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Residential Life & Housing > Winter Break

Winter Break Policies

Information about the potential availability of Winter Break Housing and/or Early Winter Return for Winter Break 2021 will be shared to students by early November.

  • The residence halls are officially closed from 9am on Friday, December 20, 2019, through 9am on Friday, January 17, 2020.
  • Occupancy is generally minimal during Winter Break. As always, students should take safety and security precautions by locking room/suite doors. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with which other students may be nearby during the Early Return week.
  • Community Safety is available 24/7. For emergencies, call 212-854-6666. For non-emergency inquiries, please call 212-854-3362.
  • There is an on-call Residential Life Hall Director and Associate Director 24 hours/day during the break. You can contact the on-call Res Life staff via Barnard Community Safety.
  • Approved students are required to have a valid Winter Break sticker on their ID to gain entrance into the residence halls during this period. No sticker = no entry.
  • Students are limited to a maximum of 1 guest at a time during Winter Break.
  • Barnard or CU@BC students who did not receive permission for Winter Break would count as guests.
  • Students may not sign in other students who were not approved for Winter Break or to return early for the purpose of allowing them access to their rooms.
  • No guests may not stay overnight for more than one night during Winter Break.
  • No minors (guests 16 years old and younger, including siblings) will be permitted as guests during Winter Break prior to the start of the Early Return period (Sunday, January 12, 2020).
  • Guests must be escorted at all times. If you have a guest, you must meet them at the front desk, sign them in, and escort them to your room. When your guest leaves, you must escort them back to the desk to sign out.
  • Disciplinary incidents and/or any violations of Residential Life or College policy can result in approval for Winter Break Housing being revoked, i.e. students may be required to immediately leave campus.
  • CommunitySafety Shuttle: Shuttle service provided to students on a "call for service" basis. To "call for service" during a scheduled break, students should call Community Safety at 212-854-3362 and request transport from the Dispatcher. Service will be provided to and from College residence halls and CU & Barnard buildings only.
  • Dining Halls: All dining facilities (i.e. Hewitt, Diana, & Milstein) will be closed over Winter Break. For more information, please visit dineoncampus.com/barnard.
  • Mail Services: The mail room will be closed for most of the Winter Break. For more information, please visit barnard.edu/mail-services.
  • Primary Care Health Service: The Barnard College Primary Care Health Service will be closed for most of Winter Break. For dates, please visit barnard.edu/primarycare/.
  • Barnard students can be seen for urgent health care problems only at Health Services at Columbia's Urgent Care Service, located on the 3rd floor of John Jay Hall, during Winter Break while the Barnard College Student Health Service is closed. Barnard students seen at Health Services at Columbia will be charged a per visit fee (for hours, please visit http://health.columbia.edu). Students covered by Barnard's Aetna student insurance may file a claim for reimbursement (but must pay up front). Students who opted out of the Barnard insurance plan may be able to file for reimbursement with their own plans.