RESIDENTIAL LIFE

Experience More Logo with W flag

A rewarding residential experience 
Wartburg prides itself on being a four-year residential institution! The Wartburg College Residential Life Program is an integral part of the educational program and academic support services of Wartburg College. The mission is to provide a living-learning environment for all residential students, in accordance with the nature and goals of the college. The goals of the residential life program include: providing individual and/or group educational and development opportunities, offering well-maintained facilities, and providing responsive, efficient, and effective management of services and resources.

Benefits of Living on Campus

Academic Performance: Living on campus gives students an academic edge. According to the American Council on Education, studies show students who reside on campus achieve higher grade point averages than their off-campus peers.

Social and Personal Development: For many students, college is the first taste of independence from parental control. Campus housing creates a supervised environment conducive to healthy personal/social development by providing students the opportunity to form an identity, or sense of community, with the institution.

Convenience and Time Management: Many students find living on campus much more convenient than living off campus and on-campus students generally interact more with faculty and staff mentors, taking greater advantage of academic support services.

Diversity: Wartburg students living on campus represent more diversity racially and ethnically than living in the Waverly community.

HOUSING OPTIONS

Three girls sit in a dorm room. One is laying propped up on the bed. A second is sitting on the couch with a laptop and the third sits in a chair near windows.

FIRST-YEAR RESIDENCE HALLS
Slife, Vollmer, Founders, and Clinton Hall
Most rooms are doubles; however, three-person rooms are available.

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UPPER DIVISION HOUSING
Grossmann, Löhe, Hebron, Afton and Waverly Manors, and The Residence
Room styles include singles, doubles, and three-, four-, six- and eight-person suites.

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TOWNHOUSE LIVING
Knights Village
Individual two-story townhouses for four to six students include a furnished living space and kitchen.

Health & Safety Inspections
Residential Life staff will conduct monthly health and safety inspections in the Manors, Knights Village and the Residence where students are responsible for cleaning their own bathrooms and kitchens. Residential Life staff will conducted mid semester health and safety inspections on all rooms on campus.

SERVICE LIVING

The Residence, a suite-style residence hall, is a living and learning environment in which residents come together as a community to grow as servant leaders and gain greater social awareness. The primary goal of The Residence Service Projects is to work as a group to identify and meet a need in the community. Service projects must be developed with the intention that all members of the group participate in the planning and implementation of programs and events. In addition, each member must be committed to serving a community partner. The project should begin at the start of Fall Term and continue for the entire academic year.

The Residence
The Residence - Sample Suite

OTHER INFORMATION

Wartburg College has partnered with College Products to offer students in Founders, Clinton, Slife, Vollmer, Grossmann, and Lohe halls the option to rent a loft kit.

These kits allow students to raise the provided residence hall beds high enough to create additional floor space in their rooms. Only lofts rented through College Products will be allowed in the designated halls. Students residing in The Residence, Knight’s Village, The Manors, and Hebron will not have an approved lofting option but may use bed risers to increase bed height.

The base rental cost for a loft kit is $210.00, with optional add-ons available, including pre-assembly, a shelf, a safety railing, and more. Orders placed by August 1, 2025, will be delivered to your room before move-in day. If you select the pre-assembly option, your loft will be fully set up upon arrival.

Labor Rates: trades/maintenance $50/hr; cleaning $35 per hour
1 hr minimum assessment

Damage Assessment Guidelines

Bed

Repair bed or spring (min)

$50

Reassemble bed/unbunk

$50

Replace wood bunk (per sleeping surface)

$200

Replace headboard (each)

$125

Carpet

Stain removal/wax removal (min)

$50

Damaged Bedroom

$300

Damaged Living Area

$600

Chair

Replace entire chair (actual cost) Student room

$125

Cleaning (Excessive)

Garbage, food, etc. (min. per occurrence)

$50

Urine, vomit, feces, etc. (min per occurrence)

$100

Desk

Repair (min)

$50

Replace (actual cost)

$500

Door

Repair cracks or veneer (min)

$50

Replace door (min)

$400

Doorknob

Rekey lock plus key replacement

$200

Replace entire lockset (min) plus key replacement

$450

Dresser

Repair (min)

$50

Replace (actual cost)

$500

Exit Sign

Egress light or Exit sign

$150

Life Safety Systems

Setting off or tampering with (min)

$300

Fire Extinguisher

Recharge

$150

Replace

$185

Repair extinguisher box (min) actual cost

$50

Clean discharged extinguisher cost Plus fine

$200

Mattress

Replace 

$150

Mirror

Replace (min) actual cost

$50

Room Condition

Remove furniture (per piece)

$50

Remove appliances (per piece)

$50

Unclean (per occupant) minimum

$50

Smoke Detector

Hallway

$200

Room

$100

Towel Bar

Replace (min) actual cost

$35

Trash can

Replace (actual cost)

$25-$100

Wall Damage

Loft marks (min)

$35

Nail holes each (min)

$10

Tape/command strips (min)

$25

Repaint room (min)

$120

Willful Destruction

Fine added to repair cost (min)

$50

Window screens/glass

Repair or reinsert removed screen

$50

Replace entire screen (actual cost) min

$100

Grossmann window hardware replacement (min)

$50

Replace glass (min)

$50

Replace window blind

$100

Replace half of combination

$50

Updated July 2022

New incoming students will complete a housing application online during SOAR and indicate building preference as part of their SOAR checklist. Housing assignments are based on two factors:  the date the enrollment deposit is received and living-environment preferences. 

All incoming students are assigned a roommate or roommates.  Students should utilize the My College Roomie App to connect with other incoming students and find a roommate who seems compatible. Once the student has a identified a roommate, they will request them in the My College Roomie app. The request must be mutual in order to be granted.  Students are notified of their housing assignments in late July or early August. 

  • New students will be asked to sign the Housing and Dining Contract as part of their SOAR checklist.
  • New students who are participating in the Honors program live in Clinton Hall as part of the living-learning community during the first year.

Break Housing
Residence Halls close for Term Break, Winter Break, and Tour week. Students who meet one of the following criteria are allowed to stay on campus, in their assigned room at no charge to them:

  • The student lives 500 miles or more from campus.
  • The student is required to stay for academic reasons (verified by the professor). 
  • The student is required to stay for a campus activity (verified by the Program Director).
  • The student is required to stay for athletics (verified by the Athletic Department).
  • The student is required to work on or off campus (verified by the campus employer).

Students who do not meet the above criteria are still allowed to register for break housing. Those students will be charged the daily rate of $25 a day. Only students registered to stay will be allowed to stay in the halls over break. 

May Term Housing
On-campus housing during the Fall, Winter, or May Term is limited to students who are enrolled in at least one course for credit. This could be a traditional on-campus course, an internship, arranged study, in person, online, or study away course. If a student desires to live on campus and is not enrolled in a course but can describe how they plan to spend a majority of their time engaged in one or more meaningful activities that further their goals academically or professionally, they may be granted the opportunity to remain in on-campus housing. Examples of meaningful activities would be substitute teaching in a local school district, non-credit bearing internships, or full-time employment. Decisions regarding eligibility to remain on campus without being registered in a May Term course are at the discretion of a group of professional staff members in the Student Life Office. All requests must be submitted in writing to residential.life@wartburg.edu by Monday, April 29, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. If a student is denied their request and is not registered for a May Term course, they will be asked to move out of their room by Friday, May 3, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.

Summer Housing
Students who sign up for summer housing will live in Knights Village in a single or double room within a suite. Below is the breakdown of cost based on room type, number of sessions, and meals:

Summer Housing & Food Plan Options Meals Included Total Weeks Cost
One Summer Session (Single Room) 25 5 Weeks $1,425
One Summer Seession (Double Room) 25 5 Weeks $950
Both Summer Sessions (Single Room) 25 10 Weeks $2,850
Both Summer Sessions (Double Room) 25 10 Weeks $1,900
One Summer Session (Single Room) 45 5 Weeks $1,585
One Summer Session (Double Room) 45 5 Weeks $1,110
Both Summer Sessions (Single Room) 45 10 Weeks $3,170
Both Summer Sessions (Double Room) 45 10 Weeks $2,220

Any unused meals at the end of the second 5-week session will be carried over until the beginning of the Fall Term board plan. There will not be any refunds for unused meals. Additional meals will be available for purchase.

There are a limited number of beds available for summer housing. A request form for summer housing is now available for students to sign up here. The availability of a summer room as well as your preference of room type (i.e. single or double) will be prioritized by the date you submit your request, with all requests due no later than April 17, 2025. Housing requests submitted after April 17, 2025, and/or cancelled after May 5, 2025 will result in a $75 fee.

Students living on campus during the 2025 Summer Session II will need to move out of their summer Knights Village apartment on August 1 or 2 into either:

  • Their fall term housing room, if available, in The Residence, Manors, Hebron, third floor of Vollmer, or a Knights Village apartment not used for summer housing OR
  • A temporary housing room on the third floor of Vollmer until they can move into their fall term room on August 8, 2025.

Applications for the 2025-26 academic year will open Monday, Jan. 20 and are due Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m.

Wartburg College prides itself on being a four-year residential campus. Because Wartburg College values the role of residence hall life in creating a vibrant living/learning community, all full-time students are REQUIRED to live on campus all four years and for the duration of each academic year. A student desiring to live off campus must apply for approval from the Residential Life Office. All off-campus decisions are made through the Off-Campus Review Committee. Students who move off campus without permission for release will be held responsible for full room and board charges.

Incomplete applications or late applications will not be reviewed and will result in automatic denial. If you believe you may want to live off campus pending your housing lottery results, you should still apply during the regular off-campus process to ensure you have approval. 

Students who receive a scholarship that requires them to live on campus (Full Tuition Regents Scholarship, Tuition Remission, Tuition Exchange, Wilhelm Loehe Scholarship, ELCA Tuition Exchange, Harry & Polly Slife Minority Scholarship, R.J. McElroy Minority Scholarship, International Ruppe Scholarship, Davis United World College Scholars Program and McCaskey Orange Opportunity Scholarship, Otto Legacy Scholarship) must meet with Financial Aid before submitting an application so they understand the impact off-campus approval may have on their financial aid package.

Initial decisions for off-campus approvals will be announced by mid-February. If you do not meet any of the off campus living criteria but have submitted an application for other reasons, there may be a delay in the college’s response to you based on the gathering of information and the need for additional review meetings.

If you do not receive final notification of approval prior to the start of the Housing Lottery Process, you will need to participate to ensure your opportunity to secure preferred on-campus housing for the following academic year. Failure to participate in the Housing Lottery does not allow you to live off-campus without approval. If your application is approved after securing an on-campus space, you can still choose to reside off-campus.

Please choose the appropriate application based on the criteria below.

Criteria One – automatic release after verification – must meet one of the criteria below.

  • I am married (verified by Residential Life)
  • I am or will be 23 years of age or older on the start of the fall term that I am applying for (verified by Residential Life)
  • I have dependent children (verified by Residential Life)
  • I will be interning full-time further than 50 miles from campus (verified by  Internship Coordinator)

Criteria two – applications will be reviewed by the off-campus release committee. Approval is not guaranteed. Students applying with this criteria will have a $600 non-resident fee applied each term to their student account for each term they reside off-campus. Students requesting an exemption based on their status as an Active-Duty Military Member or Veteran Status must provide a copy of their DD214 as proof of Veteran or Active Duty status.

  • I will be commuting from my legal guardian’s home, within the 30 mile radius of campus (requires notarized letter from legal guardian and proof of address)
  • I will be in my final year at Wartburg, have lived on campus for 6 semesters, and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher (Verified by the Registrar and Residential Life).
  • I have a circumstance that I feel requires special attention for review. Must include a written description of said circumstance and any supporting documentation you feel is pertinent to our decision.

Student requesting off campus permission for medical or mental health needs must submit proof of housing accommodation approval from disability services.

Criteria three – I have been previously approved to live off campus (still required to apply online).

Any incoming new or transfer students desiring to live off campus must apply for approval from the Residential Life Office prior to the start of the fall term.

Applications are reviewed and sorted by the following criteria.

Criteria One – automatic release after verification – must meet one of the criteria below.

  • I am married 
  • I am or will be 23 years of age or older on the start of the fall term that I am applying for 
  • I have dependent children 
  • I will be interning full-time further than 50 miles from campus

Criteria two – applications will be reviewed by the off-campus release committee. Approval is not guaranteed. Students applying with this criteria will have a $600 non-resident fee applied each term to their student account for each term they reside off-campus. Students requesting an exemption based on their status as an Active-Duty Military Member or Veteran Status must provide a copy of their DD214 as proof of Veteran or Active Duty status.

  • I will be commuting from my legal guardian’s home, within the 30-mile radius of campus (requires notarized letter from legal guardian and proof of address)
  • I am a transfer student who lived off campus at my previous institution for two or more semesters.
  • I have a circumstance that I feel requires special attention for review. Must include a written description of said circumstance and any supporting documentation you feel is pertinent to our decision.

The following scholarships have an on-campus living requirement: 

  • Tuition Remission
  • Tuition Exchange
  • ELCA Tuition Exchange
  • ELCA International Women
  • R.J. McElroy Minority Scholarship
  • Davis UWC Scholarship
  • McCaskey Orange Opportunity Scholarship
  • Harry & Polly Slife Minority Scholarship
  • Iowa Access To Excellence
  • Professor AW Swenson Regents Scholarship

Students who are receiving these scholarships that choose to live off campus will be forfeiting any future funding they may have received from these scholarships.

2023-24 Residence halls opening and closing dates:

  • New Student Move-in – Saturday, Sept. 2, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. 
  • Returning Student Move-in – Monday, Sept. 4, starting at 8 a.m.
  • Fall Break – Halls remain open 
  • Thanksgiving Break – Halls remain open 
  • End of Term Break – Halls close Friday, Dec. 15 at 12 p.m.  
  • Start of Winter Term – Halls reopen Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8:00am 
    Students returning from Wartburg West/Study Away may begin moving in Friday, Jan. 5 at 8 a.m.
  • Start of Winter Break – Halls close Saturday, Feb. 23 at 12 p.m. 
  • End of Winter Break – Halls reopen Saturday, March 3 at 8 a.m.
  • Easter Break – Halls remain open 
  • Tour Week – Halls close Saturday, April 20 at 12 p.m.
  • Start of May Term – Halls reopen Saturday, April 27 at 8 a.m. 
    Students returning from Wartburg West/Study Away may begin moving in Friday, April 26 at 8 a.m.
  • End of May Term – Halls close Friday, May 24 at 12 p.m. 
    Students requesting to extend their housing due to participation in May 2024 Commencement must complete a housing extension request by Friday, May 10. The extension request form will be sent out prior to Tour Week.   
  • Move-out for May graduates – Halls close Monday, May 27 at 12 p.m.

Returning students may begin moving in starting at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 2. There will be a tent set up at the E-lot parking lot outside of the student center from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. This is where key packets can be picked up upon arrival to campus.  Key pick up will continue on Tuesday, Sept. 3 from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the same location. 

Students who need to arrive earlier than Sept. 2 may request an early return by emailing residential.life@wartburg.edu. Early returns may begin starting on August 23. Students who live more than 500 miles from campus will not be charged. Students who do not meet that criteria will be charged $25 per day from their arrival date until Monday, Sept. 2.  

STAFF

Student Staff
Resident Assistants are undergraduate members of the Residential Life Staff under contract to the Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students, and report to and are supervised by an Area Coordinator. Resident Assistants have the most frequent and direct communication with residential students. Therefore, Resident Assistants have an outstanding opportunity to contribute to the development and education of these individuals. Resident Assistants also are responsible for implementing initiatives and policies through which the goals of Residential Life are accomplished. It is expected that Resident Assistants will be interested in the welfare of students regardless of their race, gender identity and/or gender expression, ability, political affiliation, veteran status, religion, ancestry, ethnicity, age, or sexual orientation at Wartburg College.

Professional Staff
Because we put so much emphasis on the education that happens outside of the classroom we feel it is vital that students have professional resources available in the residence halls as well as in the classroom. Each residential area is staffed by an Area Coordinator who is a professional trained in student development, conflict resolution and crisis management. Area Coordinators oversee the Resident Assistants (RAs), serve as a resource to students, and educate on policy violations. 

Ben Rieber

Area Coordinator - Clinton, Founders

Nancy Lopes

Area Coordinator - Ubuntu Center

Alli Summers

Associate Director for Residential Life and Title IX Coordinator

Courtney Tripp-Stuck

Director of Residential Life & First Year Transition - Grossman and Löhe