Family and Friends

Students must make many adjustments in the first weeks and months of life in residence.

Your student might be getting used to living with a roommate after a life spent having their own room. Or maybe moving to residence means moving to the city from a rural area - the population of Lister Centre alone is larger than some towns! Perhaps your student will have to navigate cultural differences upon arriving in Canada for school.

Whether students approach life in residence with excitement or anxiety, they are likely to find it difficult to let go of the familiarity of home in favour of the unknown.

Some degree of homesickness is inevitable and you may notice a high frequency of phone calls in the period shortly after move-in.

Be sympathetic. Think about your first experience away from home. Let your student know that you have confidence in their ability to flourish at university and remind them that you are only a phone call away. Consider sending a calling card, so they can call home without incurring a personal expense. If possible, you may also wish to make plans to meet over Fall Reading Week. Keep in touch with your student by writing them a letter or sending them a care package when they least expect it.

Most of all, remember that the Residence Services staff see the same adjustment issues every year. We are skilled in handling your student's concerns.

When students arrive on campus, we create many opportunities for our residents to get to know one another. For example, North Campus students living in First Year residences will be automatically registered in BaseCamp and students living in East Campus will be registered in Eastern Ascent, our five day orientation programs. These events allow your student to move to campus early and get situated in residence before the start of classes. The programs are a great opportunity for your student to form bonds with their new community, build support systems, and make friends before September. The week is filled with programs that strive to set your loved one up for academic and social success.

Encourage your student to take advantage of everything BaseCamp and Eastern Ascent have to offer. These orientation programs consistently receive feedback that they helped students make friends, understand university resources, and feel prepared for their academic year.

Plan to arrive in time to be part of this important introduction to campus and residence life!

BaseCamp Dates | Eastern Ascent Dates

Students living in shared accommodation may or may not know their new roommate(s). Whether or not there is a pre-existing relationship between roommates, some amount of conflict, however minor, is bound to occur. It is through the experience of living with roommates that students learn important lessons about problem solving, conflict resolution and assertiveness.

As a friend or family member, you may receive a phone call from your student regarding roommate issues. Try your best not to take sides and reassert your belief in their ability to resolve their own problems. If explicitly asked for help, offer some suggestions. You may encourage your student to contact a member of the Residence Services staff such as their Resident Assistant or Residence Coordinator. These staff are trained mediators and can help all parties discuss their problems openly and maturely.

Both you and your student should rest assured that most issues can be resolved, resulting in a stronger roommate bond.

 A nutritious diet is part of the foundation for student success.

For residents of Lister Residence, Peter Lougheed Hall and Augustana Campus, a meal plan ensures access to healthy, varied food choices without the need for grocery shopping and meal preparation. Information about the Lister Hall and Peter Lougheed Hall meal plan, including how they support students with allergies and dietary restrictions, is available on the Meal Plan webpage.

Students living in our other residences are free to load money onto their student ONEcards and swipe their cards to purchase food at venues across campus. Alternatively, students can opt to purchase a Voluntary Meal Plan which can be used to access the Lister and Peter Lougheed dining halls.

Like you, we place a high value on your student’s safety and security – these are essential to a happy residence experience. Residence Services employs a wide variety of security measures - alone and in conjunction with University of Alberta Protective Services (UAPS) - to ensure our residents' safety.

A few of these measures are:

• ID checkpoints
• Door buzzers and proximity access cards
• Security cameras
• Single-button emergency contact through any campus payphone
• Student staff doing nightly rounds
• 24 hour on-call Residence Services staff

In addition, UAPS serves our residence communities. Protective Services ensures that our residents are informed about campus-wide security initiatives.

Did you know that research indicates that students living in residence are in a better position to succeed academically, relative to those living off-campus?

As a University of Alberta resident, your student will live on (or in close proximity to) campus. This convenience increases access to professors and advisers, as well as the University's world-class libraries. Through residence messaging, your student is more likely to hear about and engage in the academic support services available on campus.

Residence Life also offers in-house programming and services such as peer tutoring, study lounges and résumé workshops. Theses services are tailored for the student group living in each residence.

For information about Lister Centre specific academic opportunities, please visit our Lister Academic Advantage page.

It is difficult for incoming students to understand what academic changes they will experience while transitioning from high school to university.

Classes move at a brisk pace and the volume of work can feel overwhelming. Students who graduated from high school at the top of their class may find that they are not achieving the high marks they expect, resulting in anxiety and self-doubt.

Don't be discouraged by changes in your student's grades. University is a competitive environment and, on average, marks do fall during the transition period. Keep in mind that grades will tend to rise as your student moves through their program. Encourage your student to talk to you about the struggles they may be facing and stay informed about the resources available to them.

Refrain from telling your student to forego all of their extracurricular activities - students who have non-academic outlets for stress relief will achieve more! At the same time, some students may be used to participating in every extra-curricular available - reducing the number of activities they take part in may help students balance their time while transitioning to university life.

A little guidance and a lot of encouragement will help your student find their way to academic success.

If your loved one is a resident of Lister Centre, they may wish to meet with the Academic in Residence for academic advice or participate in residence peer tutoring programs. If your loved one is a resident of East Campus, they may wish to book a meeting with the Faculty in Residence for support.

There are also many on-campus academic resources including the Academic Success Centre faculty advisers, the Centre for Writers, the Decima Robinson Support Centre and more!

Friends and family are sure to notice a change in their student when they return home for the first time. You may find it difficult to adjust to the “new” version of your student. Old friends might be thrown off by stories of new people and places. Family members may notice greater assertiveness and independence. In many respects, the return to home means a period of readjustment and re-acquaintance. Make time to listen to your student’s stories. Encourage them to share photos so you can become familiar with the new people in their world. Actively engage them in family life - even if that means explicitly asking them to get involved. Resist overreacting to changes in physical appearance.

The answers to many of your housing procedure questions are located in the Incoming Residents section of our website. This information will be helpful to family and new students.

For any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. If your inquiry is specific to your student, rather than a general question regarding move-in policies or timelines, please have your student contact us directly to avoid any conflict with privacy policies.

Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP) was created to govern public bodies for the purpose of: outlining the rights to access of information that is collected thus ensuring openness and accountability, and protecting the privacy of individuals by regulating the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. The University of Alberta Information and Privacy Office has established guidelines for the implementation of the Act as it relates to the campus community.

What Does the Act Mean for Parents and Students?

The University of Alberta and Residence Services are required to abide by the Alberta Government’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy policy (FOIPP). This policy restricts Residence Services from providing any information about residents to third parties, including parents. Room numbers, addresses, phone numbers, marks, account balances, etc. are all private information that cannot be released without a resident's permission.

If residents want parents or any third party to have access to information, they must complete and submit an Information Release Authorization Form. This form is available within your student's residence account.

Further details on UAlberta's FOIPP policies can be found online at the Information and Privacy Office website at http://www.ipo.ualberta.ca. More information on the provincial act itself can be found on the Government of Alberta website at foip.alberta.ca.

Rent, contract fees and other payments regarding each contract or lease with Residence Services are all paid on Bear Tracks.

For details about residence payments and instructions on how to pay visit Payment Information.

Students are strongly advised to obtain property and general liability insurance coverage to insure their personal property against loss or damage by fire, flood, theft and other perils. The University of Alberta assumes no responsibility for any damages that may occur to their personal belongings, whatever the cause. Check your own home insurance policy as your student may already be covered under your plan.

Moving from another country can be nerve-wracking, and may leave you and your loved one with many questions. For our international students, International Student Services has many online resources, including:

• Preparing for Arrival
• Health Insurance
• and much more!

Friends and family may also find these resources helpful.

Additionally, your loved one can help ease this transition through the Online Orientation catered specifically to international students.

Ensure that you have specific contact information for your student before you leave on Move-In Day, as you will not be able to contact your student through Residence Services. If you are coming to visit your student, please ensure that you know how to contact them before you arrive as we will not be able to contact your student for you. Be aware that your student will be very busy during the adjustment to university life and may not answer all telephone calls. We recommend setting up a communication routine or schedule with your student to prevent you from worrying when they get busy with their studies and activities (i.e. set a regular day and time when you are both free to talk). Try using email or texting to touch base as your student may be too busy to respond to telephone calls.

If you are planning a visit from out of town, and would like to stay on campus, Student & Guest Services at Lister Centre offers 20 hotel-style guest rooms, available year round.

Care packages and other mail are a great way to remind your student that you’re thinking about them. Here are our top package stuffers:

• socks and underwear
• homemade baking (enough to share)
• favourite snack food
• toiletries (shaving cream, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste)
• money or gift certificates to favourite restaurants and stores
• photos of family, friends, pets
• flowers or grocery deliveries

Mail from Canada Post or courier services is delivered straight to your mailbox in most residence buildings.

For Lister Residence, mail is first delivered to the UAlberta Central Distribution facility where it is then sorted and delivered. Please allow an additional 2-3 days for delivery. This means that even if you send a package by Priority Post, it will not arrive at its final destination until 2-3 business days after it has arrived at Central Distribution.

CLICK HERE for mailing addresses of our various residences.