Residence Life

Living On Campus

Dakota State University is committed to providing residence halls which are comfortable and safe and which support personal growth. Not only does the student who lives on campus benefit from interaction with others in his or her hall, but he or she is more aware of the opportunities available on campus
for learning and growth and better able to take advantage of them.

It is for this reason that the South Dakota Board of Regents requires all unmarried students, during the first two years from the time they were graduated from high school, who are enrolled on a main campus for six or more credit hours, to reside on campus. A student may obtain an exemption from this requirement if they live full time with their parents.

Each of the halls is staffed with a resident director, four resident assistants and a custodian. The resident assistants are students hired by the Residence Life Office to assist the resident director in creating and maintaining a quality living-learning environment. Each hall has a hall council, elected by the occupants, that serves to promote hall spirit and involvement.

The combined capacity of Dakota State's residence halls is 692. Emry Hall is home to 154 women and Richardson Hall houses 192 men, while Higbie Hall (capacity l50) and Zimmermann Hall (capacity 124) are "coed" halls, with men and women on alternate floors. The 8-Plex apartment-type complex houses 72.

Room Assignment

Students receive their room assignment by mail beginning in mid-summer and are expected to move into the room assigned to them. Students wishing to change rooms/roommates are asked to notify their resident director by Thursday of the first week of the semester. Resident directors will seek to accommodate all requests and will notify residents, by noon Monday of the second week of the semester, whether or not they may move.

Housing contracts are sent by the Admissions Office to prospective students upon their being accepted for enrollment. Room assignments are made by the Residence Life Office for new students in the order that their completed contract and room deposit are received. Roommate requests will be honored where each person requests the other as a roommate.

All rooms are double occupancy. Single occupancy of a double room is permitted,
where space is available and the student has paid the single room charge, on the basis of seniority in terms of semester hours completed.

Hall Furnishings

Residence Life seeks to provide enough furnishings to make the student comfortable, without unnecessarily restricting the ability of the student to personalize the room. Curtains, closets, chests of drawers, desks, chairs, loft unit, and twin-sized beds are provided. Residents must furnish their own linen, blankets, pillows and towels. Extra-length beds are available for students six foot four and taller placed in halls that don't already have extra long beds.

TV lounges, laundry facilities and kitchenettes are available in all four of the residence halls. Cable TV, wireless local area network and local telephone service is included in the semester's room rent (students supply their own phones). Phone cards must be used to place long distance calls.

8-Plex Apartments

The 8-plex apartments are furnished with a refrigerator and stove in the kitchens and each bedroom is furnished with a desk, chair, chest of drawers and an extra-long twin bed, mattress and loft unit. The apartments are carpeted and drapes are furnished by the University. Each bedroom and living room is wired for computer hookup and cable TV. Wireless network access is also available throughout each apartment. Coin operated laundry facilities are provided on each floor of the complex. Students entering a minimum of their second year are eligible to live in the apartment units.