Resident Services

For your convenience, you may want to bring certain items with you when you come to Appalachian. Please visit the What to Bring section for detailed information.

Appalachian State University is a smoke-free campus, and smoking is not permitted in any residence hall. This includes all public areas and lobbies, including elevators, kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, stairwells, and entrances. Smoking is not permitted within 50 feet of any residence hall entrance, exit, window, or air intake system. There are designated smoking locations around campus.

Questions and concerns about on-campus parking and transportation may be directed to the Department of Parking and Transportation.

Each on-campus resident is assigned a post office box by the University Post Office. New students are assigned a post office box after they have registered for classes during an orientation session. Box combinations are issued to students when they present their student ID card at the University Post Office customer service window during its normal operating hours. Students should check their post office box regularly, as the University may rely on student mailboxes for correspondence. For information about receiving packages, please refer to the Service Desks section.

Students should leave a forwarding address with the University Post Office whenever they will be away for more than 30 consecutive days. Any mail received while a forwarding order is in effect will then be sent to the address provided by the student.

Laundry fees are included in student tuition. All halls have centralized laundry rooms.

Dumpsters are located outside of each residence hall for students to dispose of their trash. Personal trash should not be disposed of in common bathroom, lobby, or kitchen area trash receptacles. Students will be documented for failure to dispose of trash appropriately.

All residence halls are equipped with 80" extra-long twin mattresses. Detailed information about our residence halls is available in the Residence Halls section of our website.

Students are responsible for keeping their rooms clean. Housekeeping staff are only responsible for public areas of the residence hall, including hallways, lobby areas, and common baths.

Residents should submit a work order online via the AiM Work Order System if repairs are needed for residence hall furnishings or equipment within a student room. Students should not attempt to make their own repairs to any residence hall furnishing or equipment. University Housing is responsible for determining completion dates, costs, and necessity of any repairs.

Students experiencing technical issues with their personal computers or peripherals may contact the Technology Support Center during its regular hours of operation for walk-in support.

Appalachian State University is not responsible for any personal belongings in the residence halls or around campus. Students are encouraged to consider renter’s insurance if they plan on bringing expensive personal items.

Desks, desk chairs, dressers, wardrobes, and beds are provided for student use in every residence hall room. Any room furnishings provided by students must be free-standing; they may not be attached to walls, floors, or other surfaces. No item may be placed in a way that obstructs access to the door or windows. No University furniture may be removed from the room; students will be charged for any missing University furniture at checkout.

Please refer to the Residence Halls section for detailed information about particular hall amenities. Remember, bunk beds, stacking movable bookshelves, and storing items under a bed are all good ideas for using existing room space most efficiently. No bed lofts are permitted unless provided by University Housing.

Yes! For details on the Guest/Visitation policy, please refer to the current version of our Housing Policies.

The use of multi-outlet extension cords in the residence halls is limited to only UL-approved surge protectors with no more than 6 outlets, a heavy-duty cord, and a 15-amp rating with an attached circuit breaker switch.

Quiet hours are 10pm - 8am (Sunday - Thursday) and midnight - 10am (Friday - Saturday). Students shall observe and respect the rights of other students occupying University housing. Students will avoid excessive noise levels and observe the quiet hours for study established in each residence hall. All persons who are present in the residence halls will observe the quiet hours as designated by each residence hall. At all times, residents need to be considerate of others' needs of others and respect their rights of others by being mindful of the noise level in the hall. At no time should there be an excessive amount of noise that disrupts others. Noise audible from two doors down from a room is likely excessive and potentially bothersome to other residents in the building. Beginning with the evening prior to reading day through closing, 24-hour quiet hours will be in effect. Violations of the quiet hour policy may result in a referral to Student Conduct.

Students must follow the posting policies outlined below:

• Posting of information by individuals other than the staff of the residence hall or employees of University Housing is prohibited
• Resident Assistants (RAs) will post publicly from campus organizations and departments, provided the materials are submitted for review by University Housing
• Students, student organizations, and other University-affiliated groups wishing to post or distribute free printed material in the residence halls should contact University Housing at 828-262-2160
• Distribution of commercial materials and materials from groups or individuals not affiliated with Appalachian State University is not permitted in residence halls
• All printed material distributed must bear the name of the organization or individual on whose behalf the material is being distributed
• At no time will posting be permitted in emergency exit avenues (stairwells, exit routes/signs, elevators, and exit doors)
• All fire alarm equipment (pull stations, extinguishers, smoke/heat detectors, etc.) must remain clear/visible and accessible at all times

Some of the most common wireless questions are listed below. Please refer to the Wireless Information page for further details.

My wireless connection is very slow - what’s happening?

The most important information here is "when." Slow connections (both wired and wireless) tend to peak between 6pm and 2am, when the majority of students are in the halls and actively using the network. Slow speeds that consistently fall within this timeframe are most likely due to reduced bandwidth — in short, more students are online streaming television, movies, music, and more, and the available bandwidth is exhausted. This results in slow speeds for everyone using wired or wireless connections, and can result in dropped connections and/or difficulty connecting to wireless networks. Slow speeds consistently outside of this time period may be due to other issues with student equipment, nearby wireless routers, or insufficient signal strength. To report these issues, please refer to the "Where do I go to get help or report an issue?" section below.

Ok, so just buy more bandwidth!

The Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) provides and maintains the University’s bandwidth. Recent upgrades to the amount of total bandwidth have been implemented over the past few years. While the current bandwidth can meet the University's needs for most of the day, there are times when it is being utilized at its capacity (as noted above). Adding additional bandwidth is extremely expensive, and, unfortunately, not an option at this time. That is why ITS and University Housing are providing this information to ask for your help in easing the burden on our bandwidth and, in turn, making our wireless networks faster and more reliable for everyone.

Can’t I just bring my own wireless router — problem solved, right?

In a sense, yes, your problem is solved. Your neighbors’ problems, however, are just beginning. A wireless router works by transmitting a special signal to your computer, much like a radio station broadcasts to a radio. When you have a wireless router in your residence hall room, it competes with the wireless signal provided by Appalachian. The result is a kind of traffic jam that negatively impacts everyone’s wireless access. These effects can range from slowing down your own wireless connection to disabling wireless connections for other users in the residence hall.

What can I do to help make things better?

First, if you have a wireless router, get rid of it! Your neighbors will thank you. Other devices can also interfere with the campus wireless networks, but to a lesser degree. If you have a wireless printer, keep in mind that it is also broadcasting an ad hoc wireless signal. While these devices are allowed in residence hall rooms, it is best to keep them powered off unless you are actively using them to print. Also, if your printer can be used as a wired or wirelessly and you’re only using it in its wired configuration, you should disable the wireless function entirely. You can refer to the manufacturer’s instructions to accomplish this. If you have large files to download, try to do so outside peak usage hours to help reduce network congestion.

Anything else that I should know?

Above all, please realize that Appalachian State makes every effort to provide an acceptable wireless network alternative for students. We realize that slow or unreliable connections, whether wired or wireless, are a frustrating experience, and we are doing everything that we can to ensure that this is the exception rather than the rule. Network Support Services checks networking equipment in the residence halls each time widespread problems are reported. It is the consensus among several campus IT professionals that the main issue stems from insufficient bandwidth during peak usage hours (6pm - 2am) due to network congestion.

Also, please remember that a wired Ethernet connection (all rooms are provided with 1 Ethernet data port per bed) will be more reliable and often faster than a wireless connection. For example, if you are streaming music or video, you will likely get better performance over a wired Ethernet connection rather than over a wireless connection.

Where do I go to get help or report an issue?

If you are experiencing wireless connectivity issues, the first thing to do is to request an appointment for a member of our technology support staff to come and check things out for you. You can do this by entering a support request on the IT Support Services website. Simply enter your information, and one of our staff members will contact you to schedule an appointment. If the issue requires more assistance than the staff member can provide, they will escalate the support request to the appropriate personnel.

Follow the steps below to connect your device to the wired Appalachian State University network:

1. Plug your Ethernet cable into the port in the wall (each room has one port per bed)
2. Plug the other end of your Ethernet cable into your device
3. Once connected, open a web browser and go to the NetReg website
4. Log in using your Appalachian State username and password and follow the steps to register your device
5. After fifteen minutes, reboot your device for the registration to take effect

Residents who lock themselves out of their room have two options. Resident Assistant (RA) staff are available nightly from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. for residents who are locked out of their rooms. Residents may also visit the West Service Desk in Thunder Hill Residence Hall during its regular operating hours to check out a temporary key for their room (Appalachian ID required). Temporary keys must be returned by 8am the next business day to avoid University Housing automatically changing the lock on the door lock and charging the student’s account for the cost of the lock change.

When having packages shipped, students may have them delivered to either the University Post Office or, if they live in a West Side residence hall, the West Service Desk. For further details about package delivery, please refer to the Service Desks section of this website.