Residents’ Handbook 2014-15
Welcome Dear resident, Welcome to Royal Holloway and to your hall of residence. This Residents’ Handbook provides important information about the facilities and services you can expect to use while living in College accommodation, as well as an outline of the regulations that you must follow during your stay. We’ve tried to keep the guide as short as possible, while covering all of the main areas that you need to know about. We understand that this may not be the most interesting thing you’ll read during your time at university, but it is important that you know the basics about living in College accommodation, so please do take a few minutes to read through the guide and keep it for future reference. The content demonstrates how Royal Holloway, University of London complies with its obligations under the 2004 Housing Act; however, if you have any queries you should contact your nearest reception for help or advice. Should you have cause for complaint about any aspect of your stay in College accommodation, your reception will be able to provide you with the contact details of the relevant manager. We hope you enjoy your time living in halls of residence at Royal Holloway.
The text of this booklet can be made available in alternative formats. Please contact your reception should you require a format that is more accessible for you.
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Your contract
UUK
The small print is important
The College has been formally accredited under the UUK Code of Practice, also known as the Student Accommodation Code, which is one of the approved codes of practice for Higher Education “managed and controlled” accommodation under the Housing Act 2004.
By moving into university accommodation, you (the tenant) are entering into a legal agreement with Royal Holloway (the landlord). You should have read the Licence to Occupy terms and conditions before applying for or accepting our offer of accommodation. These terms and conditions, with the offer details, form the basis of your student accommodation contract. These terms and conditions are designed to make residential life pleasant and safe for everyone. Acceptance of the offer of accommodation creates a licence to occupy residential premises let by the College. Violation of any of the regulations may result in a fine, removal from residence and/or disciplinary action under the College General Regulations for Students. royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/ accommodation/termsconditions.aspx For all contract enquiries, contact the Student Accommodation team at studentaccommodation@royalholloway.ac.uk or call 01784 443338
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The Code outlines notable practice and provides benchmarks for the management and quality of student housing in the sector. Details can be found at the UUK website thesac.org.uk
Receptions
Student Services Centre
There are four receptions at Royal Holloway, each serving different halls of residence. Receptions are here to help and advise you about all issues to do with your room including maintenance issues, lost keys and lock outs.
If you have a question and don’t know who to ask, the Student Services Centre team will be happy to help you. We provide information and advice on a number of key areas including replacement College Cards, fees and funding, student status certificates, examinations and travel concessions.
You should also enquire at receptions about vacation accommodation and storage facilities if you require these. Founder’s reception is for residents of Founder’s. Opening hours: 8am-10pm Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm at weekends Telephone: 01784 443052
Find us in the Windsor Building royalholloway.ac.uk/ssc email: student-enquiries@royalholloway.ac.uk Telephone: 01784 276641
The Hub is the reception for residents of Reid, Runnymede, Gowar, Wedderburn, Williamson, Tuke and Butler - often collectively referred to as the ‘New halls’. Opening hours: 7am-10pm every day Telephone: 01784 443285 Highfield reception is for residents of Highfield and Penrose – these are known as the ‘North A30’ halls. Opening hours: 9am-5pm Monday-Friday Telephone: 01784 443440 Kingswood reception is for residents of Kingswood I and II. Opening hours: 7am-10pm every day Telephone: 01784 435331 You can email the receptions at customerservices@royalholloway.ac.uk
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Security College Security operate 24 hours a day throughout the whole year, patrolling campus on foot and in vehicles, responding to calls and monitoring suspicious or disruptive behaviour on CCTV cameras. You should call 01784 443063 at any time if you need help or have an emergency. Why not put this number into your mobile now? You should contact security if: • you call the emergency services (dialling 999) on to Campus so they can meet and direct them, helping the emergency team to reach you more quickly • you are concerned about any suspicious behaviour • you are involved in an incident on any of our premises • you are a victim of theft or inappropriate behaviour • you require first aid.
Surrey is one of the safest counties in the UK, however you should still take the usual security precautions when living in halls of residence that you would when living at home: • make a note of the serial numbers of valuable items, such as laptops and bicycles and register them at immobilise.com • collect a free personal safety alarm from Support & Advisory Services in Founder’s West • remember to lock doors and windows when you go out and don’t leave valuables on show! Draw your curtains when you are out if you are in a ground floor room • insure your personal belongings as these are not covered by university insurance. Security are also responsible for traffic management and car parking on College property. Students living at Kingswood, may apply for a permit to park at their hall of residence. Students living on the main campus and North A30 are not permitted to bring a car to College or keep a car in the local area. Go to royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/ campuslife/gettingaround for details.
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Fire & safety You should familiarise yourself with the fire escape routes and assembly points for your hall of residence. A practice evacuation drill will be carried out at all halls soon after the start of the academic year. All halls have a weekly fire alarm test at the same time every week. The schedule for your hall can be found at the entrance to your building. If the fire alarm sounds at any other time you must leave the building immediately and go to the assembly point. To avoid causing unnecessary fire alarms: • keep your bathroom or shower room door shut when showering • don’t use aerosols near the smoke detectors
A few general safety points to remember: • all buildings at Royal Holloway are non-smoking • candles and other naked flames are not allowed in halls of residence • you may not use any gas or electrical cooking equipment in your bedroom • you must keep cooking attended at all times • you must not remove window restrictors • you should only use electrical appliances requiring less than 500 watts in the sockets in your room. • your electrical items should be new or have an up to date PAT certificate.
• keep your kitchen/pantry fire door closed. We expect you to be aware of basic fire safety. You must always behave responsibly and never put yourself or others at risk. It is a criminal offence and a very serious breach of College regulations to: • start a fire • smoke in a non-smoking area (including e-cigarettes or shisha pipes) • activate a fire alarm for no reason • tamper with or move fire safety equipment • prop open doors with fire extinguishers.
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Maintenance
Be a good neighbour
If anything is broken or damaged in your room, you should report it as soon as possible to your hall reception or housekeeper who will log your request with the Maintenance team.
For most hall residents, this will be the first time you have lived away from home and with others (apart from family) in a shared environment. Our campus is a vibrant and diverse community and living in halls should be good fun and a great way to get the most out of your university experience.
We have a ‘service level agreement’ which is available on request from any reception. For the majority of ‘non emergency’ jobs we will aim to respond as soon as we can – this should be no longer than three working days. Once you have requested works to be completed in your room, we will need access to your room. Should you not be in when we call, we will enter and leave a card to let you know that we have attended. We will take the request for maintenance as permission to enter the room as necessary to investigate or resolve the issue and a record of staff members entering student bedrooms will be kept. There are a number of regular works and service contracts operated by Maintenance which means that additional access to flats and rooms may be required such as: • water quality monitoring • PAT testing • maintenance MOTs • boiler checks • feminine hygiene bin clearing. For planned maintenance we will give you seven days’ notice of the need to enter your room. For urgent work we will endeavour to provide 24 hours’ notice unless the work requires immediate action. Contractors and Maintenance staff will be uniformed and carrying ID.
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Royal Holloway seeks to create a positive, inclusive atmosphere, based on respect for diversity within the College and has policies governing discrimination and equal opportunities which can be found at royalholloway.ac.uk/aboutus/ governancematters Top tips: • remember the 3 C’s: Consideration, Compromise, Communication. • be respectful of the belongings, customs and needs of others. Guests A guest is anyone who doesn’t live in your room or flat, and they must leave by 11pm. Residents are responsible for the behavior of their guests at all times. Guests shouldn’t be unattended or given key cards.
Residential support
Housekeeping
Residential Support Assistants (RSAs) are trained student volunteers who live in halls with other students and have experience of student life and living in halls previously.
Each hall has a housekeeper. They are here to ensure the building is kept clean, well maintained and meets our health and safety standards. They will carry out regular room checks, the dates of which will be displayed in your kitchen or pantry, and will speak with you if they have any concerns with your bedroom or communal areas.
There are seven teams of RSAs and they may visit you for several reasons including: • if we are concerned about you • if there is a noise disturbance • if there is a fire activation • if there are reports of inappropriate behaviour • if we believe there has been a breach of regulations. RSAs also host flat meetings to help flat mates/roommates solve any issues they may be having. Please respect their role by following their advice and providing your College identification if requested. They will be identified by a purple t-shirt and ID card. The Student Life team provides the following services to hall residents, just get in touch for more information:
The housekeeping team will clean all communal areas in halls of residence every day, Monday to Friday. These areas include shared bathrooms, showers and toilets, halls, corridors, stairs, kitchens and pantries. You are responsible for keeping your own bedroom and your en-suite (if you have one) clean. You will need to provide your own cleaning materials, however a vacuum cleaner and dustpan & brush are available for your use. You must also do all of your own washing up! Please do not pour hot fat down the sink. Instead, you should pour it into a suitable container, wait for it to harden and dispose of it in the general waste.
• hall welfare – support & advice on a variety of issues e.g. living with others, emergency problems, homesickness
Tap water in all kitchens and pantries is safe to drink.
• hall social events – we organise a range of social events to promote integration & community in halls
When you first move into your hall of residence you must complete a room inventory at royalholloway.ac.uk/inventory
• hall discipline – encouraging you to follow the few rules and regulations that are in place for your safety and happy hall life. To stay up to date with events on Campus, why not join RHULCampusLife on Facebook or follow @RHULCampusLife on Twitter?
Inventory
This outlines the condition of your bedroom when you moved in and lets us know about any issues you have. If you do not complete your inventory it will be assumed that everything in your room is in full, working condition and anything found not working or damaged when you move out will be charged to you.
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Waste & recycling There is a mixed recycling bin in all kitchens/ pantries with a clear plastic liner. This is for: • paper • card • plastic cups, bottles, cartons, yoghurt pots etc. • drinks cans, food cans, aluminium trays and foil • glass • domestic aerosol cans (not hazardous sprays such as insecticides) • clean food packaging. It is the collective responsibility of residents to take the recycling bag to the waste collection area located near your halls. Please use the rota form displayed in each kitchen to help achieve this. Battery recycling boxes and print cartridge recycling boxes are available in most buildings. Caddies will be provided in all kitchens and pantries for the disposal of food waste. Food and other items must never be thrown out of windows.
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Starbucks takeaway cups are recyclable and when empty should be placed in the mixed recycling bins. Other cups used at the College currently are not recyclable and should be placed in the general waste bins. Everything else not mentioned above should go in the general waste bin with a black plastic liner including sweet and chocolate wrappers, crisp packets and polystyrene. This will be removed by the cleaners. If you’re not sure about how to dispose of something, ask your housekeeper, your hall reception or email recycle@royalholloway.ac.uk
Healthy living One of the best things about living in halls is the easy access to facilities such as dining halls, cafés and sports facilities. Wherever you are at Royal Holloway, these facilities are only a short walk or free bus ride away. Active lifestyle & sport Taking part in sport is a great way to keep fit and to make friends when living halls of residence. Whether you want to use the gym, join a fitness class or take part in social sport, an Active lifestyle and sport membership helps you get the most out of your time at Royal Holloway. Go to royalholloway.ac.uk/sports to select the membership that is right for you and receive an online discount.
Health & wellbeing Royal Holloway is a friendly and caring community, offering a high level of student support to help you get the most out of your time here. We provide assistance to students who may need some extra support to enable them to manage their own educational and personal progression and have a range of specialist staff available. royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/welfare/ home.aspx The Health Centre, in the Founder’s Building, is a branch surgery of the Clarence Medical Centre in Windsor. With the surgery being on campus, it couldn’t be easier for you to check your health throughout the year. As a student at the College, it’s really important that you register with the Health Centre as soon as possible so you can make the most of our services throughout the year. royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/campuslife/ healthcentre/registration.aspx
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Catering There are a number of catering and retail outlets on campus, run by the College or Students’ Union. For a list of outlets and details of opening times go to royalholloway. ac.uk/ecampus/campuslife/fooddrink.aspx
Campus Account
Residents of Founder’s, Reid and Kingswood get a 50% discount on food and drink bought at Founder’s and KW’s.
All students automatically save paying the 20% (VAT) on most food and hot drinks in College-run catering outlets when using Campus Account.
For the latest catering offers and promotions join our Facebook group: Royal Holloway Campus Life.
Using your Campus Account on your College card provides the easiest saving you’ll make as a student – simply top up your account and start saving.
If you’re living in Founder’s, Reid or Kingswood you’ll receive a further 50% discount on food and drink in Founder’s and KW’s dining halls. Top up online at upay.co.uk or at one of our automatic top-up machines on campus.
Monday - Friday
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Founder’s KW’s
8am-10am Served in 8Bar9
12noon-2pm Closed
5.30pm-7.30pm 6pm-7.30pm
Saturday
Breakfast
Brunch
Dinner
Served in the Hub 11.30am-1.30pm
Served in the Hub 6pm-7.30pm
Brunch
Dinner
11.30am-1.30pm 11.30am-1.30pm
5.30pm-7.30pm 6pm-7.30pm
Founder’s KW’s
Sunday Founder’s KW’s
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–
Breakfast –
Transport The College bus
Train travel
The College operates three bus routes – serving Kingswood, Egham Station and Huntersdale (staff offices) to and from the main campus.
gham railway station is a short walk or bus E ride (see left) from the main campus. Trains run regularly to:
The Egham Station (Monday-Friday) service costs £1 each way and the Kingswood service (every day) is free. Up to date bus timetables can be found here: royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/campuslife/ gettingaround.aspx Public bus services
• London Waterloo and Reading, both of which take around 40 minutes. Other destinations served from Egham include: • Staines-upon-Thames • Twickenham • Richmond
A number of local buses stop directly outside of the main College gates, close to the Founder’s Building. Services include routes to the following local destinations:
• Ascot
• Chertsey, St Peter’s Hospital
Public bus services
• Egham • Englefield Green
• Bracknell • Weybridge If you need a taxi, please ask at reception for the phone numbers of local firms.
• Heathrow Airport • Slough • Staines-upon-Thames • Virginia Water • Windsor
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Post Letters
Parcels
If you live in halls of residence you can have your post delivered to you at the College. Mail is delivered Monday to Friday only and letters are placed in pigeon holes under your surname.
If you have been sent a parcel or an item to be signed for, you will receive an email advising that it is ready for collection. Take your College card to the following points to collect and sign for your item:
Make sure mail is addressed with your full name as shown on your College card then your room number and hall of residence, followed by:
• Founder’s: Founder’s post room 11am - 3pm Monday to Friday
• For main campus: Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX • For Kingswood: Kingswood, Coopers Hill Lane, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0LG • For Penrose: Highfield Road, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0SS • For Highfield: Highfield Road, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0TB If you are not sure where your post point is, ask at your hall reception.
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• New halls: Hub post room 10am – 1pm or 2pm-5pm Monday - Friday • Penrose and Highfield: Highfield reception during opening hours • Kingswood: Kingswood reception during opening hours Please note that during busy periods the post room can handle over 500 parcels a day and it is not always possible to process deliveries as soon as they arrive on Campus.
i Royal Holloway, University of London Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX T: 01784 434455 royalholloway.ac.uk