For students living on campus, there is a lock-out fee that starts accruing after the second instance of being locked out.
The lock-out policy, while some students may think it’s absurd, exists to cut down on intentional lockouts. Michael Gieseke, dean of student life, said “the lockout fee is to discourage students from leaving their keys [or IDs] in their rooms knowing they can be let in later by someone else.”
Gieseke also said that the fee is not meant to generate revenue for the university, but is meant to be a deterrent for those who wish to abuse the system.
However, some students seem to have concerns regarding the policy.
Courtney Craig, a senior, said that she doesn’t understand the policy, as staff should be there to help students no matter what.
The Point Park lock out policy states that students receive two free lock-out services, in which a school official will unlock a room. On the third occurrence, they will be charged a fee of $25. On the fourth occurrence, the student is charged $50.
A fifth lockout will result in a re-core, or changing, of the student’s locks. When this happens the student will have to bear the cost of the re-core and a $50 fine. The sixth lockout forces a student to bear the cost of a second re-core and a $100 fine.
“It is truly rare for a student to accumulate five or six lockouts,” Gieseke said. “We normally connect with the student way before that happens to figure out why.”
For any occurrence beyond the sixth, the student is required to meet with a community director and disciplinary action may be taken by the university.
While some students have concerns with the policy, others say that it is necessary to keep students living on campus in check.
Sawyer York, a first-year student, said that he understands paying after [two] times because, at that point, the university is telling people to be more responsible.
Preventative ways to not lose keys, or in the case of Boulevard Apartments, IDs, is to wear them on a lanyard or keep them somewhere memorable.
“I get it for after the first few times because, after that, it’s like ‘oh, now you’re just being negligent,’” first-year student Aylah Hildebrand said. “At the same time [though], paying X amount of money over and over again is crazy, especially for college students that don’t get paid a lot.”
The policy remains consistent throughout all of the living spaces. There is no difference between the fees in Lawrence, Thayer, Conestoga Hall and the Boulevard Apartments.
On a case-by-case basis, Gieseke said that he’ll work with students who continue to get locked out of their dorms.
