Visitation

In order to maintain a safe and secure community that is conducive to studying and learning, the Residential Life Office has developed a visitation policy in conjunction with the Public Safety Department. You may find a copy of all visitation policies and procedures in your Housing Agreement available on the myHousing Portal.

Visitation is a privilege, not a right.

The privilege to have guests is based upon the guideline of mutual respect and balance; one Resident’s right to have guests does not supersede another’s right to safety or reasonable privacy. In particular, it is expected that residents who share a space will be:

1. Courteous to one another
2. Communicate
3. Show willingness to make compromises, and
4. Act in good faith in the matter of guests

The presence of a guest in a space must not compromise the personal or academic well-being of room/suitemates or other building residents. Residents are responsible for the behavior of their guest(s) at all times and should a guest's presence create a disturbance or disruption to the community, that individual may be asked to leave by a staff member. Failure to comply with this policy can lead to student conduct action.

Types of Visitation

1.     Overnight Visitations: Any non-resident in the halls between 11PM and 8:30AM.

2.     Day Visitations: Any non-resident visiting between the hours of 8:30AM and 11PM. 

3.     Emergency Visitations: A result of a guest arriving for an “overnight visitation” without prior registration and MAY be approved by Public Safety pending the situation. 

Visitation Dates

Visitation begins the first day of classes for each term as outlined within the FIT Academic Calendar and terminates the day before a resident’s last final exam.

This policy is effective for the Fall and Spring only. Visitation outside of these semesters will be specified in an additional document outlined and provided by Residential Life.

Policies

1.     Guests are defined as anyone who is not a Resident who is being hosted by a Resident “Resident Host”.

2.     A Resident Host is responsible for the actions of their guest(s) in the residence hall building, room, or suite in which that host resides and will be held accountable for any violations of FIT policy and/or for any theft, injury to person or property resulting from the behavior of their guests, regardless of whether that guest is a fellow FIT student or not.

3.     FIT students who engage in disruptive or volatile behavior while a guest in a residence hall or a room/suite will also personally be held accountable for their actions.

4.     Matters involving the problematic behavior of a guest may be managed through administrative actions (e.g. disallowing a guest from entering FIT’s residence halls on a temporary or permanent basis), through the FIT student conduct process, or may be referred to local law enforcement when deemed appropriate.

5.     Should a guest who engages in volatile behavior be a student at another college or university, FIT reserves the right to report that individual’s behavior to their home institution.

6.     Overnight guests are not to sleep in hall lounges or other public spaces.

7.     No person under the age of 18 will be permitted as an Overnight Visitation or Emergency Visitation. 

8.     All persons under the age of 18 must be always accompanied by a legal parent or guardian while acting as a day visitor. 

When the guest arrives at the residence hall, they will have to present an acceptable physical form of photo ID in order to be signed into a residence hall. Acceptable forms of photo ID are: 

●      a U.S. state-issued driver license, 

●      a U.S. State-issued non-driver identification, 

●      a student ID from a high school or another college or university, 

●      a passport, or another government ID; including foreign governments’ IDs. If a foreign government’s ID in another language is presented, a corresponding passport must be displayed for verification. 

Forms of identification that are not acceptable include: 

●      bank cards, telephone and credit cards, insurance cards 

●      Photos or photocopies of accepted forms of identification

The photo ID will be held at the Campus Safety Desk for the duration of the visit. (Students are expected to inform their guests in advance that a valid photo ID will be required to enter the building.) The resident host must come to the lobby, sign-in their guest, and is required to always escort their guest. 

At the end of a visit, that same host must accompany their guests to the lobby to sign them out in the guest register.  Proof of identification will be returned at this time. 

Roommate / Suitemate Considerations

Whenever a resident has a concern about the presence of a guest in the room, they should first approach the room/suitemate whom the guest is visiting to express their concerns and to seek to resolve the issues before contacting their RA or REC.