell and the Living Learning Community (LLC) are extra-long twins. There is a waiting list available for students living in Wallace who require an extra-long twin, but supply is limited. Extra-long mattresses are distributed by maximum need. A number of students find that the regular twin sheets still work on the extra-long beds.

Question: What kind of computer hook-ups are in the residence halls
Answer: Each residence hall room has one internet data port per student to use with their own personal computers, and the Theophilus Tower and Wallace Residence Center have wireless access in all residence hall rooms and common areas, the Living Learning Communities and McConnell hall have wireless access in the common areas.

To connect to the Ethernet Internet, students will need an Ethernet adaptor and RJ 45 cable. Every computer connected to the Residential Network must install a virus scanner and keep it updated regularly. To speed up the Internet connection process when students move in, they can register their Ethernet card at http://resnet.uidaho.edu. This allows a students to have their connections set up and ready to go. Questions? Contact ResNet at support@resnet.uidaho.edu or (208) 885-5507. ResNet also will have technicians available during check-in at their office on the second floor of the Wallace Residence Center.

Many desks in the Tower and Wallace have secure eye bolts at so you can lock your laptop computer to the desk.  If your desk does not have an eye bolt, you can request one by submitting a service request online when you arrive at by clicking on the service request option. You must supply your own security cable and lock, found at most computer stores and the University of Idaho Bookstore.

Question: My student has a bad roommate situation. What can he/she do?
Answer: In many cases encouraging your student to communicate with his or her roommate and work through the problems is the best advice. If your student is uncomfortable with talking with his or her roommate about the problem alone, the Residence Assistant on the floor will help mediate a discussion if asked to by one of the roommates. In cases where communication and mediation do not work University Housing professional staff are always willing to help, or students can also move to a different room. Room changes can be made throughout the year, with the exception of the first two weeks of each semester and finals and dead week. There is a $25 room change administrative fee, but in emergency move situations, the fee is waived.

Question: Is alcohol/smoking permitted in residence halls?
Answer: Smoking is not permitted in any of the residence halls, or near the entrances to the residence halls. Alcohol is not permitted in first year communities, and alcohol free communities. Students over 21 years-old who do not live in alcohol-free communities may have alcohol in their rooms, with some restrictions.

Here is an excerpt from the Residence Hall Handbook about the alcohol policy in the residence halls:

Alcoholic Beverages

All residents are expected to know and abide by state and federal laws regarding the use of alcoholic beverages. Only students of legal drinking age may consume or possess alcohol in their room or suite. If individuals under the age of 21 years reside in that same room or suite, only one open container per student of legal drinking age may be present at any time. Open containers may not be present when guests under 21 are in the room or suite.

It is a violation of housing policy to possess or consume alcoholic beverages if you are under the age of 21. Any room occupied solely by students under the age of 21 should at no time contain alcohol. Guests of residents who are under 21 years of age may not possess alcohol, regardless of the ages of the guests. Individuals who are in violation of the alcohol policy will be asked to dispose of all alcohol in their possession.

Open containers of alcoholic beverages are not permitted in public or “common” areas.
Common areas include, but are not limited to: lounges, lobbies, hallways, elevators, laundry rooms, restrooms, recreation/entertainment areas, and stairways. A student room with an open door is considered common area when the room is open to the general view of people in the hallway.

Large quantities of alcoholic beverages are prohibited Containers holding more than one gallon of alcoholic beverages are prohibited everywhere within the residence hall system. Beer bongs are not permitted. It is also a violation of policy to provide alcoholic beverages to anyone under 21.

Residents living in designated substance free living environments may not have alcohol of any amount in their possession, regardless of age. Individuals under 21 years of age and all residents living in substance free halls/floors, regardless of age are prohibited from displaying and/or possessing alcoholic beverage containers (empty or full) within University Residences facilities.

Students who have bottles/displays may be approached by staff to investigate alcohol use out of concern for the Student’s health and safety.

Sanctions for alcohol violations conform to the State Board of Education policy that mandates certain levels of sanction for repeated violations of the Student Code of Conduct.

Question: What about safety and security ?
Answer: University Housing is committed to creating a safe and supportive home for students, there are also a number of resources for students available on campus. University Housing encourages parents to talk with their students about safety, including being aware of their surroundings and avoiding situations that might place them at greater risk, also encourage your student to be aware of and take advantage of the resources available on campus.

• To enter the residence halls students must have Vandal Card access or be a guest of a student with Vandal Card access. Students must accompany their guests at all times in the Residence Halls.

• The University Housing 24-hour desk is a place where students can go or phonefor help if they are locked out of their rooms or have questions or concerns. If a student is experiencing an emergency they should first contact the Moscow Police Department or call 911.

• Student resident assistants (RAs) who are trained to assist students who live in the residence halls are assigned to each residence hall, and also do regular rounds on the residence hall floors.

• The Associated Students of the University of Idaho, safety board has placed courtesy phones around campus for students to call for emergency services as well as any campus phone number.

• Moscow Police Officers are members of the University community and are regularly in the
  residence halls. They are in the residence halls for community oriented policing, educational programming and to address concerns as they arise. The Campus Division of the Moscow Police Department is located two blocks away from the residence halls.

• You can research University of Idaho crime statistics at the University of Idaho Campus Security page.

• Violence Prevention Programs provides a mandatory safety program for all incoming students as well as numerous other programs on campus for students and has two full time employees who work on student safety issues.

• If you have a question of concern about safety or security please contact Campus Security, the Moscow Police Departmant, or the University Housing office.