Closing and end of the semester

TCNJ Residence Halls close on Tuesday, December 17th at 8pm. Students who have not requested break housing will be expected to have departed by this time.

ResEd and housing sends communication to students beginning in November about closing: what students need to do before departing, when they need to be out by, and the hours of other relevant services (mail, KeyOsk). For the end of the fall semester, students who are returning for the spring do not need to move all of their belongings out of their space. Instead, students should plan to take home any belongings they want or need to have over the break (computer, favorite clothes, medicine, valuables). Students then would not be able to return to the residence halls until Sunday, January 27th. Students who are not returning for the following semester should plan to have all belongings moved out of their space by the end of the fall semester. At that point, students can check out and return their key at the KeyOsk, located on the first floor of Eickhoff.

Residents can expect emails from housing, along with emails from their CA regarding their closing floor meeting.

ResEd and housing does offer break housing, both for the Thanksgiving break and for winter break. Students must submit a break housing request by logging onto their MyHousing portal by the following deadlines:

Thanksgiving break housing requests: November 10th, 2024

Winter break housing requests: December 1st, 2024

Fire Safety

Some of our residents have recently been impacted by fire alarms. While some fire alarms and subsequent evacuations are scheduled and required by the Fire Marshall (i.e. fire drills), some incidents unplanned and unexpected. These situations may have resulted from technical issues which are resolved promptly, other fire alarm activations have been the result of student behavior. Regardless of cause, ResEd and Housing works closely with Emergency Preparedness, Campus Police, the Office of Student Conduct, and the fire department to address ongoing situations and ensure our student can have a positive on campus experience.

We encourage students with any information about policy violations related to fire safety to contact campus police. Though it may be frustrating in the moment, we also remind all students to treat any fire alarm activation as emergency, regardless of frequency. Please be sure to follow all evacuation instructions, and remain attentive for updates or additional information at that time.

Housing Process

One of the best parts about staying at home with us at TCNJ is that you get to select your own space! Regardless of your class standing, new student or returning, fall or spring, students have the opportunity to select where they want to live and who they want to live with. The most important thing for our students to do is to make sure they are completing all housing steps on time, as this allows them to participate in room selection. More information regarding specific dates and deadlines can be found here.

We know that housing selection may sound stressful, but we’re here to make it easy. Leading up to housing selection, we will send your student several emails detailing what they need to know and when, but below are some terms and definitions they might hear:

Housing Registration: For first year students only. This process allows us to collect some important information about you, and helps us help you make the most of your future housing experience! This also includes signing our housing contract, which is the agreement and terms you must review and sign in order to live on campus. Here, students are also able to learn more about and begin to create roommate groups.

Housing Application: For returning students seeking housing on campus. This is where students can update their information and sign the housing contract.

Roommate groups/roommate matching: Our housing process has a built-in system where students can create roommate groups, which lets you decide who you want to live with on campus. This is important for housing selection, in order for you and your friends to be housed together. Students create groups on MyHousing, and then are able to invite others into said group. When students go online to select their room, they then get to choose a space on behalf of their roommate group, meaning once one person places themselves and their roommate group,  everyone is all set!

Housing selection: This is the process where students log onto their MyHousing portal and get to pick their room. Students will be presented with a page where they can search for and select which residence hall they are interested in, select the specific space, and then confirm their housing. This works similar to online shopping, where you add a potential space to your “shopping cart” and “check out” once you’re ready to confirm your room. Housing selection takes place over a specified amount of time, and only during that time can students select a room.

Housing timeslot: Every student who participates in room selection is given a timeslot, which determines the earliest time they can begin to select a room. Before this time, students can log onto MyHousing but will not be able to select any spaces. Once their timeslot arrives, they can select a space from that point, and until housing selection ends. Timeslots are generated and assigned at random. Students may have a delay in receiving their timeslots, or may not receive a timeslot if they apply after the deadline.

Our office is ready and willing to help leading up to and during housing selection! Along with emails we send to students, we additionally host webinars explaining the process and answer questions. Students can always stop by our office, find us tabling on campus, call, email, or even digitally chat with us during housing selection.

First Year Housing Requirement

In Residential Education, we reject the dormitory model of residential living, where students merely sleep on campus for the purposes of convenience. Under this antiquated model, dormitories are ancillary to student development. Instead, Residential Education replaces convenience with necessity. We recognize our buildings as residence halls; tenets of intellectual and social development that function as centers for living and learning.

Through the residential curriculum, we encourage an active model of student learning, where Residential Education partners with Academic Affairs to create an environment for students to live the core beliefs as defined by the College’s mission. Core beliefs such as developing students into whole persons; enriching cultural, social, and intellectual life through diversity; preparing students to be successful, ethical, and visionary leaders; and enhancing opportunities through living-learning environments.

This philosophy informs our first year requirement, which allows us to cement this mission and vision. We have seen student satisfaction with our on-campus experience at levels that exceed national averages. Along with this, countless studies have shown the positive contributions of on campus living, improving degree attainment, student success, and sense of belonging. We’re excited to shift towards a residential college model, and deliver a co-curricular experience that supplements our renowned academic programs!

At the same time, we also understand situations and scenarios where some of our incoming first year students may not be able to reside on campus with us. We have and continue to work closely with a variety of campus partners to ensure that we can make campus home for as many people as possible. This includes supporting student needs with housing accommodations, modifications to existing meal plans, and ensuring student support in a variety of living spaces. We encourage you to explore our website, and learn more about the housing communities, housing options, and housing accommodations we have available. In the event that a student needs to request a housing exemption, they can do so and learn more about this process here.

Meal Plans

All students (residents and commuters) are able to select their meal plan on the MyHousing portal. Meal plans are required for residential students, and are optional for commuters. To learn more about meal plans, visit our Meal Plan page. Residents are able to also adjust their meal plans for the following semester by going onto the Myhousing portal!

Did you know?

1. Students have access to different meal plan options based on their year.
2. You can see what dining options are open and whats on the menu.
3. Our dining options cater to a variety of dietary needs and restrictions, and we have a Registered Dietitian on campus.

Housing Application

The housing application is the online form and process in which students confirm their on campus housing, along with other information to assist them in making the most of their housing experience. Students can access the housing application on MyHousing, which is their personal portal for all forms and processes. Whether it’s applying for housing, finding and matching with roommates, selecting a room, or planning your arrival to campus, it all can be found here! There are some of the sections of the application that need to be completed:

• Personal Profile: We get to know a little bit more about you! This helps us make sure your information is up to date, and helps us help you find your future roommate!
• Emergency Contacts: Who to reach in case of an emergency, along with important health information.
• Renters Insurance: Because The College does not cover the cost of your personal belongings being stolen or damaged, we expect and highly recommend students to obtain renters insurance. One company we partner with is GradGuard, who offers insurance programs specifically geared towards college students. Students can also use coverage from another provider or through their parent/guardian.
• Special Interest Housing: We offer several Living-Learning-Communities that students can opt into, you can also explore each of these under “Applying for Housing”.
• Housing Contract: Students must review and sign the housing contract in order for their application to be considered complete. Students can download a copy, and will receive a copy as well after completing this step. Note: students under the age of 18 must also have a parent or guardian sign the housing contract, and submit this copy to housing.

After these steps, students are then able to explore roommate matching and room selection (see section above). If you or your student run into any issues or have any questions, please feel free to reach out and let us know!