In general, students are expected to behave in a considerate and responsible manner which respects the rights of the University and of any other person who may be affected by their actions. All Residence Hall students are expected to abide by the Student Conduct Code. In addition to the Student Conduct Code, UM Housing has outlined the following policies in our 2021-2022 Student Handbook for students living in and visiting the Residence Halls. The 2021-2022 Student Handbook goes into effect August 1, 2021.

Policy expectations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

All students living in the residence halls are expected to abide by the following policy expectations. Violations of these expectations are considered Disruptive Behavior as they are a risk to the health and safety of the community and could initiate in a community standards proceeding which could result in removal from Housing.

Guest/Visitors Policy

The Guest/Visitor policy will be modified to allow for guests whom reside in the same building regardless of floor or wing. Buildings with individual floor or wing doors will have those doors unlocked between 10am and 8pm each day while all exterior doors will remain locked 24 hours per day. Please note, based on facility layout, Craig/Duniway/Elrod will now have access to host guests from anywhere in CDE in accordance with the information below. As a reminder, guests are defined as any individual that is not assigned to that specific room or suite/pod.

Residents are still highly encouraged to use building lobbies, other campus spaces (including the University Center, Mansfield Library, and academic building lounges), and outdoor spaces such as the ice skating rink and fire pits on the oval for alternative study and socializing locations. These spaces can maintain greater air circulation and social distancing.

If a resident chooses to host a guest, they must comply with the following expectations:

• Each resident is limited to one (1) guest at a time.
• Residents in Pantzer suites and Miller pods, must comply with the following capacity limits in their common spaces (as to maintain social distancing):
  • Miller pods common space– four (4) individuals
  • Miller pod bedrooms – two (2) individuals
  • Pantzer suite common space – five (5) individuals
  • Pantzer suite bedrooms – two (2) individuals
• The roommate agreement for the assigned space must document that all residents consent to allowing guests in the space before any guests are permitted. If residents have specific expectations related to guests (including durations of stay, how often guests are allowed, etc.), these should be documented in the roommate agreement.
• All individuals within the space must wear a mask at all times while guests are present. This includes the guests and residents of the space.

Common Spaces

Common spaces will remain closed until further notice. Residents are still highly encouraged to use building lobbies, other campus spaces (including the University Center, Mansfield Library, and academic building lounges), and outdoor spaces for alternative study and socializing locations. These spaces can maintain greater air circulation and social distancing. If residents choose to use these lobbies or other open spaces (such as laundry rooms and bathrooms) within the residential community, they must follow the following common space expectations:

• Furniture in all open common spaces are set up to establish social distancing. Moving of this furniture is prohibited.
• Residents must comply with capacity limits posted outside of each common space.
• Residents must maintain social distancing while in common spaces.
• Residents must comply with the Face Coverings policy, which includes common spaces.
• Entry into closed common spaces is prohibited.

Other COVID Policies

All other COVID-specific polices remain in effect. See below for more details.

• Masks – In accordance with the State of Montana, the Missoula County Health Department, and the University of Montana, all students, faculty, staff, parents, and visitors are required to wear masks appropriately while they are on campus. Residents do not need to wear masks in their residential room/suite, unless expected by other residents of the space.  If guests are present in the room, all persons in the room must wear masks.
• Noncompliance with quarantine or isolation directives by medical professionals or Missoula County Health Officials.
• Malicious actions that cause fear or threaten the spread of illness, including intentionally standing or walking within six feet of another individual and coughing or sneezing on individuals or objects.

Medical Amnesty Policy

The University of Montana strongly encourages students and organizations to immediately contact University staff, emergency medical services, and/or law enforcement when they have reason to believe that a student’s health or safety is at risk. Therefore, a Medical Amnesty [INTERIM] policy was created and is effective immediately. This policy will be incorporated into the Student Conduct Code in its next revision, but is currently adopted as an interim stand-alone policy to support the health and safety of the community in the meantime.  

What is a Medical Amnesty policy?

To mitigate barriers to requesting medical aid that may be caused by consumption or use of alcohol or drugs, a Medical Amnesty policy shall apply to:

• Students who request aid for themselves;
• Students who request aid for another student(s);
• Students for whom aid is rendered; and
• Students whose violations of alcohol or drug policies were discovered because of a call for medical assistance.

In the situation where a student needs medical assistance, the student(s) who requests and/or receives emergency medical aid and fully complies with University, medical, and/or law enforcement personnel will not be issued disciplinary sanctions nor have conduct files created for any violation of the University’s drug or alcohol policies that occurred in connection with the reported incident. 

If the University of Montana becomes aware of students who violated the drug or alcohol policies because of a call for medical assistance, then these students will also be covered by the Medical Amnesty policy.

In order for amnesty policies to apply, the University of Montana may require students involved to participate in an alcohol/drug education program or seek medical treatment for alcohol and/or drug abuse, but these requirements will not be recorded as disciplinary sanctions.

For more information and specific language of this policy please visit https://www.umt.edu/policies/browse/student-affairs/medical-amnesty

Residence Hall Contract

In addition to agreeing to the Residence Hall policies, the student must sign and agree to the Residence Halls Contract for the specific term when submitting their housing application. Below is the contract for the indicated term:

• Residence Halls Contract - Academic Year 2020-2021 (updated and applicable for the 2020 - 2021 Academic Year Residence Halls Application)
• Residence Halls Contract - Academic Year 2021-2022 (applicable for the 2021-2022 Academic Year Residence Halls Application)