1. I wish to break my room and board contract. What do I need to do?
2. Where do I make payments for residence halls and apartments?
3. How do I request a change in meal plans?
4. I was not granted my roommate request. Why?
5. Why am I not assigned into any of the residence halls I requested?
6. What does it mean if I am in expanded or temporary housing?
7. How do I transfer rooms?
8. May I make a transfer now?
9. Do I get free Internet in my room?
10. What is included in my technical fee payment?
11. What is the difference between my free Internet account and a campus-based e-mail account?
12. What is the requirement to be able to live in an on-campus apartment?
13. Do certain apartments and residence halls have free parking for their tenants? Where do I pick up a CWU parking pass/permit?
14. What happens to my room and board costs if my roommate moves out of my residence hall room?
15. What happens to my rent if my roommate moves out of my apartment?
16. Do you automatically assign me a roommate in a residence hall, or do I get to decide whom I want as a roommate? How do you decide who will be living with whom in the residence halls?
17. Are the rooms provided with phones?
18. What long distance services are provided?
19. Is cable TV available in the residence hall rooms?
20. Are the residence halls, floors and/or rooms co-ed?
21. Is there smoking in the residence halls?
22. Can I stay in my room for quarter breaks?
23. Can I bring my bike?
24. May I have a guest come and stay with me in my room?
25. Can I have a pet?
26. Where do I go if I get sick?
27. What is a suite?
28. What is Wildcat Welcome Weekend?
29. Will bedding and towels be supplied?
30. Am I able to see my room in advance?
31. What small appliances am I allowed to bring?
32. Where can I pick up packages?
33. What size are the mattresses in the residence hall rooms?
34. I wish to cancel my housing contract before taking occupancy. What do I need to do?

1. I wish to break my room and board contract. What do I need to do?

   First year students are required to live on campus for a full academic year. Unless an exception is granted by the Senior Director of University Housing and New Student Programs all students, with less than 45 credits, are required to live in our residence halls. Most residence hall contracts are for an academic year; however, you may choose a 12 month contract. In order to break a contract, a special request must be made to the Senior Director of the University Housing and New Student Programs. All requests will be reviewed by residence hall staff and be considered on an individual basis. Liquidation fees for housing and dining will always be assessed to your student account.

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2. Where do I make payments for residence halls and apartments?

   All payments are made at the cashiers office. This includes deposits, prepayments, parking tickets, library fees, tuition, room and board charges, damages, apartment rent, etc. The Cashier's Office does accept credit card payments. The telephone number is (509) 963-2224.

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3. How do I request a change in meal plans?

   The Connection Card Office in SURC 131 handles all meal plan change requests. You may change your meal plan during the add/drop period for each quarter by going to our web site at www.cwu.edu/housing or in the Connection Card Office. The Connection Card Office can be reached at (509) 963-2711.

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4. I was not granted my roommate request. Why?

   Students are assigned according to the earliest deposit date of the two or three students requesting each other. Students with a late deposit date might not be assigned together, due to lack of available rooms. Students must request each other by name and student identification number.

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5. Why am I not assigned into any of the residence halls I requested?

   Students are not always assigned into the residence halls they requested because the halls are full.When the requested residence halls are full, an assignment is made into another residence hall based on available space and the best program match we can make. Also, students with early deposit dates are assigned first. If you send in the deposit at a much later date, the space you requested may not be available.

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6. What does it mean if I am in expanded or temporary housing?

   Expanded or temporary housing is temporary. As soon as space is available in the residence halls, a permanent residence hall room assignment will be made according to your deposit date.

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7. How do I transfer rooms?

   Room transfer day is the third Thursday of each quarter and requests are made at www.cwu.edu/housing between 7AM and 4PM. Any transfers after that day require a completed room transfer request form which is done by meeting with your current Residence Hall Coordinator . Transfers are made based upon space availability.

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8. I have talked to my roommate and I cannot live with this person. May I make a transfer now?

   All room assignments are frozen until transfer day. If it is after transfer day, you are required to meet with your current Residence Hall Coordinator (RHC) to complete the room transfer request.

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9. Do the residence halls and apartments have Ethernet?

   Yes. ResNet is provided in all the residence halls and Student Village. Each student has his/her own port. DSL service is provided in Getz/Short and Brooklane Village apartments.

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10. What is included in my technical fee payment?

    The technical fee allows you to use the computers in the on-campus computer labs, and have a "username@cwu.edu" e-mail account. It also allows you to use computers for classes, the computers in the library, equipment in the Educational Technology Center, and other technology centers on campus.

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11. What is the difference between my free Internet account and a campus-based e-mail account?

    Your free Internet account lets you connect to the Internet from your residence hall room on your personal computer. A campus-based e-mail account lets you have your own personal CWU e-mail account that you can check from any computer lab on campus. This also allows you access to the Internet as well as some software programs like Microsoft Word on campus-based computers.

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12. What is the requirement to be able to live in an on-campus apartment?

    In order to be eligible to live in a single student, on-campus apartment, you must have completed one academic year of college, and/or be at least twenty years of age and enrolled as a CWU student with 12 or more credit hours. Family apartments are rented to students with families, married students (you must provide a copy of your marriage certificate), and new faculty and staff members outside the immediate area. Single students who are twenty-one years of age may also apply for family apartments on a space-available basis.

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13. Is there free parking on campus? Do certain apartments and residence halls have free parking for their tenants? Where do I pick up a CWU parking pass/permit?

    Currently there are two free parking lots on or near campus in which you can park. Parking permits can be purchased at the cashier in Barge Hall. Visit the Parking Services web page for more information.

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14. What happens to my room and board costs if my roommate moves out of my residence hall room?

    You will not be required to pay extra on room and board as long as you are willing to receive another roommate.

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15. What happens to my rent if my roommate moves out of my apartment?

    The day following your roommate's checkout you will be responsible for the full amount of the rent payment.

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16. Do you automatically assign me a roommate in a residence hall, or do I get to decide whom I want as a roommate? How do you decide who will be living with whom in the residence halls?

    If you know someone who is coming to the University and you want to room together, please send your room and board application in at the same time and as early as possible. You need to include each others names and student ID numbers in the roommate section on both applications. Be sure you have listed the same order of preference in your residence hall choices, so you will be seen as a compatible match if you do not get your first choice of halls. Roommate matches cannot always be guaranteed, but the earlier you submit your applications, the better your chance of the match occurring. If you do not have a roommate request the computer automatically assigns roommates together, based on deposit dates and residence hall choices.

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17. Are the rooms provided with phones?

    You must bring your own phone and phone cord, however, the phone jack in the room is set up, activated, and as soon as a phone is plugged in, is ready to use. Local phone service is provided at no additional cost to you.

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18. What long distance services are provided?

    The University uses Fairpoint Communication service for long distance services on campus. Students need to go to Fairpoint Communications at 305 N. Ruby to open an account. The billing is sent directly to the student.

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19. Is cable TV available in the residence hall rooms?

    Yes, expanded cable TV with 78 channels plus a premium channel (Showtime) is provided in the residence hall rooms. However, you must supply your own TV and your own cable cord. Additional premium channels are available at an additional cost through the local cable service provider in Ellensburg.

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20. Are the residence halls, floors and/or rooms co-ed?

    Green Hall is an all female hall. The other residence halls are co-ed by either random room or by floor. Alford-Montgomery, Carmody-Munro and Sparks are the halls that are all co-ed by floor. All of our rooms are same sex rooms with the exception of Moore Hall which is a gender-inclusive hall. This means men & women may live together. Moore Hall is reserved for upper class students.

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21. Is there smoking in the residence halls?

    All the residence halls, as well as the academic buildings, are smoke free.

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22. Can I stay in my room for quarter breaks?

    Quarter breaks are winter break, in December, and spring break, which is one week in March. Students are required to leave the residence during the winter break. Students with a 12-month contract living in Anderson are allowed to stay in their room. At the end of spring quarter you will have to make other accommodations. We do have summer housing for those attending summer sessions. Accommodations during quarter breaks are not included in the residence hall contract, unless you have a twelve-month contract. You have 24 hours after your last final to vacate your room.

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23. Can I bring my bike?

    You are welcome to bring your bike. The residence halls have bike racks and some residence halls also have inclosed bike storage. We do encourage that you register your bike with the Police Services.

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24. May I have a guest come and stay with me in my room?

    You may have a guest stay in your room with approval of the roommate(s). However, they may stay no longer than three days and two nights in any one week, anywhere in the building. For the safety of all the residents it is the student's responsibility to inform RAs of any overnight guests.

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25. Can I have a pet?

    Students may have an aquarium-bound fish in tank no larger than 25 gallons. It is your responsibility to care for your fish.

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26. Where do I go if I get sick?

    We have a Student Health and Counseling Center located on campus for students to visit when they need to see a doctor. All students pay a $72 health fee each quarter. This allows for many of the services to be without charge and others to have a minimal fee attached. This fee is usually at a much lower rate than those charged by the clinics within the Ellensburg community. The center is a fully staffed medical clinic and there is a wide range of medical and counseling services available to our students.

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27. What is a suite?

    A typical suite is approximately 360 sq. ft. There are two and three bedroom suites which include the bedroom(s), common use area, restroom with shower, vanity with sink, beds (standard single), desks, chairs and closets. The suites are furnished with telephone jack and cable TV jack. Kamola, Stephens/Whitney and Moore have 3-person suites. Kamola has 2-person suites.

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28. What is Wildcat Welcome Weekend?

    Wildcat Welcome Weekend is the weekend prior to the beginning of classes fall quarter. Sessions and functions are scheduled to assist the student in making an easier transition to college life. Activities begin Friday evening on opening day. Sessions during the weekend are part of University 101 and Music 104. Attendance is required.

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29. Will bed linens and towels be supplied?

    You will need to supply your own bed linens and towels. The beds have extra long size mattresses (36" x 80").

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30. Am I able to see my room in advance?

    We are not able to show the rooms in advance. The halls are utilized in the summer by the conference program, and as soon as they are vacant, they are closed for cleaning and preparation. In addition, we do not have staff availability for showing rooms. The Visitation Program conducts campus tours by appointment. Viewing of a room may occur if there are any unoccupied rooms designated for tour viewing at that point in time. Please check with Central Visitation Program at 509-963-1262 for more information and details.

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31. What small appliances am I allowed to bring?

    Each room in the residence halls is equipped with a microwave/fridge unit; small appliances such as coffee pots and popcorn poppers are allowed when used with extreme caution. Avoid overloading outlets with too many cords and do not use extension cords with frayed wiring or poor connections. The wiring system is NOT intended for items that place a heavy load on the system. It is recommended that a surge protector be used for stereos and/or computers. Residents are NOT ALLOWED to use hot plates, smokeless grills, toaster or toasterovens, or appliances with exposed heating elements.

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32. Where can I pick up packages?

    Small packages delivered by the USPS are delivered directly to the residence halls. Packages delivered by FedEx, UPS, Airborne (and other similar carriers), are dropped off at our Residence Life Office in Barto. Packages can be picked up at the Residence Life Office in Barto, Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm. Make sure your name, residence hall and room number are clearly indicated on such packages so the Barto Office can contact you.

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33. What size are the mattresses in the residence hall rooms?

    We are in the process of converting all your mattresses to 36" x 80". These require extra long linens.

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34. I wish to cancel my housing contract before taking occupancy. What do I need to do?

    Please send an email or letter to our office stating that you wish to cancel your contract. In the Terms and Condition of the University Housing Contract section 15 D, there is a schedule for application cancellation and refund of the $200 deposit. Our email address is housing@cwu.edu. Remember freshmen are required to live on campus. If you are a freshman and want to live off campus, you must request an exception to live off campus. Freshmen students under the age of 20 and carrying 7 credits or more are required to live on campus. This includes running start students.

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