Halls Of Residence. Applying for accommodation guide 2013 / 2014

Transcription

1 Halls Of Residence Applying for accommodation guide 2013 / 2014

2 Foreword So you have decided which College you will be attending and the course that you will be studying. Now it s time to think about where you are going to live. The management and staff of the accommodation understand that this can be an anxious time for both students and their families. By staying in the accommodation on campus you will have a safe and secure environment in which to grow and develop. You will meet other students from a whole range of backgrounds that share your interests and forge lifelong friendships. Whilst we cannot duplicate the home environment, we will be supporting you throughout your stay through a range of services and facilities which will make the transition simpler and ensure that you make the most of your time. The location means that there is no need to travel and if your course is based at the Milton Rd. If you are based at the Midlothian Campus there is a quick and easy inter-campus shuttle service. Rent payments are fully inclusive of utility bills. Next door to the halls of residence is our Club building which is our premium Spa and gym facility housing a swimming pool, gym, Bliss Beauty salons and eh15 our rooftop restaurant. This booklet is designed to cover all aspects of what the accommodation has to offer as well as guiding you through the application process. At the end there are some frequently asked questions, but if these do not answer a question you have, feel free to contact the accommodation team. Contents Page 3 Page 4 Page 6 Page 8 Page 9 Contact details and address for correspondence Accommodation details and services Payment options and structures A guide to applying for accommodation Some frequently asked questions Page 2

3 Contact Details The Halls of Residence is located next to Bolam House and Club building at the Edinburgh Campus. All accommodation queries are dealt with via the Club reception and the contact details for all correspondence are detailed below. Address: Accommodation C/O The Club Edinburgh College Milton Rd Campus 24 Milton Road East Edinburgh EH15 2PP Telephone: Website: Office Hours: Mon Fri 6.30am to 9.00pm Sat & Sun 9.00am to 6.00pm Page 3

4 Accommodation Details and Services Accommodation Your accommodation room cost breaks down to per week over the 42 week academic year. The package includes 3 course evening meal 5 nights a week and access to our state of the art gym and spa facilities* Edinburgh College s Milton Rd campus accommodation comprises of 104 single study bedrooms and is located in the southeast of Edinburgh close to Portobello and Musselburgh. A wide variety of local retail outlets provide for all student needs and a quick five minute train or twenty minute bus will get you right into the heart of Edinburgh with it great mix of culture and lifestyles. The accommodation was completely renovated and reopened in This has provided a traditional Halls of Residence theme with bright and up to date facilities. Details below: Bedrooms are approx. ten square metres in size and have their own vanity units with wash hand basin. The rooms are fitted out with bed, wardrobe, drawers, chair and desk. Communal areas are cleaned weekly. Shared WC and shower facilities are located on each floor. Rooms are cleaned weekly. Bedding and towels are laundered weekly. The accommodation has a number of communal lounges. These are light and airy providing you with a fantastic space to relax, study or socialise in. Access to the college wireless network throughout the accommodation. On site launderette. Shared pantries equipped with microwaves, kettles and toasters for preparation of light food. Please be aware these are not full kitchen facilities and the Halls of Residence at Edinburgh College is NOT a self-catering facility. *Access to the gym and spa is limited to 6.30am 8.30am and 7.30pm 8.45pm Mon to Friday and 9am 6pm Saturday and Sunday Page 4

5 Catering As part of the student accommodation package evenings meals are provided five evenings per week, Monday to Friday. These are served in the Club building which is adjacent to the accommodation. Evening meals will be three courses which will consist of a starter, main course and desert. Refreshments will also be available for students during service times. There are pantries within the accommodation where students can prepare light snacks, but these are not kitchens. Students can have Breakfast and Lunch at the Club building and all other campuses during normal academic service times and can either arrange this with Aramark, the college catering company, for an extended period or simply pop along during opening times. Please Note No Catering is available during the Christmas Break Friday 20 th December 2013 until Sunday 5 th January 2014 inclusive And the Easter Break Saturday 5 th April 2014 until Sunday 20 th April 2014 Page 5

6 Sample menus for lunches and dinners can be forwarded on request. All catering is supplied by Aramark Payment Options and Structure Tenancy Term Arrival date Saturday 25 th August 2013 Closed December 23 rd 26 th and December 31 st January 3 rd Departure Date Sunday 15 th June 2014 Weeks 42 weeks Standard Tenancy Period 42 Weeks Rates Costs Weekly Rate Total Cost Room, evening meal Gym & Spa access Please Note: No Catering is available during the Christmas Break Friday 20 th December 2013 until Sunday 5 th January 2014 inclusive And the Easter Break Saturday 5 th April 2014 until Sunday 20 th April 2014 e weekly payments so that all payments are equal through the year. Room, evening meal, gym and spa package is sold as one and no concessions will be made for not wanting any part of this package. Students wishing to stay over the Christmas and new years periods must make arrangements to do so with the accommodation team. There may be an additional charge for this. These arrangements must be made at least one month in advance Page 6

7 Payment Structures Reservation Payment & Room Damage deposit To secure a study bedroom in the accommodation you are required to make room a reservation payment and damage deposit. The total amount of this payment is and must be fully paid before any room can be reserved. The payment is broken down as follows: will form your damage deposit and be returned to you at the end of your stay minus any breakages will form part of your first month s rental payment. If you decide to cancel your room reservation prior to moving into the accommodation will be deducted for cancellations up to one week before the arrival date. If you cancel your room reservation in the final week before arrival the full initial will be payable to offset any loss of earnings by the college for a late room cancellation. Your damage deposit will be returned in full. If you are not offered a place on a course at Edinburgh College no deduction from your room deposit will be taken with proof that you have not been accepted onto your course. This will be up to the move in date. It will not be applicable if you have chosen to withdraw from the course yourself. Page 7

8 Rental Payments There are three options for payments and these are as follows: Direct Debit Payment A Direct Debit is an instruction from a customer to their bank which allows Edinburgh College to collect varying amounts directly from your account. This method allows you to spread the room rental fees over the year. All direct payments come out of your account on the 1 st of each month and you will need to budget for this. If a direct debit payment fails a charge will be incurred for late payments. Term Payments This option divides your rental payments into three large payments that coincide with each term. Payments are required to be with the college one week prior to the commencement of each term. These details will be sent out to you once we receive you tenancy documents. Full Year Payment Save with this Option One payment is made at the beginning of the year to cover all accommodation costs. This can be made prior to arrival or on your moving in day. If you choose this payment option a discount of will be deducted from the amount payable. Page 8

9 Guide to applying for accommodation We have tried to make applying for accommodation as simple as possible and it is broken down into four stages. These are explained below. Stage One Application The first stage of applying for a room in accommodation is filling out the application form. You will find the application form on the Edinburgh College web pages or we can / post an application form directly to you. Print out the application form and fill in all your details. Then post this back to the forwarding address on the form, which is also at the front of this booklet. Stage Two Processing your application When we receive your application for accommodation your details will be entered onto our database of students interested in the accommodation. We will contact you to inform you if a room is available in the accommodation or if you are being put onto the waiting list for rooms. If a room is available a reservation will be made for you. Stage three the tour/interview A member of the accommodation team will invite you to Milton road for a tour of the accommodation and an interview. This stage of the process gives you the opportunity to see where you will be staying and means the team can answer any questions that you have. We will also go through the tenancy pack with you to ensure that all the accommodation meets your requirements and all the important information is covered. Once both parties are satisfied we will fill in the tenancy agreement, accept your reservation payment of and book your room for you there and then. If you are still undecided then we can provisional hold a room for you for 7 days whilst you take the tenancy pack home. If we do not receive the tenancy agreement back along with your reservation payment within 7 days we will not be able to guarantee you a room Final Stage Moving In Two weeks before your move in date you will receive a welcome pack with some more specific details about accommodation such as fire procedures and forms regarding what electrical equipment you are bringing with you. The accompanying will also detail your room number and move in time and date. On the day of your arrival you will receive your key to your room and a temporary access card to the halls and will be shown to your room. On the day we will also have tours of the Club facilities at regular intervals and emergency evacuation training. Over the 1 st few days of you moving in there will also be a few events held so that everybody can get to know each other and the staff that are involved in making sure your stay with us is as comfortable and pleasurable as possible Page 9

10 Some frequently asked Questions I am looking at a course, but have not been accepted? You can still apply for accommodation and we will arrange for a tour and talk about the facilities with you, if you do not get accepted for your course you can withdraw from the process. I do not receive my exam results until August and I am unsure what will be the outcome? You can still register an interest by applying, but please explain that you are waiting on results. We will add your name to the list of interested students and keep you informed as to the level of interest in the accommodation. We cannot guarantee to reserve you a place but you will be higher on the reserve list of students than if you apply later on. What happens if I have paid my room reservation fee and then have to withdraw from the accommodation? Notify the accommodation team straight away that you need to withdraw from accommodation. If you have paid your room reservation fee and you withdraw anywhere up to a week before the move in date your deposit will be returned by the college minus If you withdraw in the last week before your move in date then of the reservation fee and deposit will be lost as it is unlikely we will be able to re-let your room at such short notice and this will be compensation against the loss of revenue for the room. The deposit will be returned to the student within I month of your move in date. What happens if I do not turn up for my move in date and withdraw from the course without telling the accommodation team? You will lose the whole of the deposit and reservation fee and could be held liable for the first terms rent in full. What if I have applied and still not heard from the accommodation team? Please contact the team immediately to check that we have received your application and that it is being processed. I am attending another College/University can I still apply for accommodation with Edinburgh College? Yes, we accept applications from all students no matter which College/University you are attending. Page 10

11 The dates that the tenancy runs for are not suitable for my course, can I still apply? Yes. We will look at the dates that you specify and see if we can accommodate these dates. The shortest period we will generally let out a student room is for one complete term at a student rate. For shorter periods higher room rates are applicable and different services. Please contact the accommodation team to discuss this. I may need to move in earlier or later than you have specified? We will endeavour to try and arrange a move in date that suits you. Please contact the accommodation team to see if this is possible. I may wish to stay over the summer period after the Tenancy Agreements ends? During the summer periods the college has courses running that generally utilise all of the accommodation provision and we carry out routine maintenance. But we will see if this can be accommodated. Please contact the accommodation team to discuss this matter and we will advise you of the availability. My parents are coming with me to help move me in can they stay in the accommodation? If we have rooms available we can book your parents into a room for an evening, there is a charge for this. Please contact the accommodation team to ask about availability. Are there shops near the accommodation? We are approximately five minutes walk away from a very large Asda superstore and approximately ten minutes away from Fort Kinnaird Retail Park. Portobello and Musselburgh also have a number of local shops available to you. I do not have my own computer how I will be able to use the wireless network? You will not be able to use the college wireless network without a computer, but we have four computer terminals located in the foyer of the accommodation which you will be able to utilise and also the college has many computers around the campus that you can utilise. I am based at the Midlothian campus how will I travel to there? There is a shuttle bus service between the campuses. Page 11

12 What are the transport links into the city centre? There is a very reliable service from the front of the college via the 44 bus, which also operates night buses and a rail link is available at Brunstane Station, which is two streets away from the campus. Can I bring my own television? Students are welcome to bring their own TV s but are responsible for having it licensed. Can I bring my own Fridge? Yes, there are limits to the size of electrical equipment that you can bring into the accommodation and this is more specifically outlined in the tenancy pack, but we do allow small fridges in rooms. Can I have guests staying in the halls? If a guest wishes to stay overnight you can book guests into the accommodation prior to their arrival. We charge a residents rate for accommodation up to a maximum of three days. If your guests are just visiting then these hours are as follows Monday to Thursday; 5pm to Midnight Friday: 5pm to 1am Saturday: 9am to 1am Sunday: 9am to Midnight Guests cannot be introduced into the accommodation after 11.00pm. Does the room come with insurance? No, residents who wish to insure their possessions must arrange for their own insurance. Is my room cleaned? Yes the rooms are cleaned weekly along with bedding and towels, residents are expected to keep their rooms and communal areas in a tidy state. We do have cleaners who maintain standards through the week in the communal areas. If communal areas or rooms are left in an unacceptable condition students will be issued with a clean-up notice and possibly be charged for the extra service. Page 12

13 I have a medical condition that I need help with: can you provide support with this? None of our staff are medically trained and therefore cannot give help with medication. You can consult with Student Services to see if this support can be arranged. Some medical conditions may mean that the accommodation is unsuitable for your needs. We will always try and help with specific needs but are limited in the support we can give. Further Questions We hope that this information booklet has covered all the points that you require about the accommodation at Edinburgh College. But if you have any further questions not covered in this booklet then please do not hesitate to contact the accommodation team or check the Edinburgh College Website. Page 13