2012 Winter Break Housing (and Extensions)

Barnard College's residence halls close officially for Winter Break at 9am on Friday, December 21, 2012 and reopen at 9am on Saturday, January 19, 2013. If you wish to be in residence at any point during Winter Break, you must follow the instructions below to apply for permission for Winter Break Housing (or an extension). Students may not remain in housing during Winter Break without prior approval.

• Important Dates
• Eligibility for Winter Break Housing approval
• Applying for Winter Break Housing / Extension
  • Application Form
  • Approval for Winter Break
  • Requests / Approvals for Extensions
• Winter Break Fee & Waiver Requests
  • Waiver Requests
• Information for students approved to stay during Winter Break

Important Dates

Eligibility for Winter Break Housing approval

In order to be eligible for Winter Break Housing (or to request an extension), students must have an on-campus housing assignment for both Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. 

Students who are studying abroad for the Spring, graduating mid-year, or withdrawing for the Spring semester are not eligible for Winter Break Housing (and must vacate no later than 9am on Friday, December 21, 2012; no extensions are available).  Students returning from a Fall semester abroad, new Spring 2013 transfer & visiting students, and students readmitted to the College for Spring 2013 are not eligible for Winter Break Housing. 

Elliott, 616, and 620 will be completely closed from 9am on December 21 through 9am on January 14.  Residents of those buildings who wish to apply to be in residence during that time period will be responsible for locating someone (in a residence hall which will be open) who will confirm permission for the student to use their room by submitting the Winter Break Room Host Form (PDF).

Note:  Students approved for Winter Break Housing will occupy their Spring assigned room.  Students who receive a December Room Change to 616, 620, or Elliott for the Spring and wish to apply for Winter Break Housing will be responsible for locating someone (in a different residence hall) who will confirm for the student to use their room over the break. 

Applying for Winter Break Housing / Extension

Application Form

The Winter Break Housing application form will be available online starting November 19, 2012 and must be submitted no later than 4pm on Friday, December 7, 2012.  Approval is not guaranteed; students must provide information for why they are requesting to be in housing during Winter Break.

• If you are a CU student living on the BC campus, you must apply for Winter Break using the form linked above.  CU students living at Barnard are not charged the fee, but must apply in order to have permission to access their room during the break.

• If you are a BC student living on the CU campus, you will need to follow the procedures for Winter Break Housing at Columbia, see http://housingservices.columbia.edu/content/winter-break

Residents of Elliott, 616, and 620 (including students who receive December room changes to those buildings) who apply to be in housing during the first 3 weeks of Winter Break (i.e. before 9am on Monday, January 14) will be required to secure permission to stay in the room of a friend in a building which will be open by submitting the Winter Break Room Host Form (PDF) no later than 4pm on Fri, Dec 7, 2012.

Students will receive confirmation of their approval for Winter Break housing via email and must come to the Residential Life & Housing office (110 Sulzberger) between 10am on Monday, December 17, and 4pm on Wednesday, December 19, to get a Winter Break sticker for their ID.  Without this sticker on their ID, students will not be permitted to enter the residence halls while they are closed for break.  Additionally, any 616/620/Elliott resident with permission to stay in a friend's room will sign for a room key during the same time period.

Approval for Winter Break

When applying, students must provide an explanation as to why they are requesting to be in residence over Winter Break.  All requests will be reviewed on an individual basis.  Approval is not automatic and is not guaranteed.

Examples of requests that may be approved include:

• Varsity athletes in competition over break
• International students
• Students with internships or on-campus jobs

Students will not be approved for Winter Break housing if they have a balance on their account (Spring tuition & room/board payments are due by December 1).  Students may be denied approval for Winter Break for disciplinary reasons or if they are on probation.

Requests / Approvals for Extensions

Students who wish to request up to a 1-day extension to move out later than the 9am December 21 start of Winter Break must also submit the application form by the same deadline above. 

Approval for an extension is not guaranteed.  Students who are not returning to housing for the Spring semester (i.e. studying abroad, graduating mid-year, withdrawing from the College, moving out of housing, etc.) are not eligible for extensions.

Note:  Extensions are also not available for students living in Elliott, 616, or 620 (i.e. buildings that will close completely at 9am on December 21).

Students who apply for a 1-day extension prior to the application deadline (4pm on Friday, December 7, 2012) and are approved will not be charged for the extension.  Requests to be in residence longer than one day after the start of the break would be subject to an extension fee.

Late requests may be considered on a case by case basis, though are not as likely to be approved.  Approved late extensions will result in a $100 per day fee.

Winter Break Fee & Waiver Requests

Students who are approved for Winter Break Housing (for any date between December 21 and January 13) will be subject to a $400 Winter Break Housing fee.  The charge will be placed on student accounts in January after classes start. 

Students who are approved for Winter Break Housing between 9am on January 14 – 19 only (i.e. the last week of Winter Break) will be responsible for a reduced fee of $100.

Late applications may be considered on a case by case basis, though are not as likely to be approved.  Approved late applications will incur an additional $100 late fee in addition to the Winter Break Housing fee.

CU students living at Barnard approved for Winter Break Housing will not be charged the fee, but must apply and be approved in order to have permission to access their room during the break.

Waiver Requests

The following groups of students may be eligible for a waiver of the Winter Break Housing fee (but are still required to individually apply for Winter Break Housing).  Please see the instructions below for how a waiver of the fee may be requested.  Please note that submission of a request does not guarantee that a student will receive a waiver of the fee. 

Please note that certain groups below (*) have specific sponsored move-in dates.  Students in these groups who wish to return to campus earlier than the approved date or stay for the entire break will be subject to the $400 fee.  Additionally, students with sponsored move-in dates will not get a Winter Break sticker for their ID until their approved move in day (i.e. will have to come by the Residential Life & Housing office to get their ID sticker). 

Please note that students who request waivers for financial reasons are less likely to be approved if they reside within the tri-state area.

Information for students approved to stay during Winter Break

• The residence halls are officially closed from 9am on Friday, December 21, 2012, through 9am on Saturday, January 19, 2013. 
• Occupancy is generally minimal during Winter Break.  Students should take safety and security precautions by locking room/suite doors and learning which friends/neighbors plan to remain on-campus. 
• Public Safety is available 24/7 by 212-854-3362. 
• There is a Residential Life Hall Director and Associate Director on call 24 hours/day during the break.  You can contact the staff on duty through the front desk of your residence hall or via Barnard Public Safety. 
• Approved students are required to have a valid Winter Break [WB] sticker on their ID to gain entrance into residence halls during this period.  No sticker = no entry.  
• During Winter Break, all residents who have received permission to be in the halls must sign in and out of the building each time they enter and exit. 
• Students are limited to a maximum of 1 guest at the same time during Winter Break (other Barnard or CU@BC students who did not receive permission to stay during Winter Break do count as guests). 
• Guests must be escorted at all times.  If you have a guest, you must meet them at the front desk, sign them in, and escort them to your room.  When your guest leaves, you must escort them back to the desk to sign out. 
• Disciplinary incidents and/or any violations of Residential Life or College policy can result in approval for residence over Winter Break being revoked, i.e. students would be required to leave campus.
• The Brooks desks will be closed over Winter Break.  All residents and guests entering the Quad must do so through Sulzberger Hall. 
• The Residential Life & Housing office (110 Sulzberger) will be closed between Friday, December 21, 2012 and Wednesday, January 2, 2013).
• Facility Emergencies:  Please contact Facilities during weekdays at 212-854-2041.  Weekday evenings (after 5pm), weekends, and Christmas Eve/Day and New Year's Eve/Day, or if you cannot reach Facilities, please contact Public Safety at 212-854-3362. 
• Public Safety Shuttle: Shuttle service provided to students on a "call for service" basis.  To "call for service" during a scheduled break, students should call Public Safety at 212-854-3362 and request transport from the Dispatcher.  Service will be provided to and from College residence halls and CU & Barnard buildings only. 
• Dining Hall: All dining facilities (i.e. Hewitt & the Diana) will be closed over Winter Break.  For more information, please visit http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSE/Barnard. 
• Mail Services: The mail room will be closed for most of the Winter Break.  For more information, please visit http://barnard.edu/mail-print-services.
• Library: The Library will be closed for most of the Winter Break.  For hours and more information, please visit http://library.barnard.edu/. 
• Computer labs within residence halls will be open, with the exception of the 616 Computer Lab which will be closed when 616 is closed (9am on Friday, December 21, 2012 through 9am on Monday, January 14, 2013).
• Primary Care Health Service: The Barnard College Primary Care Health Service will be closed for most of Winter Break.  For dates, please visit http://barnard.edu/primarycare/.  The Clinician On-Call (866-966-7788) is available for urgent medical advice during the break whenever the BC Student Health Service is closed. 
• Barnard students can be seen for urgent health care problems only at Health Services at Columbia's Urgent Care Service, located on the 3rd floor of John Jay Hall, during Winter Break while the Barnard College Student Health Service is closed.  Barnard students seen at Health Services at Columbia will be charged a per visit fee of $60 (for hours, please visit http://health.columbia.edu).  Students covered by Barnard’s Aetna student insurance may file a claim for reimbursement (but must pay up front).  Students who opted out of the Barnard insurance plan may be able to file for reimbursement with their own plans.