University of Ghana Housing Information

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1 UNIVERSITYWIDE OFFICE of the EDUCATION ABROAD PROGRAM (UOEAP) University of Ghana Housing Information Dorm options at the University of Ghana You are able to indicate a preference of your on-campus dorm accommodations at UG. All students are required to live on-campus. Review the dorm comparison from the Ghana study center. We recommend that you consult with returnees when determining your dorm preference. Indicate your housing preference using our online survey. The Ghana Study Center will do it s best to place you in your preferred housing choice. Most students (male and female) live in the International Student s Hostel. Due to construction, there are only 10 spots available at Volta Hall for females. There are plenty of spots at Legon Hall for the males. Dormitory Comparison from University of Ghana Study Center The University of Ghana, Legon consists of 8 student dormitories: Akuafo Hall, Mensah Sarbah Hall, Legon Hall, Volta Hall, Commonwealth Hall, International Student Hostel (ISH), Pentagon Hostel, and Jubilee Hall. Each hall consists of a series of buildings, also known as annexes, which are grouped together forming a structure designed to meet the needs of the students. Each annex is a few stories high accessible by stairways, with at least two main entrances on the bottom floor. The following report compares and contrasts three specific halls: Volta Hall, Legon Hall, and the International Students Hostel (ISH), which house UCEAP students. General Information Volta Hall is an all women hall located at the upper west side of campus and is open to UC female students. It s rectangular structure and three residential buildings is composed of a porters lodge, guest rooms, a small chapel, a dining hall, a library, a small laundry service, a hair salon, a small convenient store. The students who reside at Volta Hall are either first year students, fourth year students, students participating on an on-campus athletic group, or international students. Legon Hall, open for UC male students, is also located on the upper western side of campus. It is composed of a main hall and three annexes. The main hall, designated for both men and women, consists of a porters lodge, a professors lounge, two dining halls, a library, a study room, two computer labs, a laundry service, a hair salon, and a convenient store. Behind the main 1

2 hall are three annexes: Annex A, which houses men, Annex B which houses women, and Annex C which houses graduate level students. Similar to Volta Hall, Legon Hall is designated for students who are freshman, seniors, athletes, and international students. International Student Hostel (ISH) is located on the south end of campus and is available to all UC students regardless of gender. ISH is a co-ed hostel that is divided into two separate buildings: ISH 1 and ISH 2. Together, the building consist of a porter s lodge, an in-house laundry service, a dining hall, an outdoor market, study rooms, on site tutors, and a computer lab with wireless internet access. Security Volta Hall Volta Hall has a total of three entrances that access the entire structure. Two of these entries are located on the sides of the Dining Hall and are left unlocked and unprotected throughout the day. In the evening, usually after 7pm, these entry ways are locked by Volta Hall personnel. The main entry, which is located at the front of the hall, is accessed by most individuals entering and exiting the hall. No record is kept of students or other persons entering and exiting the building. No identification is required to receive room keys from the porters. Students have been known to even receive more than one room key from the porters and even freely grab keys from behind the desk without notice or care. The main entry way is usually guarded by two porters 24 hours out of each day. The porters are most alert during the morning and early afternoon. During the evening hours and early morning, the porters may be found sleeping and unaware of individuals entering and exiting the building. The main entry is usually closed during the late evening and reopened in the morning. Though these doors are closed in the main building, individuals have been known to open the latches from the outside, without force, to enter the hall without notice. There are rotating security guards that usually set up post on the second level (N Block) of the rear annex. Normally during the day, two security guards are on watch. These guards have been known to respond to incidents very slowly and are unarmed. The guards may be found sleep at their post. Only one guard is on duty during the evening hours. These men can be found periodically walking around the perimeter of the building checking on students. These tactics have been proven to be ineffective toward criminal incidents occurring within the hall. Legon Hall Legon s main hall has three main entry ways during the day. Two of these entrances are monitored by rotating porters. During the evening hours, only one entry is left open for both entry 2

3 and exiting the hall. Like most halls, porters and security personnel are expected to constantly monitor the hall for activity and keep a log of individuals entering and exiting the premises. In Legon Hall, however, whose porters and security guards are known to doze off during their shifts and allow individuals to enter and exit without question. The response time of both the porters and security guards to incidents are proven to be inefficient by university standards. Legon Hall s Annexes A through C are also poorly guarded and criminal activity (i.e. theft) is not uncommon. International Students Hostel (ISH) In each of the International Students Hostels, there is only one main entry way. Each entrance is tended by at least two security guards 24 hours a day. Students have declared that they rarely see a guard inattentive or dozing off while on duty. They remain alert at all hours and make sure to keep a revolving shift. Each entrance is also headed by at least two porters. These porters require all non-residential persons to log their name, their host name to which they are visiting, their name, time in, time out, and a signature. Porters have also been known to ask for identification before approving entry into the hall. This is in effect at all hours of the day. Water and Power Volta Hall Ghana s water level is raised during the raining season and lowered significantly during the dry season. During the dry season, water outages appear more frequently in Volta Hall. In the past, water outages occurred three to four days out of the week for periods longer than 12 hours. Volta Hall has three water reservoir tanks that are accessible to students during water shortages. Tanks are located on the ground level as well as on the subsequent floors providing for easy access for students who live on the upper floors. Power outages occur more frequently as well during the dry season. Power is usually expected to be out at least once every two weeks. During this time, no backup generators are supplied to the student halls. Students are expected to supply their own candles and flashlights when blackouts occur. This presents a danger to students who walk during the evening hours through poorly guarded halls. Legon Hall Though Volta and Legon reside on the same side of campus, Legon has more frequent water outages. The rainy season supplies almost continuous flow of water throughout the campus. Therefore, it is mainly during the dry season that Legon has massive water outages. These outages typically last at least 12 hours out of each day of the week. On the premises of the main hall exists 14 water reservoir tanks easily accessible to students on the ground. In addition to the tanks in the 3

4 main hall, each annex also supplies the students with at least two additional tanks. When water stops running, students fetch water from the ground floor and carry it up to their rooms up the flights of stairs. Despite the frequent water outages, Legon s power remains constant during both the rainy and dry season. Students still equip their room with flashlights and candles in the event that there is a mass power outage on campus. During this time, the main hall s restaurant, Time Out, supplies a power generator to dining students. Porters are also expected to have a backup light in the porters lodge to inspect students entering and exiting the premises. International Student Hostel (ISH) Whether it is the rainy or dry season, students in ISH have fewer water outages in either hall than either Legon Hall or Volta Hall. In the event that there is a water outage there are least 8 water reservoir tanks on the roofs of both ISH 1 and ISH 2. Each tank has a pipeline that is easily accessible to students on every level in the hall. Power shortages are almost nonexistent, but in any event students equip their room with supplies and backup generators are also available. Dining Options Volta Hall Although the service in Volta Dining Hall is better than most others on campus, food options are limited to local dishes, and the prices are more expensive than you can find elsewhere on campus. These dishes, usually consisting of rice and fried vegetables, are served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Monday through Friday. Legon Hall There are two dining areas in Legon that serve dishes from 9 a.m. to the late evening. The main dining hall serves local dishes, while the hall s restaurant Time Out serves mostly Chinese food. Much like the main dining hall food, most of their dishes are saturated in oil. International Student Housing (ISH) ISH supplies students with a main dining hall that serves a variety of foods appropriate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition to their main dining hall, students can choose from a range of fruits, vegetables, local dishes, and vegetarian dishes at what is called the Night Market. This market is set up outside of ISH 2 and is remains open throughout the day and evening. This 4

5 market not only serves food items, but also has vendors who sell clothing, jewelry, movies, music, and stationary supplies. Cultural Advantages and Disadvantages Volta Hall/Legon Hall Students residing in Volta have expressed gratitude for being able to interact and live with Ghanaian students. Exchange of cultural values has allowed students to adapt to the society with confidence and reassurance. Such interactions include expose to new ideologies, beliefs, traditions, and ethical considerations. Though there is much to gain from the blend of cultures, students living in either Volta and Legon are not surrounded by other international students and may at times appreciate visiting ISH 1 or 2 to feel a bit at home amongst more foreign students. However, living in either Legon Hall or Volta Hall is a wonderful opportunity to make more Ghanaian friends and have late night conversations and bond over fetching water or doing laundry. International Student Hostel (ISH) Despite of the title, ISH is composed of international students from neighboring countries, countries in the diaspora, as well as Ghanaian students. These students also exchange cultural values amongst each other and live in harmony. Though ISH does not have Ghanaian students in great number as other halls do, a blending of culture still occurs amongst the students and all are able to genuinely gain some type of cultural experience. Students have noted that the Ghanaian and other foreign students who live at ISH are wealthier than the ones who live in a room with five or more students in the other hostels on campus. This is just an observation about the foreign student and Ghanaian interaction at ISH. Accommodation for International Students Provision of housing on Campus for our international guests is key in the University's bid to enhance the Ghanaian experience for our international students while exposing the Ghanaians (students and staff) to international cultures. International Students Hostels I & II The International Students' Hostels (ISH I and ISH II) have been purposely built to cater to the increasing numbers of international students at the University of Ghana. They are located on the 5

6 southern part of the campus, off the road leading to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. ISH I(commissioned June 18th, 1999) opened for the 2000/2001 academic year while ISH II was only recently (January 2006) opened. International Students' Hostel (ISH) I Each Hostel is made up of 4 floors with rooms of single and double occupancy. Each floor has a laundry room, 2 kitchenettes and a T.V. lounge. In addition, the ground floor has two Reading Rooms. To ensure that our international students have as much contact with their Ghanaian peers as possible and to foster close socio-cultural interaction with our international students, a number of Ghanaian students are resident in the hostel. In residence at each Hostel are two resident assistants who serve as the first point of call, to ensure that foreign students have a fulfilling stay in Ghana. These four resident assistants work directly with the Office of the Dean, International Programmes and are on call 24/7. At each entrance, a Porters' Lodge can be found with a shift of Porters on duty 24 hours each day ensuring that all needs of residents are met while monitoring for security and safety. The Hostel maintains a "Travel Log Book" for students to register their travel plans (dates of travel, destination) so that the Office may be notified and take appropriate action should a student not return on the specified date Hostel Visitors: no visitors are permitted after midnight. All visitors must sign in the Visitor Book (name and address of visitor, name and room number of student being visited) and sign out when they leave. Visitors who have not signed out are tracked down by the Porters and escorted out of the Hostel. To further enhance the safety of our students, every evening from 7:00 11:00 p.m., a free Shuttle Service is run to and from the hostel connecting to other points on the campus, including the Balme Library, the Central Cafeteria and the main University Gate. 6

7 Students are advised to bring along, or acquire on arrival, basic toiletries and other basic essentials to outfit their rooms (including a pillow). Laundry services are available on the ground floor for a fee. A small eatery is located on the ground floor. A small shop is located on the ground floor. An internet café is available on the next level (first floor) of the hostel. o One hour of internet time is roughly 5,000 cedi or.50 cents USD o Telephone facilities are also available here (including international call access). 7