FOI id 612
p27 from the Manual of Guidance
APPENDIX C
Residences
Access Policy As a general rule, no access wil be granted to residences which are student’s homes during
their stay at University. Political parties, election candidates, tradesmen, salesmen,
government officials and others are not allowed a general right of access. Election or
promotional material may be left in the Post Room or individual mail boxes. Persons in
possession of a Magistrates Warrant authorising access will be afforded immediate access
but will be accompanied by the College Porter or a Security Officer to observe and minimise
damage. Tradesmen will be allowed access in the event of a service emergency when not
to allow access would place residents in danger. Where a fault has been reported, this may
not be taken as a de facto blanket grant of permission to respond by a tradesman and
access should be gained by appointment. If the task is an emergency then the Porter should
be informed and where possible should accompany the tradesman to the room. This section
in no way impinges upon the rights of Colleges to impose other rules essential to good order
and harmonious communal living.
There is a documented procedure setting out the specific reasons for which a College Porter
or Security may enter Residence areas. There is no general right of access for University
staff to students’ rooms but when this is authorised under the procedure, the protocol for
doing so must be observed.
FOI id 612
SECTION D11
Protocol for entering Student Rooms.
Introduction
Porters require access to the communal areas of the residences at all times for a
variety of reasons. For example, to check the fire extinguishers in kitchens or to put
up notices. The porters work a 24-hour shift system. Their work that involves
contact with staff and students must of necessity be carried out during daytime
hours. Tasks that do not require face to face contact with students, such as
checking fire extinguishers and putting up notices, are often best carried out at night.
Porters should always announce their presence before entering communal rooms
such as the kitchens, for example, by knocking on the door.
In addition to access to kitchens and other communal areas in the residences, Porters may
require access to residence rooms or communal bathrooms in order to carry out
investigations for a variety of reasons. They may need to enter rooms in order to investigate
the source of unacceptable noise or to investigate when a resident has not been seen for a
considerable time. Porters should always be accompanied when entering residence rooms
unless invited to enter the room by the resident. In most cases the person accompanying
the Porter will be another Porter, a Security Officer, an Assistant Dean or the Residence
Officer. In an emergency the presence of another person, such as another resident , is
preferable to not being accompanied at all.
Procedures to be followed.
1 Investigating complaints of events that are currently taking place or where there is an
urgent need to enter a residence room.
These investigation must be carried out at the time of the event. Examples of such
situations are
Where there are fears that the resident may have suffered harm
Investigation of a noise complaint
Investigate of possible serious or illegal activities.
The Porter should
Knock on the door
Make an announcement that it is “the Porter”
If the door is answered
Ask to be admitted to the room and carryout the investigation as required
If there is no answer to the knock on the door or permission to enter the room is not
granted
Use the radio to request the attendance of another Porter, Security Officer or
Assistant Dean
FOI id 612
The Porter should remain outside the room until the additional Porter, Security Officer
or Assistant Dean arrives.
On the arrival of the additional Porter, Security Officer or Assistant Dean the Porter
should knock on the door, open the door slightly and again make the announcement
that it is “the Porter”
The Porter should then open the door fully and, if necessary, enter the room
2 Investigation of situations that are ongoing and where there is no great immediacy
These situations should not require access to a residence room outside normal daytime
hours. The Porter should wait until daytime hours and ask to be accompanied by the
Residence Officer.
