Policies
You receive a call that RAs responded to an alcohol situation where one student was sitting in their room drinking and refused to leave. The student began drinking at 11 AM and had already finished 1 1/2 handles by the time the RAs responded to the situation. The student stated that they've been having issues with their family and is overwhelmed with everything going on. Do the RAs write a BIT, IR, and/or Title IX report?
BIT and IR
Submaster locations for Couch, Walker, Cross, ResCo, and McCasland.
Couch: Bottom left drawer of Lauren's desk
Walker: Bottom left drawer of Hunter's desk
Cross: KeyPer #4 and bottom drawer of printer cabinet
ResCo: Key box in Dunham closet
McCasland: Resource room (to be relocated to Leeanne's office)
McCasland: Key box
Your RA is assisting a resident with a move around when they notice the building they moved into already checked them in on StarRez. What do you do?
Have the RA perform move out procedures for the resident including checking the room for damages and returning all resources. They need to include the date they did the inspection on the move log. You need to work with the HoCos and inform them that the dates the student was checked in/out on StarRez don't match the day you physically checked them out of their room, update OR with date and note. Do not touch anything else on StarRez.
What rights are students entitled to when they go through the conduct process?
The right to be notified, heard, to appeal, and to an advisor
What is the charge amount for an after hours lockout at Kraettli and Traditions?
$60
Visitors/Visitation
4. Visitors/Visitation: Residents are responsible for the behavior of their Visitors. While in Residential Facilities and on campus, Visitors are expected to comply with state and federal laws, as well as all applicable University policies that address on-campus behavior, including, but not limited to, the Community Living Standards, Title IX & Sexual Misconduct Policy, and Student Rights and Responsibilities Code of Conduct.
5. Visitors should be escorted by their host Resident at all times while in the Residential Facility.
6. Residents must notify their Residential Space roommate(s) at least 24 hours in advance of an overnight Visitor in the Residential Space, and all of the roommate(s) must agree the Visitor can stay overnight.
7. An overnight Visitor cannot stay more than 72 hours consecutively in a Residential Facility while visiting the Resident.
8. Residents may not have overnight Visitor(s) in their assigned Residential Space more than a total of nine (9) days in the semester.
9. Overnight Visitors or Residents may not occupy a bed or bedroom in any Residential Facility without the permission of the Resident’s roommate(s) to which the bed or bedroom have been assigned.
10. Overnight Visitors may not sleep in lounges, or other public areas in a Residential Facility.
2. Cohabitation: The continual residing in a Residential Facility room or suite of two or more Residents or Visitors who are not roommates of the same assigned Residential Space is prohibited.
OU Daily approaches you and asks you to comment on a housing-related issue or event
Let them know that you are not authorized to give any statements on behalf of Housing and Residence Life. Direct them to Marketing and Communications for any statements.
A parent calls saying their student moved back home and that they need help trying to figure out how to complete the move out process. What do you say?
Refer the parent to the GPS website so their student can notify the university they are leaving by filling out the forms, then work on dropping courses/unenrolling. Next, refer them to the housing website. The student will need to go to their housing portal and fill out a move out form. Then ask the parent if they are able to return the bedroom/mail keys. Notify RLC and work with them to finalize the occupancy process and to email the steps to the student.
You are working through a community standards case with two involved residents. After meeting with both, they have completely conflicting stories, and what they said doesn't match the IR. What are your next steps?
Review the IR more thoroughly to see if you missed any details. Look at the EFC and see if there is any additional evidence such as texts, photos, etc. Work with the building RLC to see if there is camera footage that could help. Then work to see if there are any additional witnesses for the case and ask them to meet. Then after you have gathered more information, call the respondents back in and inform them of your findings and work with them to confirm their side of the story one more time. If you have enough based on the preponderance of evidence, find them responsible.
The ResCo duty RA calls you because they smelled marijuana while on rounds. What is your response to the RA? Does your response change based on the strength of the smell/area of the smell?
Regardless of if the RA can pinpoint the smell to a certain area/room or not, instruct them to immediately call OUPD. Since OUPD has been contacted, you should be on scene to assist.
Pets
7. Pets: Possession of animals in a Residential Facility, other than fish as defined below, are prohibited regardless of the length of stay or visit. After notice, if the unapproved animal is not removed within 24 hours, the Resident may be fined $200/day until the animal is removed. In addition, any cost associated with the possession of an unapproved animal will be charged to the responsible Resident(s) or to all Residents of the Residential Space (damaged furniture/carpet, cleaning, pest control, etc.). Fish may be maintained as pets in Residential Facilities, as long as they are kept in fish tanks that are no larger than ten (10) gallons in capacity. Residents are responsible for maintaining the tanks and are responsible for all damage caused by the fish or the tank. This policy shall not affect service animals or emotional support animals approved by the University Accessibility and Disability Resource Center
You receive a call that Cross RAs are woken up by an alarm at 3:45 AM and began to evacuate the building. After they walked into the hallway, they notice a substantial amount of water coming out of a resident room. What is your next step and how do you respond to the situation?
Have the RA call maintenance to report the floor and let them know potential room of origin. Request housekeeping as well to help clean up the water. Notify OUPD/FD that it is a flood coming from X room. Help ensure residents properly evacuate the building. Call up to Zone 1 and have them respond in person. Talk with the residents of each impacted room, have them start clearing personal items out of the way and start drying off items. Investigate origin room and ask if they've ever noticed any water, issues, etc. Inform the students of the property loss forms through OU risk management. File an IR and email the building RLC/GRC team with rooms impacted, if there was property loss, potential origin room/what caused the flood, action taken, and photos. Notify the AD on Duty. Determine if any emergency spaces are needed for any residents (if yes, email ERC listserv and add building RLC/GRC to email).
A resident goes to move in, but the existing resident tells the new resident they don't want a new roommate and to move out. The resident goes down to the desk and shares that they no longer feel comfortable moving into this space. What are your next steps?
Work with Housing to relocate the student moving (if space allows) and then follow up with the current resident of the room to inform them that per their Housing contract, they could receive a new roommate at any point in time and that if they continue to hinder the occupancy process they could be subject to going through the community standards process. You can suggest a room buyout as an option (if open and available). Then following up with Housing to let them know the space is ready to be assigned. *This is all a bit dependent on the history of the space and the student, availability, and student financial abilities*
You are meeting with a student who is continuously demanding to know what is going to happen to the other person who they believe is "responsible" for the situation, and refuses to share information until you let them know what is happening to that person. What are your next steps?
Inform the student that as per the community standards/conduct process that we meet with all involved parties. Regardless of the situation, we adjudicate on an individual basis. Due to FERPA, you cannot share any information pertaining to another individual or their case status. Bring the focus back to this individual and their involvement in the case. You can also inform the student that they need to comply.
You receive a call from the ResCo RAs that there is a large party happening in one of the rooms and that they have called OUPD as the residents have been noncompliant. The RAs disclose that there is an extreme amount of alcohol, beer cases taped to the walls, and a beer pong table. What are your next steps and how to do you respond?
Respond in person to the situation to assist the RAs and PD with the situation. Ensure that all involved parties are written down and informed of the conduct process. Inform the residents that their guests have to leave after the situation resolves, and ensure that the beer cases/beer pong table are removed from the building (alcohol paraphernalia policy). Ensure no one needs medical attention and are all physically well enough to care for themselves. Notify the AD on Duty. Help ensure the RAs know how to write an IR and what all to include. Confirm all alcohol was disposed of.
A student comes up to the desk and wants to grab something from another student's room. What should you instruct the RA and student to do?
The student needs to send written, explicit permission allowing the individual grabbing the items to the building GRC/RLC and/or the on call staff granting permission to enter. Once the email is received, a building RA will escort the approved individual to the room to retrieve the items listed in the email and lock the door once completed.
You receive a call from the Couch RA that a student is experiencing a severe mental health episode. The student is pacing the halls, yelling, and not making any coherent sense. The student is continually mentioning that they are somewhere else but doesn't feel the need to receive help. What are your next steps and how do you respond?
Respond in person to the situation. Instruct the RAs to call 911 immediately for the student to receive a mental health evaluation and potentially be transported. If you arrive before EMS, try your best to engage with the resident in a calm manner. Do not do anything to further provoke the student. Keep your distance in the event they become physical, and make sure you have a clear exit. Try to get the student to somewhere private if this is happening in a public space. Check in on the RAs after the situation is over and ensure they don't need any additional support processing the situation in the moment. Have the staff write a BIT report.
The Housing Office forwards an email to your building team of communication where a student's parent is demanding they be moved due to mold in their room. What steps do you take?
Ensure the student has received an email informing them of their abilities to submit a maintenance request for the M/S in their space as well as submit a room change request if they are not satisfied with their space. Confirm the parent has been informed of our department process as well. Work with the student to ensure they complete all steps necessary and follow up with maintenance as needed.
You get ready for your 2:30 PM community standards meeting and go out into the lobby to call the student in. As they walk up to you, you see a parent walking in with them and a full stack of files. After you all sit down, the parent immediately begins informing you their student shouldn't be meeting with you. What are your next steps?
Inform the student of their right to have an advisor present for the conversation, but that before you continue with the meeting, you must confirm the parent is listed as a FERPA contact on their Housing Portal (StarRez). Then inform the parents of their responsibilities as an advisor in this space (they may be present, but are not allowed to speak on behalf of the student). The student needs to be the individual working through the situation and they are able to step out and confer if needed. If the advisor is disrupting the conversation, you can ask them to leave. You can also reschedule the conversation/refer them to Jeff if the advisor is not cooperative.
You receive a call from the Walker duty RA because a resident has told them they have bed bugs. How do you respond?
Have the RA work with the student to get a maintenance report filed immediately, via fixit.ou.edu. If after hours, facilities will inspect the next business day. In the meantime, the resident can wash and dry their bedding and clothes on high heat. We will not issue an ERC due to bed bugs, as we don't want to risk spreading.
A student calls the RAOD to inform them that they are potentially getting blackmailed by another student. Upon the RA arriving to learn more, they discover that the student met another "student" on hinge and they have been sending messages back and forth. The person the student matched with says they will go out with them if they do something sexual with another person. The student says no. The person they matched with then states they will send the video they have of the student to other people. Would you write a Title IX, BIT, and/or IR for this?
Title IX
A student comes up to the Couch RA saying that the scanner to their floor is flashing red every time they try to tap in. The RA go to get the student a temporary access card, when another group of students comes up to report the same issue. As a fellow RA tries to tap into the front desk, they also get a red flash by the scanner on that door. The Couch RAs call up to report their access concerns when you get another call from ResCo reporting the same issues. What do you do next?
Take note of the room numbers reporting concerns (if possible). Determine if it is battery operated or hard wired door scanners. Inform the RAs to grab the submaster keys from Lauren and Emily's offices and use the hard keys to open the doors to the floors. Report the issue to SoonerCard, AD on Call, and maintenance. Send out a GroupMe message to the team and let them know about what is going on and have the RAs message their teams and floors as well. (If battery operated scanners and not a large volume, it is possible the batteries just need changed - submit a maintenance request)
You receive a call that there is a group of residents whose rooms have reached over 85 degrees. Maintenance needs 4 days to resolve the issue and you need to issue 5 ERCS. What are your next steps?
Call the AD on call and inform them of the issue and that you need to issue 5 ERCs. Work with the AD to identify the spaces using the occupancy graph/empty bed roster. Once the rooms are IDed call the building RA to walk spaces and ensure they are ready to go. Email the students moving instructions and their temporary space (include the building RAOD phone number if different building and CC building team). Email the ERC listserv with all student information, timeline, and reason for move (CC building teams).
You work through a pet policy violation case with a student and inform them that they will be responsible for a $600 fine due to how long it took them to relocate their new unapproved puppy. The student begins crying in your office after learning about the fine. What are your next steps?
Offer the student a tissue, then ask them what might be causing the emotional response and if they are able to financially afford the fine or if there is something else going on. If it is financially driven - work with Jeff and Mason to determine if there is a potential alternative such as volunteering/a partial fine that would be an appropriate sanction. If the student is having an emotional response to going through the community standards process - reassure them that this is an internal process and we are just ensuring they comply with policies to help create a supportive environment for everyone in the community and that after they are able to complete their sanctions that the process will be finalized.
The McCasland duty RA calls you because a parent is wanting someone to do a wellness check on their child. What are the first steps you take?
First, confirm parent is on FERPA. Next, collect information from the RA and the parent. Call OUPD and be on scene, ready to assist. RAs and GRCs do not perform wellness checks and should not accompany OUPD. Wait to hear from officers on the student's wellbeing. If the student is fine, ask the student to contact their parent. In case of emergencies, do not call the parent back. Work with OUPD and call up to the AD on duty.