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Parents and Families of Resident Students

We want to welcome you to the Monmouth University family. Having a family member live on campus is a crucial part of their college experience. Being a resident student allows your student to grow as an individual, learn about others, attend meetings and programs, have leadership opportunities, and form a home away from home. The Office of Residential Life is here to help your student succeed here at Monmouth and prepare for their life after college. Our office is prepared to help you serve as another resource for your student when they have questions for you!

ABC’s of Residential Life

Have you heard such terms as RA or AC and have no idea what they mean? Here are some acronyms your student may begin to start using!

– FERPA – Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. This federal law is to protect your student’s information.

– HRA – Head Resident Assistant. This is a senior student staff member that lives in the residence halls.

– RA – Resident Assistant. They are student staff that live on each floor to offer guidance, help, and programming.

– AC – Area Coordinator. They are full time professional staff responsible for overseeing the residence halls and the student staff assigned to the building.

– MUPD – Monmouth University Police Department. They are a fully commissioned police department there to protect and serve the campus community.

– ORL – Office of Residential Life. This department is responsible for all University sponsored housing facilities.

– RCR – Room Condition Report. This document is completed when residents move in and is a record of the condition of their room.

– RHA – Residence Hall Association. Student group advocating for the needs and wants of residential students. Offers various programs to residential students. All welcome to join. They meet weekly on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. in the Mullaney Hall Lounge!

Seasonal Concerns That Your Student May Face

These are some common issues we see during the fall semester. Remember that these are not true for all students, but if they are a concern for your student, we have support and help on campus.

September:

  • Getting adjusted to college life and feeling lonely/homesick
  • Anxiety about perceived restrictions and policies
  • Roommate conflicts
  • Money management struggles
  • Experimentation with drugs and alcohol
  • Questions about how to get involved on campus
  • Feeling disconnected from their peers and desire to fit in
  • Long distance relationships strain

October:

  • First year students begin to realize college life is not as perfect as they might have thought
  • Conflicts between friends in the building and on the floor
  • Fall behind in class work and need for contact with instructors
  • Anticipation of midterms and fear of failure

November:

  • Roommate problems and floor tensions
  • Academic pressure is beginning to mount because of procrastination, difficulty of work, and lack of ability– burnout!
  • Problems from increased alcohol consumption
  • Potential for depression may begin
  • Job search stress over finding a winter break job
  • Lack of initiative to find new friends or new activities

December:

  • Financial strain due to holiday gifts and travel costs
  • Excitement about returning home for some students, and dread for others
  • Much panic, anxiety and cramming as finals approach, papers are due, and tempers are high
  • Increased alcohol and drug use
  • Religious and family conflicts

January

  • Readjustment of priorities after receiving final grades for the Fall semester
  • Looking for a fresh start to a new semester
  • Resurfacing of issues with roommate that were never addressed from the previous semester
  • Homesickness

February

  • Planning for housing for the following year (Housing Selection for the following year will be underway)
  • Anxiety about Spring Break Plans
  • Seasonal Depression (days are still short and cabin fever is quickly setting in)

March

  • Spring Break plans must be finalized
  • Conflicts arise due to changes in housing plans for the following year
  • Mid-terms begin to take its toll on students stress

April

  • The weather finally begins to warm up and distractions will begin to arise with the longer days
  • Housing Selection will be taking place and decisions must be made regarding roommates, suitemates, apartmentmates, etc.

May

  • Stress about Finals
  • Anxiety about leaving friends and going home
  • Planning for the summer

Who Is Around in the Halls?

Often we have families ask about safety and staff in the halls. Hopefully, this can help clear things up. Each residence hall has student staff assigned to it and a professional staff member that oversees it.

Typically, there is at least one Resident Assistant (RA) on each floor. Their role is to be a presence on the floor, help build community, implement programs for the floor and building, be a resource and guide for questions and concerns, and to share in a duty rotation. There is at least one RA on duty every night in each building beginning at 8pm. They sit lobby hours 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. where they distribute mail, answer questions, and sign in guests. After 10pm they can be found in their room or common area for the remainder of the night. The RA’s on duty do rounds of the building to check in with residents and address any concerns. If your student has a problem, question or concern and their RA isn’t available they should seek out the RA on duty. The information of who is on duty and their contact information is located in the lobby of their building.

Each building also has an Area Coordinator (AC) that is responsible for supervising the RA staff, communicates with the custodial staff and is available for the residents.

We have student Desk Assistants (DA’s) that monitor the front door to most of our buildings from 8 p.m. – 1 a.m. and sign in guests. A guest may be another Monmouth University student from another building or a friend from home. The guest needs to show photo identification at the front desk and be accompanied by the resident; the resident is then responsible for their guest.

In the first year living areas, we also have Safety Officers that sit at the front desk to sign in guests. They are hired and trained through the police department. Their main roles are to sign in guests and be an added presence from 9pm-6am Tuesday through Saturday.

Monmouth University Police Department (MUPD) may be seen in the residence halls to help with a situation, for a safety check or doing a walk through. They are a fully commissioned police department with full police powers.

And finally, we have custodial staff. There is at least one custodial staff member assigned to each building. Their roles vary with the different building styles. Typically, they are responsible for the cleanliness and general maintenance of the halls. Your student is still responsible for the cleanliness of their room though! And in some buildings the students are responsible for their bathrooms as well. If your student has a custodial issue they can see their RA, AC or put in a work order online.

How Can I Help My Student?

We all want to help, especially when we get a frantic phone call about an issue our student is facing. Here are some tips on how to help your student!

If your student is having trouble with:

Their roommate/suitemate/floormate: ask if they have talked to the person directly yet, see if they have told their RA about their concern, ask if they have made a roommate contract, or if they have seen their Area Coordinator. Most roommate concerns are easily addressed with face to face communication.

A facility concern: ask if they have put in a work order. They can submit one online at https://www.monmouth.edu/serviceorder or through the Residential Life web site. If it still has not been addressed have your student talk to their RA or Area Coordinator.

Late Night Noise: ask if they have told the RA on duty or if they addressed it themselves, see if they brought it up at a floor meeting, or if they have discussed it with their RA or Area Coordinator. Quiet hours begin at 10 p.m. or 12 midnight (depending on the day) but there is always 24 hour courtesy hours.

Getting adjusted: homesickness is something we see regularly. Listen to your student and find out the real cause– missing family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, not fitting in, bored. Have them talk to their RA or Area Coordinator who can better help them with those concerns and refer them to other resources.

Boredom: Ask your student who they have met and what they have done! Monmouth University has over 75 student run clubs and organizations, Greek Life, sporting events and tons of programs. There is always something going on around campus! A copy of the student activity calendar and a list of organizations can be found off of the Student Activities web site.

Mail: If your student is expecting a package or letter remind them to check their mailbox (located in the lobby of their building). The RA on duty distributes mail every night between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.. Mail service may take a day or two longer than at home so remind them to be patient and to check their mailbox daily.

Encourage your student to address their concerns on their own. What they may tell you might be different than what they tell their RA. Although we have a lot of staff in the residence halls, we do not know about every concern so it is important they tell us how we can better support them. Follow up with your student. Sometimes your student needs to vent but the next day they are over the problem. So take a deep breath and follow up with your student in a day or two.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is housing guaranteed?

Housing at Monmouth University is only guaranteed to incoming freshmen who submit their housing deposit and contract by May 1. After May 1, housing is not guaranteed but the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will do its best to accommodate all requests received after this deadline. There will be a waitlist generated in order of deposit. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

On campus housing is required for First-Year and Sophomore Students unless a student is living in the home of the parent/guardian.  Housing is guaranteed to out of state students which may be University owned housing, located off-campus their junior and senior year.

How do students get assigned roommates? Can they choose a roommate?

For their first-year, when students submit a housing deposit and complete a housing contract, they will also complete a questionnaire about their living and personal habits (hobbies, musical tastes, cleanliness, etc.). Based on the questionnaire, Residential Life staff will pair up roommates. If a student has a friend that they want to live with instead of being randomly assigned, they may indicate their preferred roommate’s name on their housing contract. Both roommates must indicate the other student’s names on their housing contract. This information must be received by May 1. The Office of Residential Life recommends that students consider NOT living with a friend from home so they can meet more students and challenge themselves to step out of their comfort zones. Remember, going to school with someone for eight hours a day is much different than living with them for an entire school year! For their sophomores year and on, students can choose their roommate(s) during the housing selection process. If they do not have a roommate to live with, a random student may be assigned.

Are the residence halls air conditioned?

All of our residence halls are NOT air conditioned. Only some of the buildings have air conditioning. If you require special housing accommodations that involve air conditioning, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 732-571-3460 by May 1. The air conditioning is typically turned off within the first couple of weeks of the semester since the weather tends to cool off mid-September.

Can we bring our own refrigerator? Microwave? Coffeemaker?

Students are permitted to bring a refrigerator up to 3.2 cubic feet in size.  Keurigs and other single serve k-cup type coffee makers are permitted. Students can rent a Microfridge which is a refrigerator and microwave unit.   Stand-alone microwaves and all other appliances are not permitted in the residence halls.  There is a microwave located in the lobby/lounges of each residence hall for students to use.  For a full list of permitted and prohibited items, please check the Residential Life website.

How safe is the campus and the residence halls?

All residence halls are locked 24-hours a day/7 days a week.  Students will use their ID card to access their assigned residence hall.  They will also receive a key to access their room.  In addition, Residential Life hires students to work as Desk Assistants to monitor and sign in guests in the residence halls.  The Monmouth University Police Department is a fully commissioned police department responsible for monitoring and patrolling campus 24-hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year.

The Office of Residential Life hires and trains undergraduate students to serve as Resident Assistants (RAs) on each floor.  This staff member is available to assist students in their transition to living on-campus and helps ensure the safety of all residents.  Each hall has a full-time staff member assigned to oversee the students and staff.  The Area Coordinator (AC) lives on-campus and has an office in one of their residence halls.  There is a staff member available 24-hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year.

What if a student needs special housing accommodations to live in a specific type of room?

Any student who needs to request a reasonable housing accommodation based on a disability must submit a written request and submit appropriate documentation to the Department of Disability Services for Students by May 1 for new students and early March for continuing students. Requests for housing accommodations are subject to ongoing review and are considered, but not necessarily guaranteed. Disability Services for Students can be contacted at 732-571-3460 (voice) or 732-263-5795 (TTY).

Do students have to purchase a meal plan?

YES. Meal plans are required if you live in University-owned housing with the exception of apartment residents.

What is my student’s mailing address?

The mailing address for all on-campus resident students is the following:

Student Name
Monmouth University
431 Cedar Avenue
Hall and Room
West Long Branch, New Jersey 07764

Packages will be held in the Library Student mail room, and students will receive an e-mail letting them know that they have a package ready for them to pick-up. Letters, magazines, etc, will be delivered to their mailbox in the lobby by the RA each night (Monday through Friday).  Any packages not picked up after 30 days will be returned to the sender.