Moving Out

Pack and remove all of your personal belongings from your assigned residential space. This includes decorations, personal furniture, academic materials, and personal belongings. Packing materials are available at Mount Vernon businesses and at the Kenyon College Bookstore. Personal items left behind will be donated or discarded. It is imperative that students complete additional walkthroughs of their room before departing to ensure that they have not missed any items that may have fallen behind furniture or left in drawers. The Office of Residential Life is extremely busy at this time and will not have capacity to check for belongings left behind in rooms. Again, any items left after you check-out will be discarded or donated.

• Bikes should not be left on campus over the summer except if a student is approved to stay on-campus. Bikes left on campus by non-summer residents will be removed and donated. If you are a summer resident, look for an email in early June about what to do with your bike over the summer.

• Return all library books to Chalmers and dining hall dishes to Peirce. Students will be charged $15 for each of these items left in rooms after they have checked out.

• If you have a Post Office key, you should return it to the Gambier Post Office. DO NOT return this key to the Office of Residential Life or Campus Safety. Post Office keys can be dropped in the outgoing mail slot at their building.

• Parking exceptions will be made for move-out. Thirty minute loading zones will be established for students to park and load up their vehicles. Vehicles must be loaded after moving.

• Students wishing to ship or store their items are welcome to use these shipping options. Our office will coordinate with these companies to ensure they are able to access your belongings if they are scheduled to be picked up after your departure. Kenyon College does not offer storage options and any storage, packing, and shipping services must be coordinated directly between the student and the company of choice. Fees may vary and are assessed individually by the company.

Students are responsible for leaving their assigned living space in good condition and returning all furniture to its original location prior to their departure. For students with roommates living in apartments, suites or houses, plan on dividing cleaning duties in common areas to ensure cleaning charges are not accrued. Students without roommates are responsible for cleaning their entire assigned space. Donation boxes, recycling facilities and dumpsters will be available in residential areas.

• Remove all tape, stickers, adhesive wall hooks and decals from walls, ceilings, doors, mirrors and windows. Residue left from adhesives should also be removed.

• Any writing or drawing on doors, walls, mirrors, windows, furniture,and other surfaces should be removed.

• Drawers should be emptied and debris wiped out.

• Floors should be swept and debris collected in dust pans and disposed of; do not sweep debris into hallways. Be sure to check under furniture for dust and dirt.

• Empty garbage bins and wipe out any remaining residue. Remove all garbage from residence and dispose of it in designated areas. Additional dumpsters will be added to campus in the days leading up to move-out. Garbage left behind in residential spaces will be charged to all students assigned to the space.

• Move College-owned furniture to its original location. Remove personal furniture from campus.

• If you raised your bed you need to lower it to its original position. Bed frames should be lowered to the second rung from the bottom of the headboard/footboard (about 18 inches off the ground). If your bed was lofted by BedLoft, you do not need to un-loft your bed, their service will do this for you.

• Do not place any items in hallways! This includes personal items, furniture and trash. This creates a fire hazard for all residents and guests and undue pressure on the custodial team.

• Close and lock all windows, turn off all lights, and close and lock your door.

The Office of Residential Life works closely with the Maintenance Department, Campus Safety, Office of Campus Events and Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement at the end of every school year to transition from the academic year to summer programs and events. The window to prepare rooms and buildings is narrow and established checkout deadlines and fees encourage students to be particularly attentive to the checkout process. To ensure that students are mindful of checkout deadlines, we begin communicating this information in April. 

Checkout deadlines provide our staff the logistical latitude to coordinate room inspections, complete work orders, ensure that keys are accounted for, and prepare rooms. Failure to checkout on time, or submit the proper checkout paperwork, delays our ability to utilize resources effectively. Additionally, the checkout deadline is key in allowing our staff to account for where our students and guests are at any given time, furthering their safe arrivals and departures to and from campus. Our aim is not to penalize students, but rather, keep our processes efficient, accountable, and supportive of all campus events and activities. We hope that early communication of deadlines and processes allows students, families, and guests to plan ahead.

Express Checkouts

Most students opt for express checkouts. To complete an express checkout, residents must do all of the closing directives above. Students opting for an express checkout waive their right to appeal any charges/damages found in their room.

• When a student has completed the other closing requirements, they should pick up an express checkout packet from Lower Gund Commons. Each packet includes a checkout form, carbon copy checkout form, and key envelope. 

• Students must complete the checkout form and remove the yellow carbon-copy for their own records.

• Students must leave their key(s) in the attached key packet and seal the envelope.

• Completed packets (checkout form and keys) must be dropped off at one of the two following locations ONLY: the Office of Residential Life in Lower Gund Commons or the black safe located outside of the Campus Safety Office in Upper Gund Commons. A supplemental drop off location will be provided at the Bookstore on the day of Commencement. Forms can be dropped off after hours at the black safe outside of the Campus Safety Office in Upper Gund Commons.

• Express checkout locations will be staffed immediately prior to deadlines to ensure that forms are received by the deadlines. Forms received after the deadline(s) will be marked late and charged $150 for a late check out or failure to check out.

Formal Checkouts

Students seeking a formal checkout will be present and complete their checkout with a CA or other Office of Residential Life staff member.

• Students should first reach out to their CA to schedule a mutually agreeable date and time. If a mutually agreed date and time is not available with the student's own CA, they can email the Office of Residential Life directly for another staff member to schedule their formal checkout. Requests must be received 24 hours in advance of the date/time of the checkout requested. Checkouts cannot be accommodated if they are requested the day of.

• Graduating seniors seeking formal checkouts should email the Office of Residential Life no later than noon on Friday, May 17, to schedule a formal checkout.

• All of the checkout directives listed above must be completed before a formal checkout can be completed. Students who have not completed these requirements prior to their scheduled checkout time may be defaulted to an express checkout if another staff member is not available.

• During the checkout process, the condition of the room will be assessed and any damages documented in writing and with photos. Residents are able to address damage and room concerns during that walkthrough and these comments will be noted.

• The staff member will collect any keys from the student at the time of checkout.

• Students will sign-off on their checkout form that they were present for the checkout.

• Students who opt for a formal checkout are able to appeal any damage charges, however, this does not guarantee that damage charges will be reversed.

Please note that CAs do not determine damage charges, they are responsible for documenting damages and submitting this information to the Office of Residential Life professional staff.

May is a busy time of year for the Office of Residential Life as we work to transition students into their summer break and coordinate with our campus partners for major events like graduation, Reunion Weekend and summer events. To ensure that our team is able to turn over campus for the summer in a short period of time, it is imperative that students are attentive to deadlines and damages that may accrue charges to their student account.

Late or Improper Checkout

All students must check out of their residence via either an express or formal checkout. Failure to complete a checkout or not checking out by the requisite deadlines will result in a $150 fee charged to the student’s account. 

Missing Key

All residential keys must be returned at the time of checkout. Keys that are not returned will be rendered obsolete and rooms will be immediately cored to a new lock to ensure campus security. The Office of Residential Life cannot accept keys returned after a student checkout has occurred due to condensed timelines and room and lock turnover.

Unapproved Stay

Students not approved to be on campus after the given move out deadlines will be assessed a late checkout fee of $150, as well as an additional $150 for each unapproved night in residence. Students will also be referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and will lose the privilege to participate in their own Senior Week activities during the year of their graduation. 

Damages

Residences will be inspected thoroughly upon checkout. Common charges include trash removal, abandoned personal belongings, damages to the room or College-owned furniture that were not documented in the Room Condition Report (RCR). All charges will be billed through Student Accounts. Damages in common areas or those that are not able to be attributed to a single resident will be divided evenly among all assigned residents. If a resident or resident(s) take responsibility for particular damages, the divided charges will be reassessed to the appropriate residents. In these instances, all students of an assigned space need to email the Office of Residential Life with directives about how the charges should be divided.