Living on Campus
We hope that living on campus is a great experience for all students! It is widely accepted that students who live on campus do better academically and with their transition to college. In addition to proximity to resources, living on campus gives access to additional staff support and experiences to help them be successful during their transition to adulthood!
The first step is to determine if your maintenance concern is an emergency. Emergency maintenance issues are defined as a facilities issue/concern that impedes the ability of the resident (you) to function safely in a space, or an issue that has the potential to cause monetary damage to the facility.
Examples of emergency maintenance issues include:
- Broken elevator
- Card access failure
- Broken window(s)
- Plugged toilet in a location with only one toilet
- No heat in room or apartment
- No hot water in room or apartment
- No electricity in room or apartment
- Gas odor
- Flooding
In the event of an emergency maintenance issue:
If you live in East/West/Maria/Schultz Halls or Webster Village Apartments, contact Public Safety at 314-968-7430. Public Safety will contact a Housing and Residential Life staff member to assist you.
If you live in Big Bend or Glen Park Apartments, please contact the Housing Office from 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday at 314-246-4663. If it is after 4:30 p.m., please contact Glen Park Emergency Maintenance at 618-974-3722 or Big Bend Emergency Maintenance at 314-664-8177. Be aware it is likely you will need to leave a voicemail and someone from the property management team will call you back shortly. Please be prepared to provide them with the following details: What space is being impacted, what the issue is, where specifically the issue is occurring and if you are aware, the cause of the issue.
If you live in East/West/Maria/Schultz Halls or Webster Village Apartments, submit a work order. Follow the prompts for account creation (if you have not already done so), and then place your work order. If you need assistance with this process, see your Resident Assistant or stop by the Housing Office.
If you live in Glen Park or Big Bend, email any general maintenance concerns to housing@webster.edu. The Housing and Residential Life staff will work with maintenance to triage someone to your apartment within a few days. If you have concerns or questions regarding your work order status, reach out to the Housing Office via email or at 314-246-4663.
Staff Support
Resident Assistants (RAs)
Each community has an RA to provide additional support. An RA is responsible for getting to know students on an individual and group level (so they might knock on your door), hosting events based on interests and needs, helping with roommate mediations, being on-call for emergencies or crisis, responding to policy/safety concerns and overall being a resource for students. These are upper year or graduate students who have been a student for a while and have gotten extensive training on how to help. RA applications go out near the end of Fall semester. It is a great leadership experience.
Community Directors
Community Directors are master's-level, full-time professional staff who oversee the buildings and want to work to create great on-campus environments, and they each have a specific focus (residence halls, apartments and business operations). They supervise the student staff, help respond to higher-level issues (including after-hours), have policy-focused conversations with students, advise the Residential Housing Association and lots of the behind-the-scenes work required to keep the everyday operation going. You will likely see them in the office and around campus at events or walking through the buildings.
Desk Assistants (DAs)
Desk assistants are student staff who work at the desks of each building. These staff members check IDs, check in guests and answer questions while the Housing Office is closed. They are a great resource and friendly face for students needing quick information, and it is also a great first job with flexible evening, overnight and weekend hours.
Office Assistants (OAs)
Office Assistants are the student staff who work in the Housing Office. They perform mostly administrative work, like answering phone calls, sorting mail and checking in and out packages (your will get to know them!). This is also a great student job.
Events and Experiences
By living on campus, students have access to an additional 300-plus events each year! We hope all events are impactful, but the topics range from purely fun to academic to cultural to educational to life skills. The perfect events are when they are fun and you learn something too ...
RHA is the student government and event planning organization for Housing. It is student-run and has a large budget to plan events and make positive changes in the residence halls. Joining RHA is a great way to get involved and build your resume, as it is only about one hour per week (plus any other voluntary activities). There is a Community Director who advises the organization, and it also meets at least twice per semester with the Director of Housing and Residential Life, so it is a great way to connected to Housing leadership as well.
There are lots of traditions in Housing hosted by student leaders and staff. Some of these include:
- Housing Block Party: Sunday before classes start.
- Maria Haunted Halls and West-O-Ween: A Big Halloween event where a floor of Maria Hall is transformed into a haunted hallway with a dance party outside, and a pumpkin carving/painting night outside of West Hall.
- Big Ed Bingo and Trivia: During Family weekend, Housing hosts a big bingo and trivia event.
- Explore St. Louis Night: A night of trying St. Louis food favorites and learning about the history of St. Louis.
- Late Night Breakfast: Thursday before finals week each semester.
Policies, Processes and Emergency Procedures
To keep a safe learning environment, students must abide by set policies and procedures in all Housing facilities. Students are responsible for being aware of the full policy responsibilities, however some key highlights for Housing-specific policies are:
- Anything that creates a fire hazard is not allowed in Housing. This means students cannot bring candles, incense or items with exposed heating elements (think griddles and grills).
- Students under the age of 21 cannot possess, consume or be in the presence of alcohol. Empty alcohol containers are not allowed.
- Threatening behavior, disorderly conduct, activity or items (like carrying weapons) that could cause harm to others is a policy violation.
- Webster is a smoke-free campus, so smoking in the residence halls is not allowed. Additionally, we are a drug-free campus, so marijuana, other drugs and drug paraphernalia is not allowed in Housing.
- To support an academic environment, there are quiet hours (11 p.m.–10 a.m. most days), in addition to 24/7 courtesy hours (no excessively loud noises). Guests are allowed, within reason. Guests need to be checked in at desks, and cannot stay more than three nights at a time (with a max total of 14 days per semester) with the approval of roommates.
We expect students to act responsibly, however we also understand college is a time for learning and growth. If a student has potentially violated a policy, a staff member will document the situation to be reviewed by our professional staff members. Students should check their email for specific next steps, since it will often require meeting with a Community Director to discuss the situation and educational sanctions. Each situation is individual and tailored to the specific situation.
Processes
Living in Housing there are lots of processes throughout the year that will be communicated via email, floor postings, and updates from RAs. If students want to get ahead to learn that information, they can review the Housing Procedures on the Housing Processes and Procedures page.
Emergency Procedures
Safety is an utmost priority for Webster’s campus, and there are procedures in place for all sorts of emergency situations. Students should review the Emergency Procedures document and be familiar with it. There are a variety of drills related to weather emergencies and fires throughout the year. In the event of an emergency, students should monitor their phone for communication from RAVE Guardian, Campus Alerts and their RA’s GroupMe (which they will join at move-in).
Mail is delivered Monday through Friday (except holidays) while classes are in session, during normal business hours. We only accept mail and packages addressed to current residents. When you move out of housing, we will forward your letter mail to your permanent address on your Connections account. To have a package delivered to campus, make sure that you send it to the Housing and Residential Life Office.
All packages should be sent to the Office of Housing and Residential Life. An example of how the package should be addressed is shown below:
Student Name
(Building Name), (Room/Apartment Number)
240 Edgar Road
St. Louis, MO 63119
For letter mail, please use the following addresses to ensure that mail comes directly to your mailbox:
East/West/Maria Halls
Student Name
(Building Name), (Room/Apartment Number)
240 Edgar Road
St. Louis, MO 63119
Glen Park Apartments
Student Name
129 E. Lockwood Ave., (Apartment Number/Letter)
St. Louis, MO 63119
Webster Village Apartments
Student Name
(Building Name), (Room/Apartment Number)
(Building Address, see below)
St. Louis, MO 63119
WVA Building 1: 150 Edgar Road
WVA Building 2: 158 Edgar Road
WVA Building 3: 200 Edgar Road
WVA Building 4:212 Edgar Road
WVA Building 5: 227 Hazel Ave.
WVA Building 6: 163 Hazel Ave.
Big Bend Apartments
Student Name
(Building Address), (Apartment Number/Letter)
St. Louis, MO 63119
7857 Big Bend
7861 Big Bend
7865 Big Bend
Resident mailboxes are operated according to guidelines provided by the U.S. Postal Service. For those students who live in residence halls, paper mail is placed in residents’ mailboxes. Large packages delivered to the Main Housing Office will be logged into a tracking system. Once the package has been logged by our office, the student will receive notification via their Webster email address.
For students residing in WVA, Glen Park or Big Bend, paper mail will be placed in your mailbox by the Postal Service. All packages should be delivered to the Housing Office and will be logged into our tracking system. Once the package has been logged by our office, the student will receive notification via their Webster email address.
Please Note: When tracking a package that has an online status indicating the package has been delivered does not necessarily mean that it has been received, processed or sorted. Please wait for the email to your Webster email address that your package is ready for pickup.
Students will be able to pick up their packages via the mail room from 1-7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday. To pick up a package, students must go to the Housing Office in West Hall and show their ID to the office assistant.
A notification will be emailed to the resident if the package has not been picked up within 10 days.
For current residents, we hold packages throughout the academic year, and will attempt to return packages left from the academic year over the summer months. Packages will be held for 10 days before being returned if the resident is not in our system as a current resident. Any package that requires postage due will be sent back.
The Housing and Residential Life staff cannot be responsible for breakage of fragile objects, delays in delivery by USPS, illegal or unlawful contents, freshness of perishable materials or if mail services deliver to an incorrect address (not the Housing Office).
Room Swap
Housing and Residential Life makes every attempt to assign residents with roommates who have similar sleep, study and noise preferences. Additionally, during the first few weeks of classes there are roommate/suitemate/apartmentmate agreements that students fill out. While the vast majority of roommate pairings work out, there are sometimes issues that necessitate a change. There is a process for students seeking a room change that takes place between the third and fifth week of classes each semester. Each year this process is slightly different, and specific information will be sent to students via email.
This process will include students filling out a room change request form (emailed to students each year) where they can say if they have a specific roommate in mind, or if they are just looking for another option. A roommate mixer or rematching process will take place to help alleviate concerns about another round of random roommates.
Through this process, there might be required consolidations if rooms are half-filled and needed to be opened, or the option for buying-out half of the space to become a single.
At any time if students need help with their roommate situation they should reach out to their RA! RAs are trained in roommate mediations and can help students improve their communication and facilitate a discussion to improve the roommate relationship!
- At the beginning of the second week of classes, the Housing and Residential Life Office will send communication out to all active residents informing them of the upcoming space change period. This communication will include the process outlined in this policy, information for setting up a meeting with their community director and a form for residents interested in participating in the open switch process to complete.
- Upon receipt of the above mentioned email, residents will complete the linked form and schedule a time during the third week of classes to meet with their community director to discuss the Post Move-In Space Change Process. During this conversation, community directors will communicate regarding the following: the student’s reason for entering the process, ensure that the resident has discussed the desire to change rooms with their current roommate and outline the process to the student.
- On the Monday of the third week of classes, communication will go out to the residents
who completed the space change interest form. This communication will outline:
- As a result of this process, if someone is left with an unassigned space in their room, the Housing and Residential Life Office will make a decision whether to offer the space as a single room or consolidate the student to a new space.
- All room changes resulting from this process must be completed by the end of the business day on the Wednesday of the fifth week of classes.
- Current available spaces.
- Current “free agent” residents — defined as a resident who wishes to move out of their current placement, but does not have an intended room to move in to.
- The date, time and location of a resident space change meet-up, providing participants the opportunity to meet with others going through the process.
- An attached document, which students will turn in once they have made a final decision regarding their space.
- Once notified of the opening of the Post Move-In Space Change Process, residents may visit with others participating in the process and/or attend meet-ups to determine the best room fit for them. Residents will have until the end of the business day on the Thursday of the fourth week of classes to determine and submit their requested placement to their community director.
- On the Friday of the fourth week of classes, community directors will ensure each student participating in the process has a placement, confirm placements with the Assignments and Billing coordinator and prepare administratively for the room changes. Students who have not submitted the required form by the deadline will be placed or remain in their current placement at the community director’s discretion.
- Once confirmed, residents who are moving rooms will be informed via their Webster University email of their new placement and given 72 hours to complete their move from their old space, checkout paperwork and return the keys to the old placement.
Generally, around 450 students choose their housing for the next academic year during the room selection process. Historically, and within the past few years, we have operated on a wait list as we have been completely full for on-campus housing.
Returning students have more options when they return to campus. There are dorm options (East, sometimes West), on-campus apartments (Webster Village Apartments), and off-campus apartments run by Webster University (Big Bend and sometimes other short-term agreements).
Returning students must submit their Housing Application by the priority deadline of March 1 to be included in the first round of returner housing assignments. Housing assignments are made in order of completed credit hours (hours in progress do not count toward total, accepted transfer credits do). Students who have mutual roommate/suitemate/apartmentmate requests and different class standings will be processed with the student with the highest class standing. Students who do not follow the process will be assigned last or put on a waitlist, even if preferred roommates/suitemates did submit application materials on time.
Here is an overview of the Returner Room Selection timeline:
- Apply on the Housing Website by March 1.
- March 3 – Returner Housing Preference Form will be emailed out to everyone who submits a Housing application on time. This form will ask more detailed question on preferences so housing staff can make appropriate roommate pairs and space selections. This will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and should be filled out thoroughly.
- March 13 – Returner Housing Preference Form is due. ADA Space Accommodations renewals should also be done by this date or else space accommodations cannot be guaranteed. Emotional Support Animal renewals should be started so roommate pairings can be done knowing an animal will be present in the space.
- March 17-31 – Housing Staff will do room assignments. Students should check their Webster Email daily in case there are questions about student preferences, as Housing waits 24 hours for a response before moving on to another student.
- April 1 – Housing Assignments will be sent via Webster email after assignments are finalized.
If you will not be returning to Webster University for the next academic year, it is your responsibility to notify the Housing and Residential Life Office by submitting an Intent of Non-Renewal, which will be included in the Returner Room Self-Selection Process emails. Please note that if you submit a housing contract and then decide not to return to Webster for the next academic year, you will need to email housing@webster.edu to request to cancel your housing contract, as the Intent of Non-Renewal is not a cancellation request.
If you or your group's preferred housing is not available, you can always sign up to be on the wait list as spots become available at later dates. In order to be placed on the wait list, you must have a housing assignment (you cannot get a contract for a specific space type only).
Typically, we see a lot of movement on the wait list throughout the summer months, especially around contract cancellation deadlines. If you would like to check your placement on the wait list, contact the Housing Office at housing@webster.edu.
Preferred Name Process
Creating and embracing an inclusive environment is important to the mission of Webster University. We recognize that some students use a name other than their legal name to identify themselves. As such, the Housing and Residential Life Office has established a section on the housing contract for students to identify their preferred name. When processing letter mail and packages, the housing staff members will look for both the legal first name and preferred name registered with the University. If mail comes to a name other than one of these (such as a nickname or if addressed to a parent's name), the letter or package will likely be returned to the sender.
Please Note: The Housing Office provides labels on packages, which include both the preferred name and legal name of students, as some mail is required to be delivered to the legal name (e.g., tax documents, pay checks). In this way, our staff members are able to discern that the appropriate mail item is delivered to the correct student. If you are a student with a concern related to this, please contact the Housing Office at housing@webster.edu to discuss how we can best assist you.