Your residence hall room phone number is the officially publicized telephone number for you
while in Iowa City. It is important that you bring a land-line phone and answering machine with
you so you can be reached at that number in an emergency and by university offices.
University Housing does not provide telephone instruments or wall cords; however, telephone
line jacks are activated throughout the academic year. The monthly service charge is included in
your residence hall contract. The University-owned telephone system includes caller-id, call
transferring, call hold, three-party calling, and automatic call back.
A typical room is equipped with a telecommunications faceplate that has one phone jack to
plug in a telephone and one or more computer data ports/jacks, depending on room type, to plug
in computers for high speed ethernet access to the campus network and Internet. In addition, the
television coax cable is located typically on the bottom of the faceplate.
Calls within the University
To call a University number from a University phone, dial the last five digits of the listed number.
Local Calls and Long Distance Services
To place calls outside of the University, you must first dial "9." When dialing long distance, dial "9" then "1," the area code, number, and your authorization code. There is no charge for local calls.
There are two ways to make long distance calls from your room: through use of a University authorization code or a telephone calling card. Residents who opt to get a University authorization code will have long distance calls charged to their University bill. University authorization codes are available on the web at http://isis.uiowa.edu. Type in your HawkID number and HawkID password and then click on the sign-in button. If you are a current student and you have forgotten, or don't know your HawkID password, you can go to the Registration Center at 30 Calvin Hall between 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. You will be required to present your student ID to obtain your HawkID. For additional information, contact ITS - Customer Information Desk at 384-0800, or contact the ITS Help Desk at 384-HELP. Authorization codes are in effect until the code is cancelled by the student or has been inactive for 5 months. It is very important that you cancel your authorization code if you do not plan to use it anymore, especially if you have left the residence halls.
All calls made with your authorization code will be charged to your University bill. A
statement itemizing your calls will be mailed to you on the last day of each month. If any
charges on your University bill remain unpaid after 30 days, ITS-Telecommunication and
Network Services will cancel your authorization code until all charges are paid in full.
To avoid unnecessary charges, keep the following two points in mind. First, you are
responsible for all calls placed using your authorization code. Notify ITS-Customer Information
Desk at 384-0800 immediately if you have lost your code or if you feel someone has gained
access to it. Second, when you are placing a series of calls, be sure to hold the switch hook
down for five to ten seconds between calls. You may actually put a call on hold instead of
terminating the connection if the switch hook is not depressed for this length of time. You will
be responsible for all charges in this situation.
Other options with regard to long-distance service include using a telephone calling card
from the long-distance carrier of your choice (you need a University authorization code to
reach any 800 number) or placing calls collect to a non-University number. Long-distance calls
may not be placed directly from your telephone without using one of these three options.
YOU ARE NOT TO ACCEPT COLLECT CALLS OR HAVE OPERATOR-ASSISTED CALLS BILLED
TO YOUR ROOM. In the event this occurs, the cost of the calls will be billed in equal shares to
all residents of the room. In addition, there will be a per call surcharge.
Repairs
When a problem is reported that is the result of faulty telephone equipment, misuse, or abuse, you will be billed for any replacement parts plus labor at the current hourly rate.
To ensure that you are not charged for unnecessary repair calls, the following procedure is suggested:
Check to see that you have a dial tone on your telephone wall jack.
Unplug all of your telephone equipment from the wall jack.
Plug in a telephone that you know is working and listen for a dial tone. It may be
convenient to borrow a neighbor's phone that is working, your RA may have one, or
each desk in each hall has working phones that you can check out to use for testing.
If you hear a dial tone on the "test" phone, you know that the problem is with your equipment.
It may be that you have too many things plugged in or you have things plugged in that are conflicting with each other. Consult your equipment owner's guides.
Plug your equipment back in one device at a time and check for a dial tone each time. This may help you isolate which piece of equipment is faulty.
If you do not hear a dial tone on the test phone, call the ITS-Telecommunication and Network Services at 335-2949.
You must supply your student ID, building, room number, telephone number, and an explanation of the problem.
The Repair Desk Customer Representative will ask you questions about your problem and may take you through some troubleshooting procedures over the phone.
If the problem is not resolved, an ITS technician will be dispatched.
CCable television service is provided in residence hall rooms at no extra charge and gives
students access to numerous channels. Instructions on how to program your cable-ready
television, and what to do if your television is not cable-ready, are available on the uiowa.edu web
pages under campus video.
There are TV rooms available in most buildings.
Tornado Procedures
In the event that a tornado is sighted in or around the Iowa City area, the Severe
Weather System whistle will sound a steady three to five minute signal indicating a
tornado warning. In all residence halls a message will be aired through the alarm
system alerting residents of the warning. The message will play for five minutes and will
only replay if there is a change to the warning. All residents should immediately relocate to a safe
area, designated as interior corridors on lower levels or basements of all buildings. An "all clear"
message will be aired when the tornado warning has expired.
Trash
Students are responsible for properly disposing of their own trash. Unattended trash will be disposed of and the responsible students will face disciplinary action and be billed accordingly.
Tutors
Free walk-in tutoring is available in a limited number of subjects in Currier North Lounge,
Quadrangle Rehder Lounge, and Mayflower Classroom on Sunday - Thursday evenings. For a
schedule of times and subjects please look at http://housing.uiowa.edu.