Services

Working closely with the Academic Success Center, Writing Center, academic advisers, and other campus partners, University Housing’s Academic Support team provides a wide range of free services to all on-campus residents.

By utilizing resources provided by Academic Support Services, and by meeting with trained professional staff members, students can become an active participant in their education. Common areas of support include:

• Stress management
• Note and test-taking skills
• Career path exploration
• Navigation of online courses
• Procrastination
• Unique challenges and concerns

You can reach Academic Support Services at (248) 370-3941, or [email protected]. Virtual and in-person appointments with Academic Support staff members are available.

Academic support is also provided by University Housing’s Residential  Peer Mentor staff. Residential Peer Mentors (RPTs) help other students succeed academically. RPTs offer free tutoring at a variety of locations including some residential spaces. Additionally, RPTs also  host programs on topics like time management, motivation, and goal-setting. If you would like to reach a RPT for support, please email , or call (248) 370-3941.

All University Housing meal plans give students the opportunity to eat at any time at any Chartwells food service operation on campus. Those operations include:

Hillcrest Dining Hall
This cafeteria-style dining facility offers international, barbecue, Italian, and traditional fare in an all-you-care-to-eat, buffet-style setup located on the first floor of Hillcrest Hall.

Vandenberg Dining Hall
This cafeteria-style dining facility features an all-you-care-to-eat menu in a comfortable, contemporary and convenient location on the second floor of East Vandenberg Hall.

Pioneer Food Court
The food court is located in the Oakland Center. Subway, Panda Express, and The Halal Shack are among the shops available to students in this food service facility.

The Hive Cafe and Convenience Store
The Hive, located in the main lobby of Hillcrest Hall, is always buzzing with students who enjoy Starbucks coffee, artisanal sandwiches, grab-and-go items, and the benefits of a convenience store.

Tilly’s Convenience Store
Tilly’s is located on the second floor of Oak View Hall and features a convenience store as well as sandwiches, soups and coffee.

A full listing of dining facilities on campus is available on our website.

Meal Plans
Every student living in the residence halls must select a meal plan. The Hillcrest and Vandenberg Dining Halls are the primary food facilities for residence hall students. They are also open to faculty, staff, guests and non-board students on a cash basis or through a voluntary meal plan. Meal plans are designed to provide various levels of flexibility. The meal plan is combined with the housing contract, and charges for food plans are included in the housing bill. Each plan includes eight guest meals that students can use for friends, family members or other guests.

All University Housing meal plans give students the opportunity to eat at any Chartwells food service operation on campus. 

Missed Meals
The university agrees to provide three different meal plan options for residents on room and board contracts. The university is not required to make allowances for meals missed during the semester.

Sick Meals
Students who become ill and who wish to avoid spreading illness to the campus community may utilize University Housing's Sick Meal Pick-Up process to make arrangements for a meal.

Students may complete the Sick Meal Pick-Up Request Form to designate another person to pick up a meal on their behalf. The designated pick-up person will need to select food from the items that are available in the dining hall that particular day. We ask that the ill student visit the campus dining website to note what is on the menu, and communicate any preferences to their designated pick-up person.

Please note that a separate form is needed for each requested meal. A copy of the form will be emailed to the ill student's oakland.edu email for sharing with the designated pick-up person, and as a record of the request. Please ensure that the meals are retrieved during the advertised dining hours of operation.

Dining Halls
Residents are required to present their university identification card each time they enter a dining hall. Residents may be subject to disciplinary action as well as assessed a service charge if they fail to present identification; throw food; remove food, beverages, dishes, silverware or other food service equipment from the dining room; leave dishes on tables; cut in line; or do not comply with a reasonable directive given by a university staff member.

Laundry machines are available for resident use only. Money or tokens are not needed to operate the machines. Mechanical difficulties with washers and dryers should be reported to University Maintenance using the E-maintenance system. You may submit an E-maintenance request on our website. Never leave your belongings and/or clothes unattended in the laundry room.

Mail service to the residence halls, apartments and cottages will be most efficient if incoming correspondence is addressed correctly. You can find a complete list of building addresses on our website.

Mail service is not available during weekends, holiday breaks or university closings. Students must pick up their mail from their mailbox using their room key. Desk receptionists will not distribute mail over the counter, nor will they accept Collect on Deliveries.

Packages will be delivered to the Hamlin, Hillcrest, Oak View, and Vandenberg Service Desks, and the University Student Apartments office. When picking up your package, please bring a photo ID.

To ensure your mail will be forwarded after you check out, please update your address in your My Sail account. Please note that only mail sent by the USPS can be forwarded. Packages delivered by UPS, FedEx and DHL cannot be forwarded. 

All pest problems should be reported to University Maintenance using the E-maintenance system or the trouble hotline at (248) 370-2954 as soon as detected. You may submit an E-maintenance request on our website.  The university contracts the services of an exterminator for pest control. Bug sprays and bug bombs are not permitted.

The Hamlin Service Desk is located on the fourth floor of Hamlin Hall in the main lobby area. The phone number for the Hamlin Service Desk is (248) 370-2953. 

The Hillcrest Service Desk is located on the third floor of Hillcrest Hall in the main lobby area. The phone number for the Hillcrest Service Desk is (248) 370-3984. 

The Oak View Service Desk is located inside the main entrance of the building, inside the main lounge. The phone number for the Oak View Service Desk is (248) 370-4491. 

The Vandenberg Service Desk is located on the first floor of Vandenberg Hall between the two towers. The phone number for the Vandenberg Service Desk is (248) 370-2886. 

The University Student Apartments Service Desk is located in building 4000 of the Ann V. Nicholson Apartments. The phone number for the Student Apartments Service Desk is (248) 370-2581.

Hours of operation for Service Desks are as follows: 

Residence Halls Service Desk Hours
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Apartment Service Desk Hours
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

On-campus residents who need to dispose of needles or other sharps are now able to check out a personal sharps container from the Service Desk in their community. Once the container has been filled, it can be exchanged or turned in at the Service Desk in Vandenberg Hall.  We ask that all containers are returned at the end of the semester.   

There may be a variety of reasons students need access to a sharps container. Examples of sharps include: 

• Needles – hollow needles used to inject medication under the skin. 
• Syringes – devices used to inject medication into, or withdraw fluid from, the body. 
• Lancets (also called “fingerstick” devices) – instruments with a short, two-edged blade used to collect drops of blood for testing.

This pilot program was created by the Graham Health Center, the Environmental Health and Safety Program, and University Housing. Our thanks to the Residence Halls Association, Council of Students with Disabilities, and Transcend for advocating that this resource be available to on-campus residents. 

The computer lab in Hamlin Hall is for use by residential students only. The computers in the lab are designed to erase all new data and changes upon rebooting. Therefore, saving to the computer is not advised. Housing is not responsible for any lost student data.

Printing is provided by the campus WEPA system. Kiosks are located in the Resident Computer Lab, Oak View lobby and in East Vandenberg near the main entrance to the dining hall.

In addition to the Resident Computer Lab, there are public computers available for student use in the main lobbies of Hillcrest and Oak View Hall. These work stations are available according to the hours of the building in which they reside. If you have problems with any technology in the Oak View Hall or Hillcrest Hall lobbies, please contact the University Housing Technology Helpdesk.

The University Housing Technology Helpdesk is a service offered by University Housing to all students living on campus. The Helpdesk exists to assist students with any technological problems that they might encounter while using the university’s network or their own personal computing devices.

The Helpdesk provides the following services:

• Assistance with connecting personal computers, gaming devices, smartphones, e-readers and other network-enabled devices to both the wired and wireless networks in the residence halls and student apartments
• Attempted removal of viruses and malware from student computers
• Assistance with syncing Oakland University email to smartphones or iPods
• Advice on technology purchases
• Technical support for the Hamlin Hall Computer Lab
• Minor hardware installations and repairs
• Desktop support for Department of Housing auxiliary offices

The Technology Helpdesk is located in 423 Hamlin Hall, and can be contacted at (248) 370-2534 or [email protected].

Most residence halls have vending machine areas. Continuation of vending machine services is wholly dependent upon nonabusive treatment of the machines. Money lost in vending machines may be claimed at the Dean of Students Office, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

University Housing provides wired network ports for student use in all of the residence halls and student apartments*. Students will need a wired network adapter for whatever device they wish to connect to the wired port, as well as a Cat5e network cable. The wired ports are the fastest and most form of connectivity; as such, it is recommended that students who have access to wired ports take advantage of them as often as possible.

*The student apartments offer wired ports in both the bedrooms and the living room.

All of the residence halls and student apartments have access to the University Housing wireless network. All of our Aruba wireless access points are 802.11ac capable and broadcast in both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz frequencies. Due to the technological limitations of 2.4Ghz wireless networks, it is highly recommended that students connect with an 802.11ac adapter for their wireless devices in order to take advantage of the performance benefits of the 5Ghz wireless technology. OU cannot guarantee reliable and consistent service on the 2.4Ghz WiFi network.

The network name (SSID) for all of the University Housing Wireless Network is: grizzlies.

If you are living in a room that contains wireless network equipment (i.e., a wireless access point) please be advised you are prohibited from tampering with the device in any way. Students who are found to be tampering with wireless equipment will be held responsible for any damage to the unit, and will face disciplinary action.

Wireless streaming from “device to device” for most multimedia services (such as Chromecast devices) is unavailable over the wireless network. If you are unsure whether your device will stream on the wireless network, please contact the University Housing Technology Helpdesk for more information.

1 and 2 mbps data rates are disabled on the University Housing wireless network to promote faster network speeds for all users. Any devices that require these data rates to connect to a wireless network will be unable to do so. This includes the Nintendo Wii; however, there are several inexpensive adapters for the Wii system that will allow the Wii to connect to the networks wired ports, where available.

Students may not change the existing Internet service package by purchasing and installing any broadband Internet services in their rooms, as it violates Oakland University’s network usage policies. Violation of this policy will result in judicial action.

If at any time you are experiencing trouble with your network connection in the residence halls or student apartments, please contact the Housing Technology Helpdesk. The Helpdesk is located in 423 Hamlin Hall and can be reached at (248) 370-2534 or [email protected].