Exchange students have a number of questions about what they should do once they arrive in the student residence of the City University of Hong Kong and how they can maximize the benefits for a very enjoyable hall life. We are here to help. Below are some frequently asked questions or frequently expressed concerns.
Housing:
Q1 When can I know the result of my application for on-campus residence?
Q2 Where can I stay, if I arrive early in Hong Kong?
Q4 If I don't like the room to me, is there any way I can change rooms?
Q5 Should I still accept the hall offer, even if I want to change my room?
Q6 When do I have to pay my residence fee and how?
Hall Policies and Regulations:
Q7 What is the policy on visiting hours or midnight curfew?
Q8 What should I do to host my visitors?
Q9 Can I invite visitors to stay overnight in my room?
Q10 How can I host my visitors after 12:00midnight?
Q11 Is smoking permitted in the Student Residence?
Q12 What are the quiet hours in the Student Residence?
Q13 Is alcohol drinking permitted in the residence halls or other public areas?
Residential Life:
Q15 How can I get off to a good start with my roommate?
Q16 What are the quick tips for good mingling with my hall-mates living on the same floor?
Housing:
Q1 When can I know the result
of my application for on-campus residence?
For exchange students admitted for Semester B, Student Residence Office (SRO) will send you an email to inform you of your application result around the middle of November and the room assignment around the middle of December. Exchange students admitted for Sem A or the whole academic year (Sem A & Sem B) will receive the email notification about the application result in early July and room assignment in early August.
You can check your application result/room assignment at our website: http://www.cityu.edu.hk/sro/download_area/application/Application_status_exchange_std.xls
Q2
Where can I stay if I arrive early in Hong Kong?
You will need to make other arrangements for your stay if you arrive before the date of your housing term. You will need to make a reservation in local accommodation.
Q3
What should I do or where can I find off-campus housing, if I am not assigned an
on-campus residence?
You need to secure your off-campus accommodation as soon as possible and before your arrival in Hong Kong. Our on-line Off-campus Accommodation System (OCAS) provides you with related resources about local property agents and a platform to match up with your preferred roommate/flatmates.
Q4 If
I don't like the room assigned to me, is there any way I can change rooms?
Most of the rooms in our Student Residence (Cornwall Street) are double rooms. Single rooms are very limited. Requests for changing to a single room have to be furnished with justifiable reasons (e.g. medical reasons) and supporting documents.
Requests for room swapping should be made through completing an application form to be obtained at SRO as well as obtaining the support and approval of your Residence Tutor and Residence Master. You need to look for residents who are willing to swap places with you for room swapping requests.
Note: we cannot guarantee that room changing or swapping will be possible.
Q5 Should I still accept the
hall offer, even if I want to change my room?
If you don¡¦t accept the offer, the offer will be forfeited and made to other students on the application or waiting list. Your may apply for room change once you move in , but there is no guarantee that such request will be accepted.
Sem A hall fee payment
Mid Sept: collect your payment statement
from your mailbox on the G/F of your hall
Mid Oct: due date of hall fee payment
Sem B hall fee payment
Early Feb: collect your payment
statement from your mailbox on the G/F of your hall
End Feb: due date of payment
Payment methods
ATM, Internet payment (deduct from cash
account), PPS, bank bill payment by credit card, cash cheque payment, bank draft
payment.
Hall Policies and Regulations:
Q7 What is the policy on
visiting hours or midnight curfew?
The "visiting hours" of all halls are from 8:00am to 12:00midnight and no visitors (including residents from other halls) can stay in the hall outside these hours.
This visiting policy is a common norm in Hong Kong institutions. A visiting policy and visitor control are enforced so as to protect the overall safety of student residents and address the expectations of both student residents and their parents. About 50% of our student residents in undergraduate halls are Hong Kong Chinese and 35% are mainland Chinese, and their culture expects us to give special priority to students¡¦ safety. This policy is made even more important in view of the location of the residence in the centre of the city.
Q8 What should I do to host my
visitors?
You are required to come down to the hall lobby to complete a proper electronic registration with your visitors on a pair-up reader system at the security counter. Do not forget to remind your visitors to check out at the security counter before 12:00midnight. Otherwise the visitors may be misunderstood as overstaying in the hall after 12:00midnight.
Be considerate of your roommate¡¦s/flatmates¡¦ privacy and interests when you host visitors in your room. Overall, Chinese are rather introverted when expressing their concerns or ¡§getting to the point ¡§relating to this issue, even when they feel disturbed by your visitors.
Q9 Can I invite visitors to
stay overnight in my room?
This is not permitted. After 12:00midnight, the security staff and Residence Tutors will immediately invite visitors to leave the hall. Students hosting over-staying visitors may be subject to disciplinary action.
Q10 How can I host my visitors
after 12:00midnight?
During term time, Multi-function Hall B with wireless LAN has ¡§Multi-Leisure Time¡¨ from 11:00pm to 2:00am. It is open for student residents to drop in for social interaction, table-tennis and chess games. You may consider meeting your visitors or friends there after the hall visiting hours. It is also a good place to make new friends.
Q11 Is smoking permitted in the
Student Residence?
Smoking in the Student Residence is against the Anti-smoking Ordinance in Hong Kong and is an offence in law. Smoking in the Student Residence, including indoor and outdoor areas, will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include hall suspension and in some cases prosecution by the authorities.
Q12 What are the quiet hours in
the Student Residence?
The period from 11:00pm to 7:00am is regarded as the quiet hours of the Student Residence. During revision and exam periods, quiet hours may be extended as needed.
If you remain on the open lawn or other communal areas after 11:00pm, please remember that noise travels from there to the floors in the halls as well as to the neighbouring estate, creating noise nuisance and disturbance to others. Our security guards are authorized to conduct identity checking and disperse gatherings that generate noise and other nuisance.
Q13 Is alcohol drinking
permitted in the Student Residence?
Alcohol drinking is not prohibited. But the general principle is that drinking must not cause disturbance to others, safety hazard, damage to property or breach of hall rules. Please remember that excessive drinking will often impair judgment which leads to accidents, injuries and misbehaviours.
The organiser(s) who wish to serve alcoholic drinks in hall activities must seek prior permission from SRO and provide adequate supervision of the activities to avoid excessive drinking.
Residential Life:
Q14 What are the must-know
persons in my hall to make my hall life enjoyable and how can I find them?
Your Residence Tutor and Residence Master are the must-know persons for your hall. Meet them in hall activities and do not miss the hall orientation. Also look for your Floor Representative at your floor meetings. Meet the Executive Committee members of your hall¡¦s Residents¡¦ Association in other hall activities. The day and night security guards are also your core hall family members.
Contact SRO (sro@cityu.edu.hk) if you need assistance or have any concern about your residence.
Q15 How can I get off to a good
start with my roommate?
Be open-minded and respect the differences of your roommate from a different culture. Try to appreciate both commonalities and differences. It is important to communicate openly about common issues, including study habits, room setting, hosting room guests, noise level, standard of tidiness, etc.
Q16 What are the quick tips for
good mingling with my hall-mates living on the same floor?
Do not miss the floor meetings. Drop in at the Common Room on your floor, which is a popular place for floor-mates to socialize with each other. Remember what you are here for, get to know the local culture and build friendship that will last forever.
