Giving to RU
Rhodes>Hobson Hall>Hobson Hall>Rules and Protocols>Early Arrival or Late Departure

Early Arrival or Late Departure

PROTOCOL FOR EARLY RETURN TO OR LATE DEPARTURE FROM RESIDENCE:

EARLY RETURNS:

Students are normally permitted to return to residence the day (24 hours) before the start of term. Approval for returns in advance of this 24 hour period, is only granted in exceptional circumstances. This document describes the procedure to be adopted if a student wants to return earlier than that to an Undergraduate Residence. 

Students returning 24 hours early:

  1. A student who wishes to return to residence two days before University starts (i.e. on Saturday) must apply to the Hall Warden (with support from the Warden) for permission to return early, using the Early Return or Late Departure Form 2023 at least SEVEN days before the proposed early return. Students must provide evidence of valid reasons (e.g. limitations of public or Rhodes transport, schedules for long-distance flights). Approval of a request for an early return should be obtained before travel arrangements are made.

  2. These completed forms must be forwarded to DVC, Academic & Student Affairs.

  3. All students who return early will be charged a daily rate for such additional accommodation as determined by the Conference Office and the Finance Division.

  4. All students who are required to return before term begins by academic departments will also be liable for this fee. This includes post-graduate students who are in under-graduate residences. Departments requiring students to return early for teaching purposes are requested to inform the Manager, Residential Operations of the dates students need to be on campus before the end of the preceding term.  Students returning early for academic events must make an application on the Application to Return Early to Residence form which should also be submitted to Residential Operations before the end of the preceding term.

  5. Payment for the additional day due because of an approved early return, must be made before a booking will be confirmed. Costs can be charged to student accounts with a credit balance sufficient to cover the amount due. Otherwise advance payment must be made.

Students remaining for the vacation or returning more than 24 hours early:

  1. Students who wish to remain in residence for the entire vacation or to return to the residence two or more days before the normal opening time of the Residence (this would be Friday before term, or earlier) will be accommodated in the residence being used for supplementary examination or vacation student accommodation.

  2. Approval for a return more than 24 hours before the opening of the residence will require an exceptional motivation. Approval will not normally be granted.

  3. Applications must be made on the prescribed form at least SEVEN days before the proposed early return

  4. All such students will be charged the standard daily rate as determined by Council for such additional accommodation.

  5. Such accommodation is not available during the June/July vacation.

  6. Such students may return to their own residences at 10.00 am on the day before normal opening time (i.e. on Saturday if the term starts on Monday).

  7. If the student’s ‘home’ residence has been used for vacation/conference accommodation, they may have to wait until 4.00 pm before they can return.

  8. Payments for any additional days approved must be made before a booking will be confirmed. Costs can be charged to student accounts with a credit balance sufficient to cover the amount due. Otherwise, an advance payment must be made

Special provisions for Sub-Wardens:

  1. Sub-Wardens must normally return by 10 am on the Saturday before the start of term.

  2. Sub-wardens are provided with lunch and supper on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on the Sunday (to be taken in the vacation Dining Hall).

  3. All sub wardens are automatically provided with access and meals, based on the information on the Residence System. This information must be kept up to date on the Residence System, by the Hall.

Special provisions for the first term:

  1. Sub-Wardens must usually return for leadership training by the Friday, and House Leadership teams must usually return for leadership training by the Monday before first-year registration begins (usually on a Saturday).

  2. All costs for the meals and accommodation of Sub wardens are covered by the University, as well as the costs for the early return of EIGHT House Committee members per residence. A NINTH member will be sponsored for residences with more than 100 students. In addition, the costs of the Hall Senior Student; the Hall SRC rep and the Hall Wellness Rep, will be paid for.

  3. Halls must ensure that their leadership data on the Residence System is up to date, no later than the Wednesday after the Registration Fee cut-off date. The program that is used to provide leadership students with access and meals, is run based on the information herein.

  4. Each Hall may make its own arrangements for informal leadership training during the previous weekend. The Office of the DSA will make a per-head contribution towards the costs of this training. Res Ops makes a contribution towards meal costs.

  5. Formal training for Sub wardens commences on the Monday before registration.

  6. Formal training for House Committees commences on the Wednesday before registration.

SRC:

  1. Members of the SRC executive normally arrive by the second Monday of the year and are accommodated in vacation residences, as selected by the Conference Office. The cost of meals is covered by the SRC.

  2. The rest of the SRC council normally arrives on the 3rd Monday of the year and are accommodated in vacation residences, as selected by the Conference Office. The cost of meals is covered by the SRC.

  3. 55 Project Team Leaders (O-week helpers) are permitted to return on the Thursday before registration, and there is no charge for their meal costs. Their first meal will be supper. The cost is covered by the University.

  4. All members of the Student Representative Council and O-week helpers move back to their own residences on the day that vacation accommodation ends. The Conference Office is responsible for ensuring that the accommodation bookings are correct for moving purposes. The SRC office needs to provide the Conference Office with the residence information of all students involved, at the time of the first booking.

Students who are involved in presentations of any workshops and training for first years (e.g. the Amazing Other Show and the SHARC peer educators) will stay in university vacation accommodation until such time as their residences open. The office of the DSA is to provide the Conference Office with such details, timeously. The office of the DSA needs to ensure that accurate information, indicating the residences of such students, is provided to the Conference Office.

LATE DEPARTURES:

At the end of term 1 and 3, students are required to depart from residence no more than 24 hours after the end of the term (i.e. Saturday, when the term ends on a Friday). In terms 2 and 4, students must depart 48 hours after their last examination.

Students remaining 24 hours late:

  1. In exceptional circumstances, a student may be allowed to remain in residence 24 hours longer than the time periods noted above. The student must apply to the Hall Warden (with support from the warden) for permission to remain late, using the Early Return or Late Departure Form 2023 at least SEVEN days before the proposed prolonged stay. Evidence of valid reasons (e.g. limitations of transport) must be provided.

  2. These completed forms must be forwarded to the DVC, Academic & Student Affairs.

  3. All students who remain late will be charged the standard daily rate

  4. Students who finish their exams prior to the end of term, but need to depart later for academic reasons, may request permission to extend their stay in residence. The request must be supported by a member of the academic staff.  In this instance, they may take the written permission to their hall administrator and the hall administrator may extend the student’s residence access accordingly. The written permission has to be kept on file in the hall office, for auditing purposes. This is THE ONLY time that a hall administrator may extend residence access for a student.

  5. Should a student finish their exam on the second last or last day of the exams, they may also have their residence access extended in the above manner, as they have 48 hours to leave the residence, after their last exam. Hall administrators should inform the hall caterers of all such students who will be requiring meals until their departure date.

Students remaining for longer:

Students who wish to depart from residence more than 24 hours later than the 48 hours after their last exam, will be accommodated in a supplementary examination or student vacation accommodation when and if available. (Vacation accommodation is not usually available during the June/July vacation). Permission will only be granted to remain later than 24 hours in exceptional circumstances.

Sub Wardens:

Sub-wardens who, through their conditions of service, have to depart late, will be provided with lunch and supper on the Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on the Sunday (to be taken in the vacation dining hall). The hall needs to ensure that the leadership positions are up to date on the Residence System, in order to facilitate access to residence and meals during this time, for the Sub-Wardens.

Students remaining for the vacation:

April Vacation:

  1. Students who wish to remain in residence for the April vacation (i.e. the vacation between the first and second terms) will be accommodated in the residence(s) set aside for student vacation accommodation.

  2. All such students will be charged the conference daily rate, for such additional accommodation.

  3. Payment for this accommodation must be made before bookings are confirmed. 

September Vacation:

  1. Accommodation will be made available free of charge to students who wish to remain in residence during the September vacation (i.e. the vacation between the third and fourth terms).

  2. Students wishing to remain in residence during the September vacation, must indicate to wardens that they will do so, by the end of the second week of the third term.

  3. Students wishing to remain in residence during the September vacation must normally stay for the entire period. Partial stays will NOT be allowed

  4. Students remaining in residence during the September vacation will be accommodated in residences set aside for this purpose.  All students must pack up their rooms to allow for this.

  5. During the September vacation, meals will only be provided, if they are booked on the system. A limited meal selection will be available.

  6. Students who fail to eat a meal booked during the September vacation will be charged for the meal.

June/July Vacation:

Vacation accommodation is not usually available during the June/July vacation.

Return to residences:

  1. Students who make use of student vacation accommodation must return to their own residences at 10:00am on the day before normal opening time (i.e. on Sunday if the term starts on Monday)

  2. If the student’s “home” residence has been used for vacation/ conference accommodation, they may have to wait until 14:00 before they can return.

Last Modified: Tue, 08 Feb 2022 12:54:14 SAST