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In order to be eligible for on-campus housing, a student must be enrolled full time (12 credit hours or more). Students who wish to live on campus and are enrolled for less than the minimum number of hours must obtain advance approval from the Director of Residence Life or Assistant Director of Residence Life.

Housing on the Â鶹´«Ã½ campus is reserved for students whose home campus is Dahlonega. However, students who attend other Â鶹´«Ã½ campuses may be eligible to live in Â鶹´«Ã½ housing if space permits.

The contract defines the terms and conditions of occupancy of the specific housing style. Each year, residents are required to complete a new housing contract on the . 

All Students

All students who have completed a housing contract with Residence Life at the Â鶹´«Ã½ are bound to the terms of the housing contract and are responsible for payment of all room fees for the full length of the housing contract. Should a student decide to cancel a current housing contract prior to the end of the contract term, the student must complete a Housing Cancellation Request Form (PDF).

Students may find additional information on the Residence Life frequently asked questions or contact Residence Life.

Students choose their housing assignment through available rooms on the housing portal. Students may select roommates through the roommate matching process in the housing portal, and roommates must reserve the same room/suite/apartment in the housing portal in order to live together.

Students who apply for housing after the roommate matching period closes may choose their own room and should review roommate matches prior to selecting a space. Housing assignments for students who are placed on a waiting list for housing are assigned on a space available basis. Housing assignments made by the Residence Life staff are made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.

The room change period September 1 - September 30 for the fall semester and February 1 - February 28 for spring semester.

Students are encouraged to submit their requests via the Room Change Request Form on Â鶹´«Ã½ Connect. Residence Life will process these requests as they arrive and will send out room offers throughout the period until it ends. Students should anticipate receiving several updates in their Â鶹´«Ã½ student email and are advised to respond promptly to ensure a smooth room change experience.

Contact Residence Life for more information.

The Office of Residence Life may consolidate residents without roommates/suitemates in each residence hall. In the event that a resident is left without a roommate, the Office of Residence Life will decide whether to assign them to a different room or another roommate.

All residents will be assigned a specific timeframe to check-in on the assigned date. Upon arrival, each resident must check in with a Resident Assistant in his/her assigned building. Students who are unable to check in during this time should contact the Residence Life Office at 706-864-1902.

Traditional Residence Halls

Residents are expected to check out of the traditional residence halls at the end of each semester within twenty-four hours of their last scheduled exam. Check-out procedures will be published and distributed within the last two weeks of each semester. Any resident remaining in the building after the residence halls are scheduled to close will be assessed an improper checkout fine. Residents are NOT required to remove their belongings between fall & spring semesters unless they are changing rooms.

In addition to closing between semesters, the traditional residence halls will close for fall break and spring break. Students must plan in advance and make other housing arrangements during these times.

North Georgia Suites, The Commons & Owen Hall

North Georgia Suites and The Commons will close for the summer at the end of spring semester. Non-cadet residents living in Patriot Hall must also vacate the building at the end of spring semester. Dining services will end at the end of spring semester. Residents may have the opportunity to complete a summer housing contract for NG Suites if they would like summer housing. Owen Hall closes to all residents on the last day of the summer term or the last Friday in July for students who are not enrolled in summer classes if summer classes complete beyond July 31.

Residents who leave items after their checkout will be charged a minimum of $25 for few items and a maximum of $250 for many items. All food items will be thrown away along with any items that are deemed unsanitary. Other items will be stored no more than 30 days.

Each resident is responsible for the condition of their room and for all the furnishings within their room during the time that they are assigned to the room. At the initial check-in, each resident will complete an online Room Condition Report that lists any damages that exist in the room, apartment, or suite. Upon checking out of the room, the resident will check out of the room with their RA. Any damages or changes in the room status will be noted on the Room Condition Form.

The university at its sole discretion will determine charges for damages and/or cleaning. Residents may not complete repairs and replacements of items, including painting. Failure to pay damage charges will result in a hold being placed on a student’s records, which prevents the student from registering, obtaining transcripts, or receiving a diploma.

When two or more students share a room, each resident is equally responsible for the condition of the space, including its contents, noise levels and activities, and any damages that occur. Similarly, residents of apartments and suites share equal responsibility for damages or issues in the common areas of their living space. If a student has concerns about potential policy violations or damages, it is their responsibility to report these concerns to their RA, Residence Life Coordinator, or the Director of Residence Life.

Each student room is provided with certain items of furniture. Students may not move additional items into their rooms from public areas of the halls or from other student rooms. Students may not remove items that are furnished by the university. Students may not put any room/apartment/suite items into the hallways.

To ensure the residents’ security, each residence hall is locked at all times. Residents of the building have access 24 hours per day through the use of their Nighthawks card. Propping building doors breaches campus security and any students found propping doors will face disciplinary action. Residence Life strongly recommends that residents lock their rooms when leaving for any amount of time.

To protect residents, Â鶹´«Ã½ maintains an access control system in each residence hall.  Each external door remains locked from the outside under normal, non-emergency circumstances. Students may exit the residence halls through any door, but card readers only reside on the external doors with the most visibility. In addition to the residents of the specific building, limited authorized personnel may enter the residence halls.

Focusing on a defense-in-depth philosophy, Â鶹´«Ã½ also uses devices to record activity at each door in the residence halls. The external door will trigger an audible prop alarm whenever they are held or propped open. RAs on duty monitor these incidents and control the prop alarms. Prop alarms and external door activity is also monitored by Public Safety at the Communications Center.

Each student in on-campus apartments or suite-style housing is offered the option of checking out a key to their assigned bedroom at move-in. Â鶹´«Ã½ prohibits use of this key by any person other than the resident to whom the key is assigned. If a key is lost, it must be reported to the Residence Life Office so that the lock can be changed for security purposes. The student is responsible for the lock and key replacement cost of $50. Students gain access to suites, apartments, and traditional residence hall rooms with their Nighthawks Card. 

Use of a Nighthawks Card by any person other than the student to whom the Nighthawks Card belongs is a violation of the University Student Code of Conduct.  

The loss of a Nighthawks Card should be reported to Â鶹´«Ã½ Card Services.

Â鶹´«Ã½ officials, including Residence Life staff, reserve the right to enter a student’s room—locked or unlocked—at any time when deemed necessary, including but not limited to: 

• Policy enforcement 
• Maintenance of safe living conditions 
• Room improvements 
• Routine maintenance inspections 
• Health and safety checks 
• Emergency situations that jeopardize the wellbeing of the occupant or others in the residence hall 

All incoming freshmen residents are required to honor community hours for the first two weeks of fall semester. Community Hours are designed to enhance the relationships that residents create with their neighbors while living in the residence halls. Community Hours begin at 10:15 p.m. Sunday through Thursdays. There are no Community Hours on Friday and Saturday nights.

If residents need to return after Community Hours or need to spend the night elsewhere, they must receive permission from their Residence Life Coordinator prior to missing Community Hours.

If a resident works off campus, they must reschedule work time so that they can maintain Community Hours. If this is not possible, the resident must be prepared to show proof to the Residence Life Coordinator that they have to work those hours, including proof of employment and proof of the need to work during Community Hours. If a resident breaks Community Hours, he/she will be referred to the Residence Life Coordinator or the Director of Residence Life.

To support a positive living and learning environment, each residence hall will observe quiet hours from 10 p.m. – 10 a.m.

Courtesy hours are in effect at all other times. Please keep noise to a respectful level, and honor any request from a fellow resident for a quieter environment.

During final exam week, 24-hour quiet hours will be enforced to help everyone focus and rest. Please be extra mindful of your neighbors and keep volume at a minimum around the clock. This is your community’s way of supporting each other through a stressful week.

All flyers posted in the residence halls must meet the following guidelines:

• Sponsorship Required: Flyers must be sponsored by a Â鶹´«Ã½-recognized student organization or University department/office.
• Content Standards: Flyers must not contain content that violates the Â鶹´«Ã½ Student Code of Conduct, any local, state, or federal laws, or promote illegal activity.
• No Desk/Furniture Drops: To keep the halls clean and running smoothly, flyers may not be left on desks, furniture, or other common areas for residents to pick up.
• Posting Procedures: Only Residence Life staff may post flyers in the residence halls. Staff will also remove any outdated flyers or those not posted in accordance with these guidelines.

Submission Instructions

To have your flyer posted:

• Bring 16 copies to the Residence Life Office
• Deadline: No later than 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday
• Posting Day: Flyers will be posted on Wednesdays

All guests must be escorted by their host at all times and check in at the front desk, regardless of sex or residence hall.

Visitation Hours

• Donovan Hall, Lewis Hall & Annex, North Georgia Suites, non-cadet Patriot Hall, The Commons:
  • Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. – Midnight
  • Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 a.m.
• Owen Hall:
  • Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. – Midnight
  • Friday 10 a.m. – Sunday Midnight (continuous weekend visitation)

• It is the resident's responsibility to register their overnight guest at the RA desk. Overnight guests must be at least 17 years of age. Overnight guests must not stay more than three consecutive nights or more than five nights in any semester.
• Residents in Owen Hall may have overnight guests of the opposite sex on Friday and Saturday nights only, but overnight guests in any other residence hall must be same-sex.
• Roommates must have prior knowledge and approve all overnight guests. 

Residence Life allows individuals and groups of students to reserve common spaces within or around the residence halls at no fee. However, reservations must be made via the Residence Life Office and must include a resident host and contact information as well as a specific date and times of reservation.  Residence Life reserves the right to adjust or cancel reservations when necessary. Any group reserving space in the residence halls must abide by Â鶹´«Ã½ and Residence Life policies. 

To help maintain a safe and healthy living environment, Resident Assistants (RAs) will inspect all rooms on their hall every two months at a time determined by the Residence Life Coordinator. These health and safety checks are not room searches—they are simply to ensure the well-being of residents and the condition of the building.

What RAs will look for:

• Overall cleanliness and sanitary conditions
• Prohibited items (e.g., candles, appliances, alcohol bottles)
• Signs of pets
• Open food that could attract bugs
• Mold or mildew
• Damaged outlets or light fixtures
• Fire or safety hazards

Reporting Maintenance Issues

• If issues are found that aren’t caused by the resident, they will be reported to Â鶹´«Ã½ Facilities by Residence Life staff or by using QR codes posted in common areas of each residence hall.

Follow-Up Inspections

If a Residence Life or Facilities staff member enters a room, suite, or apartment and finds unsafe or unsanitary conditions, residents will receive an email notification. A follow-up inspection will occur within 24 hours.

Suite & Apartment Style Housing

Residents living in suite- or apartment-style housing are strongly encouraged to create and post a cleaning schedule for shared bathroom areas (and kitchen areas in Owen Hall). This helps Residence Life determine who is responsible if unsanitary conditions are found.

To align with and ensure the health and safety of our campus community, the following procedures will be followed for students presenting with respiratory symptoms: 

• Any student experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, congestion) should be directed to Student Health Services for evaluation. 
• Students with a fever of 100.5°F or higher and respiratory symptoms in the absence of positive test results may be presumed to have influenza or a similar viral illness. 
• Depending on symptoms and diagnosis, students may be instructed to go home when possible. Students who are unable to go home will be given instructions to follow to prevent the spread of illness on campus. 

With the student’s permission, Student Health Services will notify roommates if there is a positive flu or covid diagnosis. Roommates will be provided with appropriate respiratory illness guidance. 

Student Health Services may provide documentation for an excused absence and a return-to-class date when medically appropriate. This determination is based on the student’s symptoms and clinical evaluation. If the student continues to experience fever or worsening symptoms, a follow-up appointment is required to assess the need to extend the absence. Please note that excused absences are not automatically granted and are subject to the discretion of the healthcare provider. 

Â鶹´«Ã½ prohibits burning candles, incense, or any other product in the residence halls. Any appliance with an exposed heating element is also prohibited. Do not bring these items to campus. All ironing is to be done in the laundry room in traditional residence halls and suites. To prevent serious accidents in the event of a fire, students must keep hallways clear at all times. In addition, no more than 20% of wall space may be covered and nothing on the walls or doors should be touching the floor or ceiling. For more information on fire safety, see the Student Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook. Other items prohibited from the residence halls:

• Refrigerators larger than 1.7 amps
• Coffee makers without automatic shut-off feature
• Extension cords that are not UL approved (must have three prongs)
• Outside antennas or altered wiring system
• Electrical cords in poor condition
• Candles/incense 
• Shoes or other items left in hallways
• Fireworks/sparklers 

Each residential student, age 18 or above, has the option to identify, via the Â鶹´«Ã½ Housing Portal, a person to be contacted by Public Safety the same as the emergency contact listed for the student. Students under the age of 18 who are not emancipated will be informed each academic year that the institution is required to notify the custodial parent not later than 24 hours after the time the student is deemed to be missing.

Residence Life employees receiving a report of a missing student must immediately notify Public Safety (University Police) at 706-864-1500.

Public Safety will investigate the missing person report and determine if the student is missing and has been missing for more than 24 hours. Circumstances may include:

• A Student is out of contact after reasonable efforts have been made to reach the student, via phone, email, text, and visits to on-campus room;
• Conditions that may indicate an act of criminality is involved;
• Existence of physical/mental disability indicating the student’s physical safety could be in danger.
• Conditions that may indicate physical safety is in danger;
• Conditions become known that indicate medicine dependence may threaten health; and/or:

If the student is deemed missing for more than 24 hours, Public Safety will notify the student’s confidential contact no later than 24 hours after the student is determined to be missing. For students under the age of 18 who are not emancipated, Public Safety will notify the custodial parent not later than 24 hours after the time the student is deemed to be missing.

In the event of severe weather, students who have registered should receive notification via Â鶹´«Ã½ Emergency Notification System. Residence life staff may also issue severe weather warnings which may require student response and/or compliance. Students should heed these warnings. Failure to comply with the instructions of a member of the residence life staff will result in disciplinary referral.

To ensure a safe and comfortable living environment, all maintenance issues should be reported promptly to the appropriate university personnel.

Laundry Machines

• If a laundry machine is not working properly, scan the QR code located directly on that machine to report the issue.

General Maintenance (Rooms, Apartments, or Common Areas)

• Use the QR codes posted in common areas to report general maintenance concerns related to your room, apartment, or hall.
• If the problem is not resolved in a timely manner, contact your Resident Assistant (RA). They will follow up with the appropriate university staff.

What to Include in Your Maintenance Request

To help us resolve the issue quickly, please include:

• A clear description of the problem
• The exact location (room number, hallway, laundry room, etc.)
• Your name, so the facilities team can reach out if more information is needed

Â鶹´«Ã½ does not have adequate space for storing residents’ extra belongings.  There is no summer storage available for students returning the following year.

Â鶹´«Ã½ Facilities staff paints the rooms in the residence halls on a rotating basis, as funds are available.  Students are not allowed to paint nor wallpaper their rooms.

Students are welcome to bring bicycles, scooters, and other personal transportation devices to campus, but must follow these guidelines:

• Non-motorized bicycles are permitted in student rooms, but may not be ridden or stored in hallways, lobbies, stairwells, or other common areas.
• Bicycles must not be locked to railings or placed in a way that blocks sidewalks, entrances, or building access.
• Outdoor bike racks are available outside each residence hall and should be used at all times when storing bikes outside.
• Bicycles left unattended in residence hall common areas will be turned over to the Department of Public Safety.

At the end of the semester or when moving out, students are expected to take all bicycles, scooters, and other personal transportation items with them. Any items left behind will be considered abandoned and will be confiscated by Public Safety.

Proper trash disposal helps keep our residence halls clean and safe. Please follow these guidelines based on your housing style:

• Suite and Apartment-Style Housing:
  • Residents must take their trash to the designated dumpsters located near each building.
• Traditional Residence Halls:
  • Residents should place bagged trash in the designated hallway receptacles for custodial staff to remove.
• Do not place trash directly in hallways.

Dumpster Locations

• North Georgia Suites: Parking lot near the Health & Natural Sciences Building
• Owen Hall: At the end of the south wing
•  Patriot Hall: Behind the building

To maintain a safe and healthy environment for all residents, animals are not permitted in the residence halls, with the sole exception of fish kept in properly maintained aquariums of 10 gallons or less.

Comfort and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)

Students approved to have a Comfort or Emotional Support Animal through the university’s accommodation process must adhere to the following:

• Roommate Notification: Residence Life will notify roommates of the presence, type, and size of the approved animal.
• Roommates who are uncomfortable may request a room change through Residence Life.
• Exclusion Criteria: A Comfort or Emotional Support Animal may be excluded from campus housing if it:
  • Poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others
  • Causes or is likely to cause substantial property damage
  • Imposes an undue financial or administrative burden
  • Results in a fundamental alteration of university programs or services

Learn more about Â鶹´«Ã½'s guidelines for Service and Emotional Support Animals on campus.

Possession and or use of fireworks and/or sparklers are prohibited in the residence halls of the Â鶹´«Ã½.

Students are prohibited from the possession of firearms, ammunition, or other dangerous instruments in the residence halls. This includes knives longer than 2”.  By federal law, no firearms will be permitted in the residence halls at any time.

Tobacco use is not allowed anywhere on campus.

This includes all forms of tobacco and vaping devices. Â鶹´«Ã½ is committed to maintaining a 100% tobacco-free environment for the health and well-being of our community.

Use and/or possession of illegal drugs and narcotics is against State and University regulations and is not permitted on the university campus.  All drug paraphernalia is prohibited in the residence halls.  Failure to follow this policy will result in immediate referral for disciplinary action.

Â鶹´«Ã½ prohibits the consumption, possession, or transportation of alcoholic beverages by any student under legal age. Consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages on university premises or at university sponsored activities, except when authorized at social functions in designated areas is also prohibited regardless of a person’s age.  Being in an intoxicated condition as made manifest by disorderly, obscene, or indecent conduct or appearance is prohibited, regardless of age.  Alcohol paraphernalia is also prohibited in the residence halls.