Resident Advisers and Community Assistants
Resident Advisers, (RAs) and Community Assistants, (CAs) are students who are Residential Life team members living in on-campus residence halls and apartments. In Family Housing, CAs may be non-student residents. Your RA/CA is your main point of contact, and they will make an intentional effort to connect with you regularly over the year. You can talk with them about a variety of topics, and they will connect you with other staff and University of Washington (UW) resources if needed.
RAs and CAs can be incredibly helpful in some of the following ways:
- Facilitating social events and connection to other residents.
- Sharing knowledge about campus and community resources.
- Building a sense of community within the floor or building.
- Conversation partner for processing the adjustment to college life
- Conducting community walks and ensure that policies are followed.
An RA/CA is on call every night from 5 pm–8 am. They can be reached by calling 206-543-1000.
Community Managers
RAs/CAs report to a full-time staff member who serves as a Community Manager. This might be an Area Director (AD), Resident Director (RD), Associate Hall Director (AHD) or Program Supervisor. The Community Manager’s office is located in your building’s Residential Life Office (RLO) or Community Center. Please feel free to contact them with any questions or concerns.
Husky Card: Your key to campus
Your Husky Card is your electronic key to get into your building and for access to other assigned areas on campus such as dining and amenity spaces.
Use it for dining and other purchases
Your Husky Card is also a debit card. One card with two separate accounts:
Your Husky Card is the property of the UW and is for your exclusive use. Always carry your Husky Card and treat it as you would cash or a key.
Report a missing card
Unfortunately, if you misplace or lose your Husky Card there is nothing to prevent others from using it. Report a missing Husky Card right away by contacting the Husky Card Office at 206-543-7222, or visit them on the ground floor of the Odegaard Undergraduate Library. You can also suspend a lost Husky Card at theOnline Card Office. Replacement charges may apply; see the Incidental Charges page for current pricing. Your front desk can provide you with a temporary building-access card to use until your Husky Card is found or replaced.
Room keys
The set of keys you received at check-in are assigned uniquely to you, but are considered UW property. Do not switch keys with anyone, and turn in your keys at your front desk or your designated checkout location when you move out or move to a different space.
Use your keys for entering and securing your residential space. Always carry your keys (and Husky Card), and lock your room or apartment doors whenever you exit.
Lockouts and lost keys
If you are locked out of your bedroom, apartment or building, you may temporarily check out a key or building-access card.
- During business hours, go to your front desk.
- If you are locked out after the front desk is closed, call the RA/CA on call at 206-543-1000.
- There is a fee for any lockout assistance outside front desk hours or any time a Residential Life staff member is required to unlock a door.
- The lockout key must be returned within 72 hours. Failure to return the key within 72 hours may result in you being charged for a lock change.
Charges may apply to rekey your room if your keys are lost or otherwise not returnable. Charges to replace a bent or broken key may apply as well.
If your keys are stolen, contact the UW Police Department (UWPD) at 206-685-UWPD (8973)/TTY 206-543-3323 to file a report and receive a case number. Rekeys due to stolen keys will not result in a charge if we can document your case number.
Since residential community keys are considered high security, the UW Lock Shop will not replace any key unless we can provide them with a bent or broken key in return for its replacement. This means that when any key is lost, stolen or otherwise unaccounted for, the whole key series must be rekeyed. Missing keys cannot be replaced. Rekey or key replacement costs may be charged to your housing account.
Keeping things clean and working
All students are responsible for the upkeep and cleanliness of their room and/or apartment. As a courtesy, green cleaning supplies can be found in our residential communities. Please return them when you have finished cleaning. Vacuums and carts can be found in the closet in your community. Your RA/CA can guide you to these locations. These supplies are shared by all in the community.
Laundry
Washing your clothes shouldn’t be stressful! With the Just Like Home Laundry Program, we’re simplifying the process by removing metered laundry. Gone are the days of paying for each load. Instead, a $36 quarterly fee will allow you to use the machines whenever you need.
This program has:
- All-in-One: Everything you need is located on the WASH-Connect app.
- Laundry Monitoring: You can check machine availability and get alerts your laundry is done.
- Maximizing Your Money’s Worth: Wash your clothes whenever you need to.
- Reduced Service Calls: Reduction of service calls due to payment issues and the overloading of machines.
Laundry systems do not take coins and do not accept payment per use. Please see the Incidental Charges page for laundry costs. Machines are activated using an Android or iPhone app, which also provides machine availability, cycle alerts and monitoring, and the ability to request repair service. Residents must use their UW e-mail address to create an account and activate their registration from inside their building laundry room.
Cleaning and inspections
Bathroom and apartment inspections are conducted quarterly to ensure that residents are cleaning and maintaining their apartment on a regular basis. Inspections also give staff an opportunity to address any facility-related issues in a timely manner. Each quarter, residents will be notified of their inspection date and inspection results via email.
Graduate and professional housing in Mercer Court buildings D and E will only be inspected once per year, during winter quarter. Family housing residents may receive annual apartment inspections.
To learn more about how to clean a bathroom watch our video. And to see how to clean a kitchen, we have a video for that too!
Sublicensed rooms in 12-month apartments
If your space is being sublicensed, the inspection email will be sent to both the agreement holder and the sublicensee. Although the agreement holder will be responsible for all financial implications of this process, the failure of the sublicensee properly maintaining the space may result in the end of their residency with HFS. Please contact Residential Life staff with any questions.
How to place a work order
If you are in need of maintenance assistance, you must place a work order to alert the custodial and maintenance staff of the problem. You will not be charged for routine repairs. Work orders are completed as promptly as possible and are prioritized by the seriousness of the repair needed. Some repairs may not be made immediately. Submit nonemergency work orders at FS Works.
Reserve HFS meeting space
In addition to the various study lounges that are available on a first-come, first-served basis, there are a variety of meeting and event spaces within the residence halls that you eligible to reserve as an HFS resident. Reservation requests must be submitted no later than 7 business days prior to your event.
Submit your request using the UW HFS Resident Meeting Space Request Form.
Custodial services
HFS Facilities Services keeps the public bathrooms, lounges, halls, study areas and other common areas clean and maintained. Our staff is made up of dedicated and tenured individuals who pride themselves on their service to our residents. Please do your part to keep areas clean and tidy.
Compost, recycling and trash
In all residence halls with interior hallways there is a trash area on each floor. This area has either chutes or bins in which to sort your waste. Compost bins can also be found either in the floor kitchens or the trash areas.
In apartment communities there is one waste disposal location for the entire complex. Your RA/CA, as well as local signage, will direct you to this location.
There are three different waste streams available based on the type of product you are disposing: Trash, Recycling or Compost. More information on waste sorting may be found with UW Recycling.
Medical waste disposal
Federal, state and municipal regulations require that medical waste be disposed of in an approved container to keep residents and our staff safe. Medical waste cannot be disposed of in the trash. If you generate this type of waste, please provide your own medical waste disposal container.
For disposal, contact the King County Hazardous Waste Hotline at 206-296-4692. Some pharmacies will dispose of your medical waste if you purchase the medical device from them; please check with a pharmacy for further information on their disposal program.