The first year at Roanoke is often the most important one in a student's academic career. During this period, students assume responsibility for their academic and co-curricular activities. When this is a student's first extended stay away from home, important adjustments are sometimes required.
Self-reliance and self-discipline should develop along with independence and maturity.
Roanoke College operates on the principles of honesty, respect, and personal responsibility. Students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with these principles and will face disciplinary consequences if they fail to do so.
The faculty and staff of Roanoke College have a professional and personal right to perform their duties without harassment or obstruction. Students are expected to accomplish their academic and personal responsibilities to the community without assistance from either prearranged sources of information or from individuals.
Living on campus can be an important part of the Roanoke educational experience. Therefore, all full-time students, except those who have lived in the Roanoke Valley area for at least six months preceding the date of first enrollment, those who are married, those who live with relatives, those who are at least 23 years old (before the beginning of the term during which they desire to live off-campus), or those who have been given prior approval by the Office of
Student Affairs, are required to live on campus. Part-time students must receive permission from the Office of Student Affairs to reside on campus.
Residence hall space is reserved for a student after the individual has been admitted and has paid the deposit. Notification of room assignment is usually sent to new students in early August.
Rooms are furnished with single beds (extra long mattress), dressers, closets, desks, and chairs. Resident students generally bring linens (extra long), bedspreads, blankets, pillows, trash cans, and other personal articles. Housekeeping service is provided to clean common areas, but students are expected to maintain their individual rooms. A room key and exterior door key are issued to each resident
student.
Each residence hall complex is under the supervision of a professional Area Coordinator. In addition, a student Resident Advisor (RA) is assigned to each living area. The RAs assist students and enforce College regulations. Greek Resident Managers (GRMs) are assigned to the fraternity and sorority areas on campus and perform similar functions.
Residence Hall Councils exist in each building. They advise the administration on matters affecting residence hall living, purchase equipment for residents' use, and plan and implement hall programs.
Coin-operated washers and dryers are available for use by resident students. The College permits personal telephones in individual rooms at the student's expense. The service charge is included in the telecommunications fee for resident students. Public telephones are available, also.
Rooms in residence halls are rented only for those periods of time that the College is in regular session as specified by the College calendar. Room changes must be approved by the Residence Life Office.
The Resident Student Comprehensive Fee includes room and board costs. Meals are served in the College cafeteria, known as the Commons, seven days per week. Commuting students may buy meals in the Commons. In addition, food and snacks may be purchased in the snack bar, known as the Cavern.
Campus-wide social and co-curricular activities are coordinated through the Student Activities Office. The Assistant Dean of Students works with the student-run Campus Activities Board in providing a wide variety of activities to meet the needs and interests of the student body. Activities are open to all students and may include popular movies, live entertainment in the Cavern (the campus "snackbar"), dances, nightclub entertainment, and special events. National fraternities, both male and female, and special interest clubs provide additional social opportunities on campus.
The Outdoor Adventure program takes advantage of the college's geographic location to offer a unique outdoor experiential program which helps the college fulfill its mission of developing the whole person.
Campus activities allow students to apply principles learned in the classroom to practical situations. As part of the cooperative curriculum, students involved in campus activities learn such leadership skills as budgeting, motivating, delegating, programming, evaluating, and negotiating. Also, involved students have the opportunity to develop close relationships with faculty and staff advisors.
Responsibility in certain areas of campus life is delegated to the students by the President of the College. In these areas, the student government operates by designated authority rather than by inherent right.
Participation in self-government helps develop the discipline and sound judgment necessary to put education to the wisest possible use.
Students are members of numerous bodies, including the Board of Trustees Committee on Student Affairs, Academic Integrity Council, College Conduct Board, Student
Conduct Council, Library Committee, Resources and Planning Council, Curriculum Committee, and Student Life Council. The President of the Student Body is invited as a student observer to meetings of the Board of Trustees and of the Faculty.
Students write, edit, and publish a weekly newspaper, The Brackety-Ack. Campus news is highlighted with editorials, letters-to-the-editor columns, and opinion-poll articles.
Students also edit, publish, and manage the yearbook, The Rawenoch. The yearbook is intended to be a personal keepsake and a record of the college year.
The student literary magazine, On Concept's Edge, presents student-authored prose, poetry, and art work.
F.W. Olin Hall for Arts and Humanities, headquarters for the Fine Arts department, offers students a unique opportunity to experience the energy and excitement of the arts. Considered one of the best arts facilities in the state, Olin Hall provides students with the opportunity for scholarly, creative involvement in art, music, and theatre programs.
Olin Hall serves as a major cultural arts center for the Roanoke Valley, Some of the outstanding facilities available in Olin Hall include a 404-seat mainstage theatre with the latest in computerized lighting and sound systems; a 125-seat recital hall; a 500-seat outdoor amphitheater; versatile classrooms; studios; a fine arts library; practice room; a special media room equipped with slide, film, and TV projection; comfortable student lounge; a 100-seat studio theatre; a dance and rehearsal hall; faculty offices; and a sculpture platform garden.
In the visual arts, students in Olin Hall can develop their creativity in modern and fully-equipped painting, drawing, design, graphic art, computer photography, printmaking, ceramic, and sculpture studios. Running parallel to an active studio program for students is the Olin Hall gallery program, which presents many art exhibitions and events complementing the art studies, as well as national touring
exhibitions from such institutions as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian. In addition, student works are exhibited annually in Olin Hall, culminating in the senior art student exhibition held each year in the Smoyer Gallery.
In music, a student may audition for the Roanoke College Concert Choir, which performs at special events and on-campus and off-campus programs throughout the year.
A spring tour is often a part of the choir's schedule. In addition to voice training and performance, instrumental groups include the Chamber Orchestra, Chamber and Jazz Ensembles, and Pep Band. Olin Hall also provides opportunities to hear the Southwest Virginia Opera Society, the Roanoke Valley Chamber Music Society, and the College's resident chamber ensemble, the Kandinsky Trio.
In theatre, students audition for parts in several theatrical productions each year. Shows have included Crimes of the Heart, Fool for Love, Trojan Women, Dracula, Extremities, The Glass Menagerie, The Skin of Our Teeth, Hedda Gabler, Bus Stop, The Heidi Chronicles, and Godspell. Participation in theatre at Roanoke College gives students experience in acting, make-up, set and costume design, lighting, publicity, and other phases of production. This experience is available to students from all majors at the College.
Students have an opportunity to participate in intercollegiate club, intramural, and recreational sports and activities.
Roanoke has excellent facilities to support every phase of a well-rounded athletic program. There is an athletic field and all-weather track with seating for 1,400, and playing and practicing fields for soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey. Tennis courts are located near the gymnasium. The physical education and recreation center includes two basketball courts, a state-of-the-art Fitness Center, classrooms, an athletic training room, offices, and locker rooms.
The College is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Men compete with other colleges in soccer, cross-country, basketball, track and field, tennis, golf, and lacrosse. Women's varsity sports include soccer, field hockey, volleyball, cross-country, basketball, softball, tennis, lacrosse, and track and field.
The intramural and recreational programs provide a wide variety of team and individual activities. Additional sports and games are played as coed teams or on an individual basis. Club sport activities include baseball, cheerleading, and men's volleyball and ice hockey.
Six national Greek letter fraternities and sororities are recognized at Roanoke College, and the College provides designated housing for these organizations. The fraternity and sorority chapters and their founding dates are:
Chi Omega, Pi Epsilon Chapter, 1955 (women)
Delta Gamma, Gamma Pi Chapter, 1955 (women)
Kappa Alpha, Beta Rho Chapter, 1924 (revived 1987, men)
Phi Mu, Gamma Eta Chapter, 1955 (women)
Pi Kappa Phi, Xi Chapter, 1916 (men)
Sigma Chi, Tau Chapter, 1872 (revived 1923, men)
The Office of Student Affairs coordinates the student service areas of student life, residence hall management, student conduct, student activities, health services, safety and security services, and athletics.
(Bowman Hall)
The Office of Campus Safety provides police and security services, student escort services, security patrol of the campus, fire and personal safety programs, and traffic control. Campus Safety Officers are on duty 24 hours a day at the College and are radio dispatched to assist in and provide these services. Officers are sworn Conservators of the Peace and have arrest authority on College property.
The Safety Office is located on the first floor of Bowman Hall. The office can be contacted 24 hours a day at 540-375-2310 or by using one of the direct-dial emergency
"Red Phones" located in these buildings: Lucas Hall, Miller Hall, Trexler Hall, Life Science Building, Trout Hall, Olin Hall, Fintel Library, Alumni Gym, Bast Center, and Courthouse. Yellow "Access/Emergency" telephones are located outside each residence hall main entrance. The College's "Annual Security Report" is published each September and distributed to all students. Copies are available to prospective students upon request from the Admissions Office or the Campus Safety Office. The Web address is: http://www.roanoke.edu/safety
Student Health Services provides on-campus medical treatment for common illnesses and minor accidents.
There is no charge for most routine health care for full-time students. Fees are charged for laboratory work, inhalation therapy, and gynecological and physical examinations.
Entering freshmen and transfer students are required to have on file in the Student Health Center a completed current medical history, physical examination, and an updated immunization record. Students will not be allowed to register for classes until these have been completed.
The clinic is open Monday-Friday during the day. Care is available from two nearby immediate care centers or from the local hospital when the clinic is closed.
(Trout Hall)
The years at college can be among the most gratifying and challenging of a person's life. For traditional-aged students, choices will be made about life-style and vocation while wrestling with issues of personal growth and the transition into adulthood; these choices and changes often bring confusion. For adult students, new choices and changes and academic pursuits may add to ongoing personal and work responsibilities. The Counseling Center is prepared to meet the needs of the College community with compassion and honesty. The counseling staff provides on campus both short- and long-term counseling which is free of charge. The Center is located in Trout Hall and appointments can be made in person or by telephone.
Disciplinary powers reside with the College. Various types of disciplinary hearings are utilized depending upon the nature and severity of the misconduct. Complete information on the disciplinary system is found in the Student Handbook and the Student Conduct Code Manual.
College policies and regulations are designed to protect the rights of all students and to support the purpose and aims of the institution. Students are responsible for learning and abiding by the policies and regulations. These policies and regulations are found in the following publications: Academic Catalog, Student Handbook, Academic Integrity at Roanoke College, the Student Conduct Code of Roanoke College, and the Motor Vehicle Policy. A partial summary of the regulations is given here:
Academic Integrity—The College seeks to maintain the highest standards of intellectual scholarship and performance, and works to promote honesty, integrity, and responsibility in all academic work. Violations of academic integrity (i.e., cheating, lying, plagiarizing, impeding academic investigations, denying access to needed materials, etc.) are handled according to policies and procedures described in Academic Integrity at Roanoke College. Students need to be familiar with this booklet, and pledge to follow the integrity guidelines.
Alcoholic Beverages—The College does not encourage the use of alcoholic beverages by students, nor does it condone the violation of applicable laws or College policies. The College respects the rights of students of legal age to consume alcoholic beverages in approved locations so long as they drink responsibly and adhere to applicable laws and College policies. Individuals who choose to consume alcoholic beverages, regardless of their age, are responsible for their behavior. The legal drinking age in Virginia is 21 years of age.
The College seeks to educate students about alcohol use and abuse and provides information about assistance for those with a problem who seek help.
The College reserves the right to limit or revoke the privilege of consuming alcohol on campus in the event that students do not drink responsibly.
Automobiles—All students with vehicles at the College must pay an annual parking fee, register them with the Office of Campus Safety, and display the parking decal. Resident students from Virginia may be subject to paying personal property taxes on their vehicles to the City of Salem. These students should contact the Salem Commissioner of the Revenue to determine their status. Complete parking and motor vehicle policies are distributed to students each fall.
Consideration for Others—Students are expected to observe and respect the rights of others. The failure to do so as defined in the Student Handbook subjects the offender to disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion.
Drugs—The possession, use, sale, or manufacturing of illegal drugs or paraphernalia which contains illegal drug residue is a violation of College policy and state law. Any student violating this policy is subject to severe disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion. Law enforcement agencies are notified of criminal offenses occurring on campus and are given the names of those involved. The College seeks to educate students about substance use and abuse and provides information about assistance for those with a problem seeking help.
The College has a program aimed at preventing the illicit use of drugs and alcohol by students and employees in compliance with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989.