The Roommate Agreement Process

Resident Education and Development (RED) staff will work with each set of roommates to develop a roommate agreement, a set of written guidelines about how that room will function.  Development of an effective agreement requires honest sharing of feelings and preferences, careful listening, and willingness to compromise on the part of all roommates.  Roommate agreement content varies, depending on the hall to which one is assigned. Despite some variation, however, all roommate agreements should address at least the following elements:

Hours for sleep, study, and socializing in the room
Standards of cleanliness and neatness
Division of space
Decoration of the room
Division of responsibility for chores (trash, dishes, etc.)
Etiquette regarding visitors
Etiquette regarding telephone use and messages
Use of others’ property (clothes, food, supplies, etc.)
Use of alcohol (if applicable)
Expectations for addressing concerns, conflicts, or failure to abide by the agreement

Each set of roommates is required to complete an agreement at the start of the year with the assistance and participation of the resident advisor (RA). A new agreement may be re-negotiated at any time for any reason, and one must be completed (from scratch) each time a new roommate is assigned to the room. Failure to participate in the roommate agreement process in a timely manner may result in referral to the judicial process.