REGULATION
PREAMBLE
The Residence is intended, first of all, for bursary students of the Undergraduate Course offered by the Nursing School of Coimbra, though the accommodation can be possible for non-bursary students and students from other courses offered by the School, in case of vacancies.
The Residence aims to provide accommodation during the period of academic activities. Its functioning must guarantee the respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, tolerance, promotion of a positive environment and healthy sociability, and favourable conditions for study and learning.
This can only be possible with an understanding and implementation of a set of norms and regulations, which result from the need for a shared use of services and facilities by the residents, as well as from the actual conditions of its functioning.
Thus, it is important to have this regulation to which all residents must adhere, regardless of the length of stay or their statute. At the moment of admission, a copy will be given to the residents so that they are aware of this regulation and take responsibility for its implementation.
SECTION I – GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1 – Target audience
1. The Residence is intended for Students of the Nursing School of Coimbra. Priority is given to the School’s bursary students, followed by the undergraduate students.
2. If there are still any vacancies left, other students may be accommodated.
Article 2 – Request for Accommodation
1. The student shall make a written request for accommodation to the President of the School.
2. There are three periods for application. The first occurs during the month of June of the following academic year. The second occurs between July 1st and September 30th. The third occurs between October 1st and the end of the academic year.
3. The permission granted is valid for the entire or half of the academic year in which the request is made.
Article 3 – Provision of accommodation
1. Accommodation in the residence will be granted according to the following order of priority:
a) Bursary students;
b) Students who received a bursary in the previous academic year, but not anymore;
c) Students who stayed at the residence in the previous academic year;
d) ESEnfC Students;
e) Students from Schools that signed a Protocol with the ESEnfC;
f) Nursing students in mobility programmes;
g) Undergraduate students;
h) Postgraduate students;
i) Students from other national and international nursing schools;
j) Others.
2. Students who were accommodated in the residence in previous years with a record of infractions or problems in adapting to collective accommodation are not authorized to stay at the residence. The same is true for students with pending debts to the ESEnfC without an authorized payment plan.
3. Residents will be accommodated according to the existing vacancies in each of the rooms, and they are able to choose any of the rooms available.
4. Bursary students will be accommodated in double and triple rooms.
5. Triple rooms will only be used if the demand is high or in case of restructuring projects. If there are no more vacancies in double rooms, priority for the double rooms will be given to students in phases of the academic year with clinical practice.
6. At the moment of admission, the resident will receive his/her room key, the Regulation and a declaration of commitment to fulfil it, which must be signed and returned.
7. After being admitted, the resident will have 48 hours to give notice of any problem or malfunction observed in the room and respective equipment. If nothing is reported, the ESEnfC will assume that everything is in good condition.
8. The Residence shall accommodate both male and female students.
9. The Residence shall not accommodate couples in a marital relationship.
10. In the second and third phase of application, the rooms will be allocated on a first-come, first-saved basis and according to the available vacancies.
Article 4 – Payment of accommodation
1. The prices are established by the Management Board.
2. The monthly accommodation fee corresponds to the lowest sum of the nights of accommodation, considering the three types of accommodation fee (per night, per 15 days and per month).
3. Residents should pay their monthly fee at the School’s treasury services before the 15th day of each month. Whenever accommodation starts after the 10th day of the month, the deadline for payment of that month shall be the 15th day of the following month. Interest will be charged for late payment according to the fees established by the ESEnfC.
4. The deadline for payment of the residence monthly fees for students who have submitted their application for a bursary will, automatically, be the expected deadline for receiving the bursary.
5. The accommodation is usually per month. In the months of Christmas and Easter holidays, the month is paid in full.
6. The requests for cancellation or anticipation of accommodation have to be duly justified and submitted to the President. If authorized, the amount to be paid will be adjusted in accordance with the rule established in paragraph 2 of this article.
7. Students in international mobility programs (Erasmus or other) will be exempt from paying the Residence fees during the months of mobility without having to cancel accommodation. The amount to be paid will be calculated until the beginning of the mobility period and after the end of the mobility period, with the application every month of the rule established in paragraph 2 of this article.
8. The students with internships outside of Coimbra may request the exemption from payment during this period through a written request but they need to vacate the respective room during this period. In this case, the amount to be paid each month will be calculated based the rule established in paragraph 2 of this article.
Article 5 – Opening hours
1. The Residence is open between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m., during the week.
2. On weekends and holidays, it is opened between 8 a.m. and 1 a.m..
3. The Residence is closed between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m..
4. During the night and after the Residence is closed, students who wish to enter or leave the Residence should ask the receptionist to open the door or ring the bell.
5. The residence is closed during the month of August, reopening in the first half of September on a date to be defined every year by the President.
SECTION II – RIGHTS OF THE RESIDENTS
Article 6 - Favourable Environment
1. Right to a favourable environment where respect and civil responsibility are ensured.
2. Right to rest and privacy.
3. Right to ask your peers who received training for that purpose to help you solve any problems that arise.
4. Right to silence on the floors, COMPULSORILY, after 11 p.m.
Article 7 – Use of space
The Residence has the right to:
1. Use the room and other common facilities.
2. Use the kitchen nearer to his/her room to prepare light cold meals.
3. Use the kitchens of other wings as long as he/she has the permission from the residents in that wing and be accompanied by the resident who gave the permission. This is possible from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
4. Use the fridges and freezers of the respective wing to sore the food for personal use.
5. Install his/her own TV and PC in his/her room for personal use.
6. Access the living room.
7. Use wireless Internet, although they cannot touch the equipment installed to this end, especially moving the wireless antennas. This access can be restricted if the networks becomes overloaded due to excessive downloading of files.
8. The study room will be open 24 hours a day.
Article 8 – Clothing
1. Residents have the right to 2 bed sheets and towels, if the students wish so, and cleaning of the room during the summer holidays.
2. Residents can use the iron and the ironing-board, as well as the washing and drying machines, placed in areas specifically designated to take care of personal and bed clothes, respecting the norms established for that purpose.
3. Access to the equipment referred to in paragraph 2 shall be exclusively used by resident students.
Article 9 - Visits
1. Access to the floors is exclusive of the residents and the staff, with the exception of special permissions. The students’ parents or siblings can access the student’s rom upon delivery to the receptionist of their identity card for identification of their relationship and never for more than 30 minutes.
2. Residents can receive guests in the hall or living room of the Residence until 0.45 a.m. At this time, guests should be invited to leave the residence, because their presence is not allowed from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m.
3. If residents become ill, family members can access the floor of their rooms, upon presentation of their Identity Card to the receptionist, for a maximum period of one hour.
4. The presence of visitors in the accommodation floors without proper authorization is a reason for the permanent loss of the right to stay at the residence by the residents responsible for their presence.
SECTION III – DUTIES OF THE RESIDENTS
Article 10 - Favourable environment
1. To cooperate in the integration of new members.
2. To respect the roommates.
3. To elect and respect the wings’ representatives.
4. No resident is allowed to move around on their pyjamas or robes on the ground floor of the Residence.
5. All residents and staff members must respect each other and be very polite in their relationships.
6. To respect the norms and notices on display.
Article 11 - Cleaning
1. Preserve and keep the used areas clean and organized.
2. Residents are responsible for their room (making the bed, airing the room and cleaning it).
3. A staff member will visit the rooms every month so as to check its maintenance and cleaning status.
4. If the rooms are not in proper cleaning conditions, the resident will be notified and will have 48 hours to clean the room. If the situation continues after 48 hours, the school staff will clean the room and these expenses will be paid by the resident.
5. The kitchens must be kept clean and organized. Whenever kitchen utensils are found without being properly washed, they will be removed, washed and the costs will be charged to the residents of the respective wing.
6. All appliances have their specific position. The furniture and other equipment must remain in their predefined locations.
7. The refrigerators must be empty and clean during the holidays.
8. The common areas (corridors, bathrooms, living rooms, kitchens, halls and drying grounds) are cleaned by the School staff.
9. The common areas (corridors, bathrooms, living rooms, kitchens and halls) should be cleaned on a daily basis (working days).
10. The School staff will clean all the rooms during the summer holidays.
11. The wing’s representative is responsible for controlling the cleanliness and maintenance of the common areas.
Article 12 – Resource management
1. It is not allowed to stick or fix any kind of object in the walls, doors, windows or furniture. The respective residents are responsible for the damage resulting from this type of practice and will have to pay for the repair.
2. It is not allowed to install heaters, stoves or other unforeseen and unauthorized electrical equipment for safety reasons, particularly electrical risks and risk of fire.
3. It is not allowed to use doors and emergency staircases, except in situations of serious security risk.
4. Residents must close the windows and the blinds in case of adverse weather conditions.
5. Residents must turn off the lights and close the door whenever they leave the room.
6. When the central heating is functioning, residents must avoid leaving the windows open or their own heating turned on.
7. Any damage found in the facilities, furniture and/or equipment must be immediately reported to a staff member in a specific form. All users must report these incidents, whether students, staff members or visitors.
8. The President and/or her representatives have the right to enter the room, even if the resident is absent, in case of service need. Every month there will be a random evaluation of at least 20 rooms. The entry to the room will be previously announced at the respective door, so as to avoid a violation of privacy if the resident is in the room. Whenever infractions occur (lack of cleaning, electrical equipment incorrectly turned on, among others), the resident will be notified and explained how to correct the situation.
9. During the academic year, whenever necessary, residents should be previously notified that School staff members or people hired to repair furniture or other equipment will enter their rooms.
10. Water (a scarce good) should be properly used. Residents should close the taps after they have finished using water and not take a long time showering (the bath is forbidden).
11. The use of washing and drying machines should be maximized (machines with low amounts of clothes cannot be used).
SECTION IV – FAULTS AND PENALTIES
Article 13 - Restrictions and prohibitions in the Residence
1. The freshmen reception or other is expressly forbidden. The violation of this rule will result in suspension, during three months, of the right to the accommodation in the Residence of the students who promoted those activities. The freshmen are not obliged to present a complaint. It is only necessary that a member of the School staff presents a written and documented complaint. As a precautionary measure, suspension is immediate and it becomes effective within the following 48 hours and after the facts are known.
2. The acts of vandalism are strictly forbidden and, besides expulsion, those people responsible will have to pay for the damages immediately. The people responsible for the acts of vandalism using water leakage in the facilities, through the windows and balconies, will have to pay for the damages and will be permanently expelled from the Residence.
3. The damages caused by voluntary acts, negligence or recklessness, and, in general, all acts that cannot be assigned to the normal use of the facilities, furniture or equipment, are a responsibility of the residents and their repair will have to be paid by the residents involved.
4. Electrical equipment or other installed without prior authorization will be removed by the staff members. A fine will have to be paid to have the equipment back. This fine shall be set by the competent bodies based on the time of use, the associated risks and the student’s background.
5. Whenever the responsibility previously mentioned cannot be assigned individually, the repair will be charged to the residents who live in the wing where the damages occurred or to all residents if the damages have occurred in common areas.
Article 14 – Faults
1. The following are considered faults:
a) To treat with disrespect and disregard everyone who lives or works in the Residence.
b) Show behaviour incompatible with the study and leisure environment inside the Residence.
c) Accommodate someone else inside the room.
d) Not preserving the Residence, causing damages.
e) Not collaborating in the management measures, such as:
i. Thermal isolation when the heating is turned on;
ii. Water use;
iii. Rational use of electricity;
iv. Identification and prevention of anomalies in the facilities.
f) Not paying the monthly fee.
g) Not respecting the period of silence between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
h) Stealing food from the fridges or freezers used by the residents.
i) Use of doors and emergency staircases without proper justification.
j) Not washing the available kitchen appliances after using them.
k) The violation of any clause of the Residence Regulation, or any other regulations issued by the Presidency.
2. The faults mentioned in, for example, subparagraphs g), as well as the other faults if they are done for the second time by the same resident, are considered serious faults.
3. The faults mentioned in subparagraphs c), d) h) and i) are considered very serious faults.
Article 15 – Sanctions
1. Failure to comply with the rules set forth in this regulation may entail one of the following sanctions and may also entail disciplinary proceedings:
- Verbal warning;
- Written warning;
- Temporary suspension of the right of accommodation;
- Irretrievable loss of the right of accommodation.
2. Sanctions are free from compensation for material damages or others to which the School considers to be entitled.
3. The violations to this Regulation will be reported by the residents, the Committee of Residents and School staff to the President of the School who will take a decision following these rules:
- In very serious and recurrent serious faults, there will be a suspension of the right to accommodation. As a precautionary measure, suspension is immediate but it becomes permanent after 72 hours and after the facts have been analysed.
- In less serious faults, an investigation will be conducted.
- In case of the faults foreseen in subparagraphs c) and i) of paragraph 1, the student will be suspended and loose the right to stay at the residence after the facts are known, in addition to the application of paragraph 2 of this article.
4. The sanctions imposed will be registered in the student’s academic file, and in case of severe sanctions they can be registered in the student’s final curriculum under “Observations”, upon a proposal from an Inquiry Committee composed by 1 member appointed by the President, 1 member appointed by the Pedagogical Board and 1 member appointed by the Committee of Residents.
SECTION V – COMITTEE OF RESIDENTS
Article 16 – Committee of Residents
1. The Committee of Residents is composed by the Wing Representatives, in a total of up to six members (a representative from each occupied wing), one non-resident representative of the Student Association, the person responsible for the Residence, and a teacher appointed by the President, who will preside the committee.
2. The Committee is appointed for a 1 (one) year term, with a maximum of 2 consecutive years.
3. The wing representatives are elected between October 15th and 30th of each academic year in elections organized by the Committee of Residents from the previous year which keeps its position until the elections. The other members will also be appointed in this period.
4. The Committee of Residents will meet in ordinary sessions every three months, and in extraordinary sessions whenever necessary. The meeting should be summoned by the Coordinator of the Committee of Residents, with reference to the day, time and venue.
5. Notice of ordinary sessions shall be given at least 7 days in advance and notice of extraordinary sessions shall be given at least 48 hours in advance.
6. A minute shall be made for each meeting.
7. The competencies of the Committee of Residents are the ones resulting from this Regulation. It should give its opinion on all relevant aspects of the Residence and the Residents. This Committee shall represent an opportunity for the promotion of measures to improve the physical, environmental and social conditions of the Residence and suggest solutions to solve the problems.
8. The Committee should submit to the President of the School everything that it considers important to improve the conditions and the atmosphere at the Residence.
9. This Committee shall also apply the Regulation of the Residence.
10. The Committee of Residents may have its own regulation, which must be approved by the president of the ESEnfC under proposal of the Committee itself.
11. The Committee of Residents has the right to visit the common areas, whenever necessary.
12. The election of the chiefs of wing follows these rules:
a. In each wing, the residents of that wing can elect and be elected, with the exception of temporary residents or those who have evidence that they will be absent from the residence more than 15 days in a row;
b. The voting will take place in date and time to be determined by the Committee of Residents and the presenting members will be the only ones participating in the election;
c. The voting method will be a secret ballot with the names of all members of each wings;
d. If residents fail to gain 50% of votes needed, there will be a second round. In this second round, only the names of the two most voted residents in the first voting will appear in the ballots, or, in the event of a tie, the residents who gained more votes;
e. To win the resident must gain at least 50% of expressed votes. In the event of a tie between the two most voted residents, there will be a second voting. In the event of a new tie, the former Committee of Residents will appoint a wing representative from amongst the most voted residents;
f. Expressed votes are votes considered valid that appointed an eligible member;
g. The resident who wins this election shall be part of the Committee of Residents, though he/she will lose this position if he/she is absent from the Residence for more than 15 days in a row or if he/she changes wing during the respective academic years. In this case, a new representative will be elected.
SECTION VI – FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 17 – Final provisions
1. Resident students may lose their right to accommodation in the event of failure and / or loss of fellowship student status.
2. Any omissions in these Rules will be analyzed and decided by the President of the School and may have the opinion of the Residents Commission., Which shall pronounce itself within one week, after becoming aware of the situation, and will be resolved by the President of ESEnfC.
3. These Regulations may be revised when either party (Resident Committee or Chairman) deems it necessary.
