Your residence hall will be more than a place to lay your head at night; it will be a place to meet, study, discuss, pray, listen, laugh and grow. From classroom to residence hall to dining hall to athletic field, the opportunities for learning at Calvin never stop.

Residence Hall Reference Guide cover

Download our Residence Hall Reference Guide

To have a successful and satisfying experience in the residence hall, be prepared to learn a lot about community. Living with others can be enriching and challenging. It takes respect and consideration of others, respect for the rules which guide our lives together and a desire to deepen in faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Use the links on this page to explore more about Calvin’s residence halls, from amenities to roommates to meal plans.

Residence Halls at Calvin

For juniors and seniors interested in living in the residence halls, there are upperclass floors reserved for you, or you can request to live on a traditional residence hall floor that includes first and second year students.

Calvin offers a full, interactive version of the campus map that includes residence halls.

Virtual tour

Take a virtual tour of the Bolt-Heyns-Timmer residence hall:

 

More Information

Furniture layout ideas

All Residence Halls include:

  • beds, mattresses, dressers, desks, desk lamps and chairs
  • stackable furniture (no homemade lofts allowed!)
  • bathrooms with the basics: a shower, toilet, sink, counter space and storage for your personal supplies
  • closets with shelves for storage above
  • built-in bookshelves
  • floors have an extra community bathroom known as the CJ with a tub, toilet and large sink
  • campus cable television port
  • computer access (ethernet ports and wireless access)
  • toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies available free of charge at the front reception desk, where bottled cleansers are refilled (rather than discarded)

Other Amenities

  • Campus cable system

    Each room is equipped with a coax cable jack for access to the campus cable system (which is all digital). Commercial cable systems are not available in the residence halls. Basic, local, over-the-air channels are provided for in room televisions, along with a few internal campus channels.

  • ResNet and wireless computer access

    Access to the Calvin's Residential Network (ResNet) is available from all residence hall rooms at no additional charge. Network interface cards (Ethernet) are required. Wireless access is also available in most areas of all residence halls and across campus. More information is available from CIT.

    Adherence to the Responsible use of Technology statement of the Student Handbook is mandated, and internet access is subject to some content filtering. Additional web-filtering software is available upon request.

  • Floor lounges/kitchens

    Floor lounges are located on each floor. Each lounge contains a large refrigerator for food storage, a sink, a stove and/or microwave, and tables for group studying and social activities on the floor.

  • Reception desk and mail boxes

    The reception desk of each residence hall community is generally open daily during the dinner/early evening hours. Services include distribution of mail and packages, checkout of sports equipment or games, and distribution of cleaning supplies; Each room is assigned one mailbox and students use a combination or key to gain access.

  • Meditation chapel/ prayer rooms

    The lower level of the residence halls feature small meditation rooms which provide quiet places for private devotions, Bible studies, and prayer. No studying is allowed in these rooms.

  • Network Printing

    Network printers are available in all residence hall lobbies, allowing all students to print through the campus WebPrint services at any time, from their personal print quota. More information on printing can be found here

  • Study and programming basement

    On the lower level of each women’s residence hall is a lounge/study area. This area provides both male and female students with a place for conversation, group studying and programs planned by various student organizations.

  • Recreation room

    On the lower level of each men’s residence hall is a recreation area for both male and female students, containing a television area, ping-pong, pool and foosball tables, and an area of booths and tables for socializing or group studying. Vending machines are also available for snacks, soda and juices.

  • Study areas

    Located on the lower level of each hall are study areas with study carrels and tables. These are single gender, 24-hour quiet areas.

  • Trunk room

    There is a room on the lower level of each hall for storage of off-season clothing, boxes and suitcases, and for summer storage for returning studetns. All items stored in the trunk rooms are stored at the student’s risk and must be clearly labeled and logged. A staff member must accompany residents who add items to or remove items from the trunk room. Furniture may not be stored in the trunk room.

  • Bike storage

    Each residence hall has bicycle racks outside and a bicycle storage room on the lower level of the women’s hall. Bicycles may not be left in the hallways, stairwells, lobbies or floor lounges. Bikes should be locked at all times. All bicycles should be registered with Campus Safety. Bikes left unused and untouched for more than a year will be removed.

  • Copy machines

    Copy machines are available for all residence students in the inner lobbies of the Bolt-Heyns-Timmer and Noordewier-VanderWerp complexes.

  • ATM

    An ATM is located in the lobby of the Noordewier-VanderWerp complex, as well as in the Commons Annex and the main lobby of the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex.

  • Waste and recycling

    Calvin University is committed to environmental stewardship and invites all residents to participate in a variety of recycling efforts. Specific details of these opportunities will be provided in the residence halls and will be reviewed periodically with students.

What to bring

  • sheets
    (Mattresses are 80" long, so you will need extra long twin sheets.)
  • blankets
  • pillows
  • bedspreads
  • towels
  • washcloths
  • Washers and dryers located on the lower level of each residence hall are provided free to residents. Students must provide their own detergents, etc. Ironing boards and irons are available at the reception desk.

Optional items to bring

  • alarm clock
  • comforter
  • desk supplies
  • hangers
  • laundry basket
  • dishes
  • boots
  • umbrella
  • bicycle and bike lock
  • CDs
  • computer
  • DVD player
  • electric hotpot
  • outdoor sports equipment
  • plants
  • posters
  • small refrigerator (four feet tall or smaller (one allowed per room)
  • stereo
  • surge protectors
  • extension cords
  • television (digital-ready)

What NOT to bring

  • air conditioners
  • alcohol/drug paraphernalia (including empty alcohol containers thought to be decorative)
  • candles
  • firearms of any kind (including paintball or air-soft guns)
  • fireworks
  • space heaters
  • incense
  • loft or other structure-altering items
  • microwaves
  • pets (except fish)
  • toasters, air-fryers, etc.
  • waterbeds
  • weight lifting equipment

No community can function without guidelines for life together. At Calvin, some of those guidelines are established by the university and some are established by the residents of the communities themselves. Read below for more information.

  • Campus policies

    (taken from the Residence Hall Living Booklet)

    The on-campus living experience at Calvin University offers a unique and valuable opportunity for all residents to learn and grow within a Christian community of students from widely varying backgrounds, interests and Christian traditions. The university desires that all residents live comfortably within this environment, are able to integrate classroom learning with out-of-class experiences and are challenged to grow in all aspects of life. All Calvin students who do not live at home with their parents are required to live on-campus for at least their first two years after high school. Students who are 21, married or part-time students are exempt from this residency requirement.

    To accomplish our goals and better order our lives together, we have established certain rules and expectations for living in community here at Calvin. These “rules” are meant to be guidelines for mature, responsible conduct, but in no way cover all the possible conflicts and questions that arise during a year. Some of the policies are designed to create norms of behavior within a large, diverse group of people, while others are meant to preserve the appearance and function of university-owned property. We expect that members of our community will strive both to live within these guidelines and to be obedient to the explicit teachings of God's Word.

    Students involved in infractions of residence hall and campus policies as outlined here and in the Student Conduct Code will have a hearing with a Resident Life staff member or may be referred a Student Life Dean. See the Student Handbook for complete details on the Student Conduct Code, including the judicial and appeals process. Appropriate sanctions will be given to restore the individual to healthy membership in the community. These sanctions include restitution, community service hours, fines, educational initiatives, probationary periods and suspensions. Unless otherwise noted, a $50 fine applies to all policies, and fines may be converted to community service hours. In addition, students on probation may lose certain privileges such as hall or room choice, or the ability to study abroad for the following year.

  • Community charters

    In an effort to create ownership within living communities, Residence Life staff will engage residents in conversations about common-ground agreements, in order to develop a community charter. The charter will ideally be signed and agreed upon by all residents of a floor or hall (everyone will be invited to participate). Calvin will maintain a set of established policies, but residents will have the opportunity to speak into consequences, as well as develop “negotiable” policies (e.g. noise, coffee kitchen use and cleanliness, hall participation in Bible studies, laundry room use, etc.). Completed community charters will be posted in each hall. Residence Life staff will also engage roommates and suitemates in creating roommate agreements regarding the details of living together (i.e. borrowing items, noise levels, cleaning the bathroom, etc.). Both community charters and roommate agreements are intended to teach residents how to live with one another well and create productive pathways for conflict resolution.

  • Overnight guests

    Students are permitted to have overnight guests of the same gender stay in their rooms after completing an Overnight Guest Registration Form: www.calvin.edu/go/guest-form. If a guest becomes a regular visitor or if a roommate or suitemates are inconvenienced, the university reserves the right to limit visiting. Each resident is fully responsible for their guests’ compliance with residence hall regulations.

  • Residence hall parking

    All resident students’ cars must display a valid Calvin University parking permit. Residents will be issued the appropriate parking permit based on where they are residing and will only be allowed to park in lots correspomanding to that permit. The parking and driving regulations will provide detailed information on the appropriate permit and corresponding lots.

    The parking areas adjacent to each residence hall are intended for short-term parking for the convenience of the residents and their guests. Accordingly they are posted: “Lights On / 30 Minute Limit.”

    The lot north of KHvR and designated lots east of the East Beltline are allocated for resident students’ cars. Parking is not allowed on the main campus or the short-term lots between 2 and 6 a.m. Residence hall students are not permitted to park their vehicles in the Covenant Fine Arts Center lot.

    Motorcycles and all other vehicles with gasoline motors must conform to all university parking and driving regulations. These vehicles must display a valid Calvin University parking permit. Under no circumstance may they be brought into residence halls.

    Driving on sidewalks is prohibited, unless permission has been requested from Campus Safety or a Residence Life staff member.