Winter Break Closing Notices

Residence Halls close for Winter Break on December 12th at 10 am

All residence halls close at 10 am on Thursday December 12th, 2024. Students must vacate residence halls within twenty-four hours of their last scheduled exam or by 10 am on Thursday, December 12th, whichever is earliest. If you are involved in commencement, you may request permission to stay until 2 pm on Friday, December 13th by contacting your Neighborhood Service Office (NSO) to be added to the late departures list (College Hill NSO 328-4044, Central West NSO 328-4022).  Late departure students must vacate the residence halls by Friday, December 13th by 2pm.

24-Hour Quiet Hours Start on Tuesday, December 2nd at 8 pm and will go until we close on Thursday, December 12th at 10 am. Room Changes end on Friday, November 22nd.

Dining Facilities Schedules

Campus dining halls close after dinner on Wednesday, December 11th.  The dining hall will reopen for dinner on Thursday, January 9th, 2025.  Dining locations are available as study areas during scheduled hours.

Retail and other Dining Hours can be viewed at: Dining

Neighborhood Service Offices Schedule

Exam Week through Commencement (Both Neighborhood Service Offices)

  • December 2nd – 6th                       Normal Hours
  • Saturday, December 7th               9 am – 12 am
  • Sunday, December 8th                 9 am – 10 pm
  • December 9th – 11th                         Normal Hours
  • Thursday, December 12th            8 am – 5 pm
  • Friday, December 13th                  8 am – 5 pm

Winter Break

  • College Hill NSO:
    • Saturday, December 14th              Closed
    • Sunday, December 15th              Closed
    • Monday, December 16th:            12 pm – 3 pm
    • Tuesday, December 17th:            12 pm – 3 pm
    • December 18th – 19th:                   10 am – 3 pm
    • Friday, December 20th:               Closed
  • Central West NSO:
    • Saturday, December 14th            Closed
    • Sunday, December 15th              Closed
    • Monday, December 16th:            Closed
    • Tuesday, December 17th:            Closed
    • December 18th – 19th:                   10 am – 3 pm
    • Friday, December 20th:               Closed


After hours key return is available starting December 3rd from 10 pm -12 am and 6 am – 8 am in the Ballard Sounds and West End Dining Hall.

Last day of Mail Delivery to the Neighborhood Service Offices for the Residence Halls will be Thursday, December 12th, 2024. Regular mail service will resume on Thursday, January 2nd, 2025.

Neighborhood Service Offices will be closed from December 20th through January 1st. NSO’s will reopen on Thursday, January 2nd, at 8 am.

Fitness Pointe in the Jones Hall Galley

Fitness Pointe will be closed for the semester on Wednesday, December 11th, 2024, at 11 pm. Fitness Pointe reopens and resumes normal hours on Monday, January 13th, 2025.

Residence Halls Closing Details

Students are expected to vacate their room 24 hours after their last exam unless they are participating in the fall graduation ceremony or changing rooms for break. Students must vacate the premises during the winter break period. All exterior doors will be closed, and your ECU 1 Card will not unlock the doors.

Be sure to take all needed possessions, such as medications and valuables, with you when you leave for the break. A $75 fee will be charged for anyone that needs emergency access to their room.  Please make sure to close/latch windows and make sure your room door is secure.  All residence halls close at 10 am on Thursday, December 12th, 2024.

Before Departing for Break

  • Empty all trash receptacles from your room (and bathroom/kitchen in suite rooms) to proper containers
  • Remove all perishable foods
  • Close and lock windows, make sure the window is fully closed and latched (Tyler, Scott, Greene, Clement, and White Halls.)
  • Open your window blinds, unless you live in a first-floor room or a room in Scott Residence Hall with window facing the breezeway, we ask you to keep your blinds closed
  • Unplug all electrical appliances such as your TV, printer and computer. Unplug or turn off alarms on alarm clocks
  • Check faucets and turn water off completely (Ballard, Scott, CHS, Garrett and Fleming Halls)
  • Set your AC units to 72 degrees
  • Turn off all lights
  • Close and lock your room door and/or suite door
  • Take your keys and valuables with you
  • You may store your bike in your room over the break, or take it home if you don’t plan to use it in the winter weather

Please be aware that Campus Living staff and/or housekeepers may enter your room to ensure that windows are closed and that no appliances have been left on.

24-Hour Quiet Hours: Campus Living operates 24-Hour Quiet Hours during the exam period. Quiet Hours begin on Monday, December 2nd at 8 pm.

Suite Bathrooms

Students with SUITE style bathrooms (Scott, CHS, and some rooms in Ballard) should remove garbage and personal items from the bathroom (including bathmats or rugs) and items from the sink area (Scott and CHS only). Campus Living will be performing basic cleaning of showers and some bathroom areas over the break.

Air Conditioning Units

Residence Halls with window AC units will have ECU Facilities staff members enter rooms to clean the AC units and replace filters. We request that furniture be moved away from windows so our facilities team can access the AC window units

Safety and Security

For added security and the protection of personal belongings, all residents of first floor rooms and all rooms in Scott Residence Hall that front the balcony walkway, are asked to close their window blinds prior to departing.  Always be aware of your surroundings, keep your door locked and take precautions to ensure a safe environment as there are few people on campus during the break. Report any strange or unusual activity to your RA, hall coordinator or ECU Police.

Holiday Decoration Safety

For Safety reasons, decorations of any type are NOT permitted on student room doors, and paper may not be used to cover large sections of walls or any part of doors. Live Christmas trees are not allowed in the residence halls for fire safety reasons. String lights should not be placed on pipes, sprinklers, or be placed outside student rooms.

Students not Returning for Spring Semester

Cancelling Your Contract due to Graduation/Internships/Study Abroad/ECU Withdrawal

The housing contract is binding for the full 2024 – 2025 academic year. If you remain enrolled at ECU and do not have an approved cancellation reason, you remain committed to the housing contract. Cancellation of the contract without approved reasons will result in associated cancellation charges per the terms of the housing contract.

If you are moving out, you should talk to your roommate about your departure. You will need to turn in your keys 24 hours after your last exam. If you are participating in graduation, please contact your Neighborhood Service Office to be added to a late departures list for December 13th.

If you plan to cancel your housing contract or not attend ECU in the spring, please stop by your Neighborhood Service Office to complete paperwork to indicate your plans as soon as possible.  When you fill out the paperwork, the NSO staff will go over the check-out process and other important information with you.

The cancellation request form should only take a few minutes to complete. It is very important to indicate your reason for leaving on-campus housing. Eligible students (departing due to graduation, university withdrawal, study abroad, ECU OBX program, internships more than 35 miles away, etc.) will receive a refund of their $100 advance room fee. Back-up documentation must be provided. Valid back-up documentation can include an acceptance or offer letter regarding the opportunity. Back-up documentation is not needed for graduation or university withdrawals.

If for any reason your cancellation request is not approved or you do not graduate, transfer, or withdraw as planned, you will be held to the terms of the Campus Living contract for Spring 2025 and associated cancellation charges.

If approved for cancellation, housing charges are only removed from your ECU student account once room keys are returned, and paperwork is completed at the NSO. Do NOT forget to turn in your keys!

After hours key return is available starting December 3rd  from 10 pm -12 am and 6 am – 8 am in the Ballard Sounds and West End Dining Hall.

** ALL students not returning to the residence halls for spring term should turn in their key at the Neighborhood Service Office BEFORE THEY LEAVE CAMPUS to avoid costly lock change fees. **

Room Vacancy and Open Spaces

We do not allow room changes during finals. In addition, we do expect new students moving on campus for spring semester to fill open spaces. If your roommate is leaving at the break, you may get a new roommate for the spring semester.

Active room changes will conclude on November 22nd and will resume around the 10th class day in the spring semester.  We will send an email out about the room change process, once we reopen in the spring.   When room changes are offered, students can pick open spaces at the Neighborhood Service Office for the hall they wish to live, and move into any space there are eligible to live in.  The NSO staff are UNABLE to tell students what spaces may be opening at this time.

If you have a vacancy or your roommate is moving out:

Students who are in a double room and don’t currently have a roommate or your roommate is leaving, you should be prepared to get a roommate – leaving half the room cleared (closet space, dresser, desk, bed) for a new roommate.  When students with an opening in their room leave for the break, they need to have their room in acceptable condition for a placement of a new roommate or face significant cleaning or other charges. Students not returning for spring semester for any reason MUST move out before the break and coordinate the cleaning/prep of their room with their current roommate.

If your roommate is leaving, you may wish to move someone you know into the open space.  The student who is moving in should contact the Neighborhood Service Office, and they will need to stay to move to the new room BEFORE they leave for break after the other student moves out OR take their possessions home and turn in the key for their current room. They will then get the key to their new room when they return in the spring.

In either case, they will need to notify the Neighborhood Service Office of the hall they are MOVING to, to claim an opening space.  If they fail to move out of their current room before leaving for break, the hold on the bed space on the new room will be released.

Have a safe and festive winter break! Good luck on your exams!