On-campus living
The IUPUI Housing and Residence Life (HRL) program is an integral part of the educational program and academic support services of the institution. The Office of Housing and Residence Life, within the Division of Student Affairs, supports the academic mission of IUPUI by creating campus living communities that foster growth, educational success, social responsibility, cultural understanding, and leadership while ensuring that our facilities are secure and convenient for residents.
University housing is available to IUPUI students regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, or ethnicity. Students have first priority for housing; however, any IUPUI faculty member, staff member or otherwise related University employee can request housing.
Educational, cultural, social, and recreational programs are planned in all residential facilities and are a cooperative venture of the residence community and other university units. There is a concerted effort to integrate the living and learning processes.
Communications from housing and residence life
Official University communications will be sent to students’ official University e-mail address. The University reserves the right to send official communications to you by e-mail with the full expectation that you will receive e-mail and read these e-mails in a timely fashion. As a student, you are expected to check your e-mail on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with University-related communications.
NOTE: If you choose to have your e-mail forwarded from your official University e-mail address to another address, you do so at your own risk.
Community standards
Housing and Residence Life seeks to provide residential communities that help residents connect to one another, feel at home, and to thrive inside and outside of the classroom at IUPUI. Our residence halls are places where residents can sleep, study, and live in peace and should be free from disrespectful behavior, discrimination, and vandalism. When necessary, HRL will respond to and remove residents who disrupt the residential community and make it difficult for other residents to succeed and live in peace.
Break period information
Students are not required to move their belongings out of their space during break periods. Students can leave any items in their room that they do not need with them during the break. Visit housing.iupui.edu/residents/break-information.html for more information.
Successful roommate relationship experience
Our office is invested in our residents having successful roommate relationships and is currently working on a multi-year project examining positive impact behaviors and what effects they have on roommate relationships. Our data indicates that you are more likely to have a positive living experience with your roommate when you talk daily, share meals together, and hang out a few times per week.
The behaviors and frequencies listed below are those that were reported to have worked and benefitted hundreds of our residents before. We understand that each roommate pair will be different and that these frequencies may be different for you, but always use this as a starting point when developing your relationship!
Frequency | Behavior |
Daily | Casual In-person Communication |
Weekly | Friendship Activities with my Roommate Sharing Common Interests (and participating in them together) Perspective Shaping Conversations Positively Interacting on Social Media |
Monthly (or as needed) | Helping in a Difficult Time or Moment Setting Aside Expectations Demonstrating Understanding and Patience Friendship Activities with those who are not my Roommate |
Roompact and the roommate agreement and success plans
We utilize Roompact for our Roommate Agreements and Success Plans. After moving in you will receive a notification to your university email account from Roompact with instructions on how to set up your account. To develop your Roommate Agreement and Success Plan, you will sit down together with your roommate(s) and go over the prompts in Roompact. This is a good time to start setting aside expectations and have some perspective shaping conversations which will allow you to better understand how to live successfully together this year. There will be some expectations preloaded into your Roommate Agreement by Residence Life that are non-negotiable, but you do have a lot of freedom to make your agreement as you would like it. Once you and your roommate(s) have finished creating the Roommate Agreement and Success plan together, you will sign the agreement. If you have any issues, please notify your RA.
Residential experience
Residence Life staff utilizes a curriculum to maximize the student experience in each residential community. Our residential learners will build connections that celebrate differences, foster community, and promote personal and community responsibility.
Over 600 events are hosted each year for residents to attend. The programs range from small programs on your floor or in your community to large programs with several hundred students. We strive to provide social and education opportunities to assist with your growth and development, to help you and your roommates get to know each other, and to help you get to know others and to form connections with the IUPUI community. To fully take advantage of your on-campus living experience, we challenge our residents to attend at least one in-community event a month and engage in their community in other ways, weekly through things like intentional conversations with RAs, saying hello to the custodial staff, or reading a bulletin board.
In addition to events that encourage residents to come together to learn and socialize, Resident Assistants also provide hands on activities and in-hall visuals that contribute to our goal above: building connections that promote responsibility. Most importantly, because one of the major responsibilities of our student staff is to build relationships with students, residents are expected to engage with their Resident Assistant to discuss the college experience. Conversations with Resident Assistants have been known to create a stronger sense of connection with the campus and more knowledge of campus resources.
Inclusion statement
Housing and Residence Life seeks to create communities where all residents are valued, respected, and appreciated. HRL takes situations in which a student has been a target of a biased-related action very seriously and desires to respond immediately. Please let your RA or the RA on Duty know if you or someone you know is ever the recipient of bias related behavior. Examples include, but are not limited to, racial or ethnic slurs, homophobic comments, sexist or gender biased comments, statements regarding someone's size, ability, age, religion, etc. When these incidents are reported we promise to listen, support, and respond appropriately. Additionally, throughout the year we will offer a variety of programs that help students develop multicultural competence and we encourage all of our community members to attend.
Getting involved
Hall Councils
Are you looking for a way to develop your leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills to make a positive impact in your community? Do you want to create social, educational, and service programming as well as build a sense of unity in your building? Then hall council is the place for you!
Each residence hall has a governing body of 10-20 students from the building who make up the hall council. These councils serve as liaisons between the residents, the Office of Housing and Residence Life, and other campus partners. Each hall council is responsible for planning several events throughout the year for the residents of their building. These councils are advised by either Resident Assistants (RAs), or Residence Life Community Specialists (RLCSs). Meetings usually occur once per week with additional time set aside for small committee meetings, meeting with campus partners, and holding events.
There are several positions on each hall council. The duties for each role may vary between hall councils. Talk to your RA, or RLCS about how they differ in your community.
All residents are encouraged to become involved with the hall council in their residence hall. Elections are held in all communities in late August or early September. The application and election process differs in each building. More information will be provided to you about elections by your residence life staff in your building.
Residence Hall Association (RHA)
RHA is a student organization within HRL which provides student leadership positions, oversees the hall council program for each residential community, provides large scale programs for all residents in housing, and provides leadership training through retreats and attendance at state, regional, and national conferences.
National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH)
The National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) is the premier honorary supported by the leading international organization advocating for the interests and welfare of residence hall students, while also providing opportunities for their personal growth and development. NRHH strives to provide recognition for individuals who have contributed to the advancement of college and university housing. It ensures the advancement of member chapters through resource sharing, programming, and leadership development opportunities.
Meet the staff
The Office of Housing and Residence Life consists of professional and student staff members who are dedicated to ensuring that you live in a comfortable, safe environment that is conducive to your social and academic success at IUPUI. Listed below is a brief description of how our team is constructed.
Resident Assistants (RAs)
Each building and/or floor in all of our facilities have an assigned RA. RAs are student leaders who have been selected for their leadership skills. Their major responsibilities include developing a relationship with each resident, connecting residents to one another and the campus, providing programs and events, and familiarizing students with university regulations. In addition, RAs receive specialized training in the areas of academic assistance and diversity.
Residence Life Community Specialist (RLCS)
The RLCS and Assistant RLCS are full-time university employees that are responsible for the overall daily management of their community. Each community has one to two RLCS/ARLCS. They supervise Resident Assistants and Desk Assistants as well as adjudicate conduct cases, advise the Hall Council, and implement the Residential Curriculum in their community.
Residence Life Specialists (RLS)
RLSs are full-time university employees that are responsible for specific facets of the Housing and Residence Life experience. These positions are focused on Diversity and Equity Initiatives and Academic Initiatives.
Associate/Assistant Directors
Associate/Assistant Directors provide leadership and insight to the entire Housing and Residence Life team for our day-to-day operations and are responsible for the administration of the main office and/or residential communities.
Desk Assistants
Desk Assistants work at the front desk in each of our communities and provide customer service to residents by answering general questions about the community, entering work orders, checking out equipment, logging packages, etc.
Custodial and maintenance staff
Each community is staffed with custodians and maintenance workers that maintain and clean each of the residential facilities including hallways, commons areas, and restrooms.
Main office staff
The main office staff work under the direction of the Director of Housing and Residence Life and are located at 415 Porto Alegre Street, Suite 150, in the Riverwalk Apartments. The primary responsibilities for these employees include room assignments, posting rent/charges, budget, payroll, facility repairs/renovations, and marketing.