Resident Resources

Students are “locked out” when they have exhausted all possibilities for locating their room key, including waiting for roommates to return home if the key was left in the room. If a student is locked out after 5 pm they should call the RA On Call for assistance. A Resident Assistant will meet the student at their room to unlock the door to the room. Students must have their UNC Asheville RockyCard or other appropriate picture identification which can be checked to verify that they are the resident of the room in which they are trying to gain access.

• • During normal business hours of 8 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday, students should come to the Office of Housing & Residence Life located in Governors Hall, to be given a loaner key.

• • After hours and on weekends, they can contact the RA On Call for their residence hall.

• • If the student cannot locate their key, they must submit a lock change request through the Housing portal. The student will be billed $75 for the lock change.

• • The first lockout of each semester is free of charge. The second lockout costs $5.00, the third is $10.00, and the charge will increase by $5.00 for each additional lockout.

Things to keep in mind: 

• • Loaner keys are to be returned within 24 hours. If you have left it at home, we will work with you to establish a reasonable deadline date for the return of a loaner key.

• • If the loaner key is not returned by the deadline or becomes lost, a lock change will be scheduled at your expense ($75).

• • If a student reaches a sixth lock-out, they will be asked to schedule a non-disciplinary meeting with their Area Director or Graduate Community Director to discuss their lockouts.

If you have lost your keys, there is a Lost & Found in the Highsmith Student Union. Please call 828-251-6600 and ask if your keys have been turned in before requesting a lock change

• • Residential students obtain access to the residence halls through their RockyCard, which works with our card access system.

• • Residents have 24-hour access to the primary (front) door of your residence hall.

• • All residents have access from 7 am until 11 pm to the secondary doors of all residence halls (this includes the back door at Mills Hall, the back door at Governors Hall on the soccer field side, the West Ridge parking garage door, and the Founders Hall first floor door).

• • All residents have access to all other residence halls’ primary (front) doors from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.

• • NO residents will have access to Village accessible suite doors. This door enters directly into the suite and cannot be accessed at any time.

If you are attempting to enter the residence halls during the allowed times and cannot gain access, please come to Housing and Residence Life, during normal business hours of 8 am – 5 pm, Monday-Friday. After hours, please contact the RA on call, for a temporary access card, which must be returned the following business day by noon. Failure to return the card will result in a $25 charge being placed on your student account. The temporary access card can only be used for access to your residence hall.

“Main doors” refers to the following six doors: West Ridge front entrance on 2nd floor, South Ridge front entrance on 2nd floor, Mills Hall front entrance on 2nd floor, Founders Hall front entrance on 2nd floor, Governors Hall 1st floor entrance on the west side of the building, Governors Hall 2nd floor entrance from University Heights on the east side of the building. “Secondary doors” refers to the following five doors: Founders Hall front entrance on 1st floor, Mills Hall back entrance from volleyball court area, Governors Hall 2nd floor entrance at each end of the breezeway, West Ridge 2nd floor entrance near parking deck.

Laundry services are provided through a partnership with Caldwell & Gregory. Laundry facilities are located on the first floor of each residence hall, except Ponder Hall which has laundry rooms on the 2nd & 4th floors. Each laundry room has instruction signs on the proper use of the equipment and how to notify Caldwell & Gregory if a machine malfunctions. For all residential students, the cost of laundry is included in your room fees. There are no additional charges for washing or drying.

Wash Alerts

Want to know the status of washers and dryers in your residence hall? Check out which machines are available through the Speed Queen mobile app. You will be able to see the availability of machines in your laundry room in real time and receive a text or email when a machine becomes available and when washing and drying are complete. Sign on by using the QR code posted in each laundry room to monitor via your phone. Or, you can connect from your computer by clicking on the laundry room location from the list below. (Wash alerts are not yet available in the Governor’s Village laundry rooms.)

IOS Android

Kitchen facilities are located in each residence hall for students who wish to prepare meals, bake cookies, or try out new recipes. Community kitchens include an oven, cook top, sink, counters and cabinet space. Pots, pans, and other food preparation supplies can be checked out through the Resident Assistants in each area.

The Student Mail Center is located in Highsmith Student Union between the bookstore and the food court. All residential student mail and packages will be received and picked up at this location.

New residential students must visit the Student Mail Center to request a mailbox and key. Your mailbox will remain the same while you are a residential student, regardless of if you change residence halls or rooms.

Note: Students who would like to ship packages prior to arrival can send them to 2500 University Heights and they will be held until the resident arrives and requests a mailbox.

Individual mailing addresses follow this pattern:
Student Name
UNCA Box # xxxx
2500 University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804

If have questions about mail services, please feel free to call the Student Mail Center at 828.258.7679, or email studentmailservices@unca.edu.

Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis due to housing availability. Neither the presence of a disability nor approval for housing accommodations guarantees on-campus housing or a specific room type. 

The Office of Accessibility will notify the student and the Office of Housing and Residence Life of an approved accommodation. Housing and Residence Life will then determine a specific room assignment to best address an accommodation need. 

More information about this process can be found through the Office of Accessibility. 

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are animals selected or prescribed to an individual with a disability by a healthcare or mental health professional to play a significant part in a person’s treatment process, alleviating one or more symptoms of that individual’s disability. An emotional support animal does not assist a person with a disability with activities of daily living, and does not accompany a person with a disability at all times.

Please Note: The ESA must be an animal commonly kept in households and appropriate for living in communal housing. Examples of common household animals include a dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal traditionally kept in the home for pleasure. Generally, and per U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidance, reptiles (other than turtles) are not considered common household animals.

Approval Process & Important Dates for ESAs

The approval process is two-fold:

1. The Office of Accessibility determines the eligibility of the ESA as a potential reasonable accommodation.
2. The Office of Housing and Residence Life determines whether the ESA may reside in a residence hall as an accommodation.

The Office of Housing and Residence life makes the final determination of whether the ESA can reside in a University residence hall. Separate from the Office of Accessibility’s process, documentation for housing accommodation requests should be submitted by:

• June 1 for the Fall semester
• December 1 for the Spring semester

Requests for housing accommodations submitted after those deadlines will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and subject to availability. Because ESA requests have an impact on others in the residential unit, the timeliness of the request is important. Requests for ESAs received by Housing and Residence Life less than eight (8) weeks from the last day of the final exam period for the current semester will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Those requests can be considered for the following semester, provided that the required documentation remains up-to-date. 

More information about ESAs and animals within the residence halls can be found within the Housing and Residence Life Guide.

Late Stay Request 

Graduating Students must complete a Late Stay Request in the Housing Portal within OnePort under the “Forms” section. If you are approved, you will receive an approval email from reslife@unca.edu. Graduating students will need to move out by Sunday, May 10, at 9 a.m. 

All other students requesting to stay in their residence hall past May  7 at 9 a.m. must also complete a Late Stay Request form in the Housing Portal. You will receive a confirmation email from reslife@unca.edu with the date and time you are approved to stay through. Please note that not all late stay requests will be approved. 

There are two (2) ways to check out of the residence hall at the end of the semester:

• Check Out with a Resident Assistant (RA)

1. 1. 1. After attending the Closing Meeting with an RA at the end of each semester, students can sign up for a time to complete the check out process.
      2. During this process, the RA will confirm the student has completed all check out tasks (see below).
      3. Once the RA has confirmed completion of all check out tasks, the student will sign their name on the Check Out Slip on their door. 
         1. If the student is vacating the residence hall at the end of the Fall or Spring semester, they will give the room key and mail key to the RA.

• Express Check Out (not with an RA)

1. 1. 1. After attending the Closing Meeting with an RA at the end of each semester, students can notify the RA that they choose to check out via the Express Check Out option.
      2. Students choosing Express Check Out do not need to set up a time with an RA to check out of the residence halls.
      3. It is the student’s responsibility to complete all the check out tasks (see below).
      4. Once the student has completed all check out tasks, they will sign their name on the Check Out Slip on their door
         1. If the student is vacating the residence hall, they will return their room key and mail key to the key drop-off box in the residence hall in one of the provided envelopes.
         2. Locations of key drop boxes:
            1. Governors Hall: Housing Office entrance exterior
            2. Mills Hall: Main entrance lobby wall
            3. Founders Hall: Main entrance area wall
            4. Ponder Hall: Main entrance on brick wall
            5. The Ridges: 2 locations, one near the elevator in West Ridge. 2nd location is near the elevator in South Ridge. 
            6. The Woods: 2 locations, Beech Hall on the Willow side above the card reader and automatic opener. 2nd location at Aspen Hall entrance on the brick wall near the card reader.
      5. The room will be checked by Housing and Residence Life staff after the student has officially checked out.

• Please Note: Students completing Express Check Out waive their right to appeal damage charges assessed at the semester and the end-of-year closing.

Closing Tasks

Residents should follow the proper Check Out Process:

1. 1. Empty all trash
   2. Clear all personal items from the space, including the bathroom
   3. Take down all posters, stickers, and other wall hangings
   4. Remove any items from the door(s)
   5. Remove all personal rugs and carpets
   6. Clean all surfaces, including bathroom and bedroom floors
   7. Return furniture to its original position
      • Do not change the height of your bed
   8. Clean and defrost the Microfridge®
      • Please do this at least 24 hours prior to your departure
      • To defrost, please unplug Microfridge® and leave doors open with a towel on the floor to collect any water
      • Only defrost Microfridge® when vacating the residence halls in May. 

1. Report any maintenance or repairs to resmaint@unca.edu 
   • Any damages should be settled between residents of the room; if no one takes responsibility, all residents will split the charge(s)
2. Sign your name at the bottom of the check-out sheet attached to your suite door to signify you have vacated your space

Please place any large furniture you wish to donate (chairs, bookcases, etc.) in the “Ditch-n-Dash” container in the lobby of your residence hall. If you have a large piece of furniture that you do not want to donate but rather throw away, please submit a resmaint@unca.edu request to have our Maintenance staff remove it.

Carts will be available for check-out throughout the week via the RA on Call number or Check Out Desk. There will be a limited number of carts available.

Check Out Desks will be located in the following areas: 

• The main lobbies of the building for Founders Hall, Mills Hall, South Ridge, West Ridge, and Ponder Hall. 
• Willow Hall for The Woods.
• 2nd-floor elevator lobby (street side) for Governors Hall and The Village. 

Failure to check out by 9 a.m. on closing day will result in an improper check-out fee of $250 in addition to any charges for damage or failure to return keys. If items appear to be abandoned, the items will be held for a 24-hour period. If items are not collected or claimed, they will be donated.