Procedure for Student Property Damage Claims

Students are responsible for safeguarding their own personal property. The College is not responsible for student personal property that is lost, stolen or damaged. Students may be able to obtain insurance for their personal property under their family’s homeowner’s policy or by purchasing separate insurance. The College does not carry insurance on students’ personal property.

If a student feels that property loss or damage was caused by the College’s negligence, the student may make a claim to the College for compensation by following the procedure described below.

Claim Procedure for Property Damage

1. Students must promptly contact Residential Life about incidents occurring in a residence hall, or Campus Public Safety about incidents occurring elsewhere on campus.
2. Students must complete the Claim Form for Lost or Stolen Student Personal Property available from Residential Life and the Risk Management.
3. The Claim Form must be submitted to Risk Management within 30 days of the incident, together with documentation about the property value (digital photos, receipts, relevant web pages, ) and any other relevant information. (Residential Life and Risk Management can assist with this process).

Risk Management will review the information and, if accepted, will requisition payment. Payment may take up to 10 days after all documentation is received and approved. The student must sign a Release of claims in order to receive payment.

Amount of Compensation

If the College determines it was responsible for the loss or damage, the College will compensate the student for the cost of repair (if repairable) or the “fair market value” of the item prior to the damage (that is, what the item was worth, based on its age and condition, not the cost of purchasing a new item). Shipping, taxes or other fees will not be paid by the College. The College may make a decision that there is a compelling reason to compensate the student for the cost of purchasing a new item (rather than the fair market value).

The College reserves the right to require a student to submit the claim to its homeowner’s or other insurance before submitting a claim to the College, and to provide a statement from the insurance company about the payment or denial of the claim. In such cases the College will reduce its compensation by the amount of any insurance proceeds.