Housing and Residence Life

Housing and Residence Life Policies

All Western Michigan University residents and their guests are responsible for conducting themselves in a manner that does not infringe on the rights of others or interfere with the educational functions of the University. The Community Living Expectations specifies the community and behavioral standards that are expected and also identifies the rights and responsibilities of residents. Students deserve to live in an environment free from harassment, intimidation or emotional distress. The Community Living Expectations policies balance the rights of the individual and the rights of the community.

Anyone violating the Community Living Expectations or WMU Student Code or abusing the facilities is subject to disciplinary actions, prosecution, conduct review and replacement fees as deemed appropriate by University officials. Residents may also be subject to disciplinary action due to the misconduct of their guests.

Important policy highlights

The following highlights do not cover all policies and information in the Community Living Expectations. Residents are expected to review the publication.

Alcohol

You are not allowed to possess or consume alcohol, unless you are 21 years of age or older. In addition, this means you cannot have empty alcohol containers as decorations if you are under 21 years old. Those who are of age may not have alcohol out in public areas.

Drugs

Use, possession, exchange, manufacturing, or distribution of marijuana (including medical marijuana), heroin, narcotics, other controlled substances or paraphernalia is illegal, except as permitted by law.

Fire safety and appliances

You may not have candles or incense in your room, even if they are only for decoration. Spider lamps are not permitted. Coffee makers and electrical tea pots must be equipped with an automatic shut-off feature and fully enclosed heating element (eg. Keurig-style) to be allowed in your room. Irons must have an automatic shut-off feature. Other appliances like George Foreman grills, toaster ovens, hot plates and so on are not permitted in your room due to fire safety reasons.

Guests

Guests are permitted to stay overnight with prior consent of all roommates and suitemates, if applicable. No more than two guests per resident are allowed at any one time. Guests are only permitted to stay for a maximum of two consecutive nights. Cohabitation is not allowed. Hosts are responsible for all guest behavior. Click here to see the full guest policy.

Pets

The only pets permitted are aquarium fish, whose tanks may not exceed 20 gallons. (This policy does not apply to service animals approved by Disability Services for Students.)

Quiet and courtesy hours

Quiet hours are in effect Sunday through Thursday 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. and Friday and Saturday 1 to 8 a.m. Courtesy hours are in effect 24 hours a day. Please be respectful of your neighbors; keep noise levels to a minimum at all times.

Smoking

All halls are smoke free. The use of tobacco products is not permitted indoors or outdoors on any University property.

Weapons

The possession, use or storage of any type of weapon is prohibited on campus. For more detailed information, please view the WMU weapons policy.

Guest and visitation policy

Guest and visitation policy (B.22.15)

Guests are permitted to stay overnight with prior consent of all roommates and suitemates, if applicable. No more than two guests per resident are allowed at any one time. Guests are only permitted to stay for a maximum of two consecutive nights. Cohabitation is not allowed. All guests are required to follow all WMU policies related to COVID-19 at all times.

No overnight guests will be permitted during the week preceding the start of the fall semester (“Fall Welcome” week) or during any final exam period. This restriction is designed to be respectful to all students as they become acclimated to living on campus at WMU and/or as they study and prepare for the end of the semester.

Guest privileges, including overnight visits, may be further limited as necessary by the hall director. Violations can result in guest privileges being revoked. Where applicable, hosts will incur costs for the actions of unapproved guests. Roommates who do not report an overnight guest staying longer than two nights may also be responsible for part of these costs. This policy also applies to students who have single rooms.

A guest is defined as any person a resident allows to enter the residence hall or apartment complex. To ensure the safety of residents, the front doors of each hall are locked at all times. Those who are under the age of 18 and are not WMU students are not allowed in the residence halls and apartments after 5 p.m. unless designated by Housing and Residence Life.

When a resident serves as a host, that resident is ultimately responsible for the behavior and any damage caused by the guest. Guests are expected to abide by all Community Living Expectations and the WMU Student Code. It is the host’s responsibility to communicate the established expectations to guests. Noncompliance by the guest is grounds for terminating the contract of the resident host. The guest may also be banned from visiting WMU residence halls and apartments. In addition, the host must accompany guests at all times while in the residence hall or apartment. Guests may visit only rooms to which they are specifically invited and only in the company of a host. All residents of the space shall agree to the visit.

Purpose of this Policy

WMU Housing & Residence Life (“Housing”) provides package acceptance and temporary storage as a convenience to residential students. This policy establishes expectations regarding package delivery, retrieval, and the handling of unclaimed or undeliverable items.

Student Responsibilities:

Student residents in university housing are responsible for:

  • Providing accurate name, address, and delivery information to the carrier when ordering packages.
  • Monitoring carrier tracking information and university communications.
  • Retrieving packages promptly after receiving notification.
  • Making arrangements for the delivery & retrieval of time-sensitive, perishable, or high-value items.

Housing accepts student mail and packages only as a courtesy to student residents and Housing does not guarantee specific delivery timelines, package condition, or carrier performance.

Notification of Delivery

When a package is processed by Housing, Housing will send the student to whom the package is addressed a notification through their WMU email account (“Notification of Delivery”).  At its discretion, Housing may thereafter send reminders. The date of the first Notification of Delivery will serve as the beginning of Housing’s 10-day package holding period.

Sometimes a student might receive a notification from the delivery company before the student receives the Notification of Delivery from Housing for the same package.  (Note: Some delivery companies mark items as “delivered” before the items are actually delivered, as a way to meet delivery deadlines.)  Housing may require additional time to process packages and send Notification of Delivery to students, especially during busy times. Students need to keep an eye on their WMU email inbox for Housing’s official pickup notice / Notification of Delivery.

Holding Period

Packages will be held for up to ten (10) calendar days starting on the date of Housing’s first Notification of Delivery.  Students must retrieve their packages during Housing’s normal operating hours.  If a student fails to retrieve their package within the ten (10) day holding period, Housing will consider the package unclaimed and may treat it as abandoned property.

Undeliverable Packages

If Housing is unable to match the name of the intended recipient (the person named on a package) to the name of a WMU student who currently resides in the residence hall that the package was delivered to – for example, if address label includes an incorrect name, incomplete or inaccurate address information, or if the item is otherwise undeliverable – then Housing will treat the package as abandoned property.

Unclaimed Packages

ALL packages not retrieved within ten (10) calendar days after the first Notification of Delivery will be considered unclaimed.

When feasible, Housing will first attempt to return unclaimed packages to the sender. If return to sender is unavailable, impractical, or refused by the carrier, Housing will treat the package as abandoned property.

Abandoned Property

Packages deemed abandoned may be:

  • Returned to the sender;
  • Donated to a university-approved reuse, surplus, or sustainability program;
  • Recycled; or
  • Disposed of when donation or return is not practical.

Housing staff will not open packages addressed to students except when required for safety, identification, legal compliance, or as otherwise authorized by university policy.

Once a package has been designated as abandoned property and removed from Housing’s inventory, it cannot be reclaimed by the intended recipient.

Perishable Items- Accepted Vendors

During normal hours of operation, Housing may also accept deliveries of perishable items from approved vendors only. These approved vendors are flower arrangements companies, Edible Arrangements, and Gold’n Brown Bakery. However, Housing does not provide refrigeration for such deliveries, and these approved perishable items will only be held for up to three (3) days. NOTE: Housing has sole discretion to discard perishable items sooner if the items present a health, sanitation, or safety concern. When practical, Housing will attempt to notify the student before disposing of perishable items. However, Students assume all risks of loss or damage associated with delayed retrieval of perishable deliveries. Housing is not responsible for any spoilage of these deliveries.

What Housing Will NOT Accept

To ensure proper handling and accountability, Housing’s hall offices/mailroom will NOT accept responsibility for any drop-offs from individuals or same-day delivery services (“Direct Delivery”), including, but not limited to, drop offs or deliveries by a student’s friends, family members, guests, or outside companies that provide same-day delivery services (such as Shipt, Walmart Plus, Meijer Delivery, Hello Fresh, Door Dash, UberEATS or restaurants).

Housing does not agree to accept responsibility for ANY items delivered by anyone other than the approved vendors listed under “Perishable Items- Accepted Vendors”.  This means that STUDENTS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCEPTING any Direct Delivery items. Housing is not responsible for any Direct Deliveries, that are just left on or near Housing property, regardless of whether the person or company attempting the delivery attempted or was able to hand the item directly to the student.  

Students who utilize services like restaurant, grocery, or laundry delivery must meet service providers in the main lobby of their building.  Housing does not grant service providers access to non-public areas.

Amazon Lockers

Amazon Lockers are available in Valley Oaks and Henry Halls for those student residents to use who live in those specific residence halls. If there’s space in the locker, you’ll see the locker option during checkout on Amazon. Using the locker is a great option because packages can be picked up 24/7. You can still choose to have packages delivered to your hall if you prefer. Just be sure to pick your packages up promptly from the locker once you’re notified, as Amazon has a short window to pick up the packages. Package notification, holding/retrieval timeframes, condition, etc are set by Amazon. Housing accepts no responsibility for packages in Amazon lockers. If you run into any issues with the lockers or packages placed in the lockers, reach out to Amazon’s customer service.

Carrier Limitations

Housing’s hall offices/mailrooms will make reasonable efforts to log packages delivered by Last Mile Carriers—such as Amazon Flex, SpeedX, OnTrac or similar services—PROVIDED THAT the item is delivered directly to Housing staff during normal business hours. Packages delivered in this specific way will be processed and logged in the same manner as those from established carriers such as UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS.  If a Last Mile Carrier does not deliver a package directly to Housing staff, Housing may in its discretion, still try to identify the recipient of the package and follow established procedures for processing packages. However, If Housing is unable to identify the recipient, the package will treated as abandoned property per Housing package protocol. 

NOTE: Packages and other items that are not delivered directly to Housing staff during business hours by an established carrier are vulnerable to loss, theft, damage, etc.  Housing accepts no responsibility for such items.

Some carriers and delivery services, including certain Amazon delivery providers and other Last Mile Carriers (SpeedX, OnTrac, Lasership or similar services), do not accept returns of undeliverable or unclaimed packages. Students acknowledge they bear the sole risk that Housing may be unable to return such items and is entitled to dispose of them in accordance with this policy.

Limitation of Liability

Students who reside in university housing are subject to Housing’s Community Living Expectations (“CLE”) [https://wmich.edu/housing/info/policies], including this policy and Housing procedures re: mail and package services.  By choosing to reside in university housing and accepting CLE, students acknowledge that Housing offers package acceptance and storage as a convenience to residents. Housing assumes no responsibility for loss, theft, damage, deterioration, delayed delivery, or disposal of packages, except as set forth in this policy.