Every year new students move in and out of dorms and ResLife has to make sure they stay in good condition.

UVM ResLife inspects every room after students move out in spring, and in many cases issue fines for broken or missing items.

Fines can range from $27 for basic chairs and beds to $500 fines for broken exit signs and fire equipment, according to ResLife’s damage charge price list.   

ResLife allows students to appeal any charges due to damage to their rooms.

Once all students have moved out, including Residential Advisors, staff members of ResLife check every room on campus, Joseph Rusell, associate director of ResLife, said.

“Their job is to go room to room and based on the student’s damage report [and] see what changes there are,” Russell said.

Checking every room is a large undertaking, so ResLife asks staff members for 10-20 volunteers to help maintenance staff check the rooms, he said.

“Because of the tight turnaround at the end of the year, [inspections] take anywhere from three to five business days to be completed,” Russell said.

Categories students could be charged for include damages to windows, electrical outlets, plumbing, furniture, paint, signs, doors, telecommunications, fire and life safety equipment and labor rates, according to the damage charge price list.

“Anecdotally, from my perspective, wall damage is what I’ve seen as being a common occurrence,” Russell said.

At the end of each academic year, ResLife sends out information on moving out to every student in the dorms.

“I would encourage students to think about that all year,” Russell said. “Similarly when you live off-campus you keep in mind you have to move out at some point.”

Students should look out for information on moving out and the costs of damages, he said.
“RAs are asked to hold community meetings to go over that info with students,” he said. “You can see the difference between students who notice the info and students who don’t see it or choose to ignore it.”