Health and Safety Room Checks are required in all residence hall rooms and apartments each September and February. These checks are conducted to increase safety within our residential buildings by timely identification and removal of prohibited appliances and other violations from student rooms. These checks also allow our staff an opportunity to educate residents through positive, personal contact. September checks are educational in nature and only result in conduct outcomes or fines for high level violations (such as covered smoke detectors, combustible materials, or smoking) or non-fire safety violations that are found (alcohol policy violations, drug policy violations, etc.).
During the check, Resident Assistants (RAs) conduct a non-invasive scan of the room. They do not open drawers, refrigerators, or closets, but may move (or ask the resident to move) items blocking outlets. Any items found that are in violation of policy will be confiscated and stored by the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards. In the case of violations that are behavioral in nature (such as smoking or cleanliness issues) or items too large to be confiscated, the residents must resolve the issue by a given compliance date.
The New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) routinely inspects all Ithaca College facilities' common areas and some randomly selected rooms and apartments for fire code violations. Ithaca College works with OFPC to make changes as identified during these inspections.