While open hours were only available in limited dorms last interterm, they will be extended to all residence halls and apartments during interterm 2013, according to an email from Patrick Saia, assistant director of Residence Life.

The days and times for open hours will be determined by Residence Life and the housing department, Saia said. They may either reflect the hours that are currently in place, or may change.

Last year was the first time Biola had Residence Life staff working interterm, Herchelroath said. She explained that during interterm, the RAs worked in the hall offices 8-11 every night. Throughout campus, the residence halls tried to have open hours, Saia wrote in an email.

“We experimented with [open hours] last year, since we hired RAs for interterm duty and it went well,” Saia wrote.

Current RAs are given the details about working over interterm, such as the time commitment and pay, and then they apply, according to Saia. Residence Life then will talk to the RDs about who out of the applicants they recommend should work interterm, he said. Residence Life often tries to keep RAs in their original hall, but in some cases, an RA may end up working in a different dorm over interterm, he said. He described the process of selecting RAs to work over interterm as being somewhat informal.

"So people have a lot more sense of privacy so they're willing to do more together."

Last interterm’s open hours were the same as regular semester hours, according to Mariah Ortiz, a junior film major and a resident assistant in Hart Hall.

Sophomore journalism major and Alpha East RA, Natalie Grace, is staying in Alpha for this year's interterm.

“I think there is a problem in terms of there’s a lot less people on the floor, so people have a lot more sense of privacy so they’re willing to do more together, but I think that open hours are good,” Grace said.

During interterm, housing is available to any continuing students who have an eligible activity on campus, said Priscilla Schubert, Biola’s assistant housing manager. She clarified that eligible  activities include taking a class, working a local job or internship, playing a sport, going on a mission trip or being an international student who lives too far away to return home. The students state their reason within the online application form.

Check in to take place at Student Services

Interterm residents check in Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 at Student Services — not at their residence hall as in the fall, said Andrew Rae, Hart resident director.

Residents may sign up for optional meal plans that would start Jan. 2, and they do not need to check in with the housing office again during spring check-in, Schubert said.

The utilities for this time frame are calculated into housing costs, Schubert said. She explained that fall- or spring-only students may sign up for interterm housing, but they must pay for housing and meet the other requirements.

During interterm, students stay in the same rooms they had during the fall semester, Rae said. However, over Christmas break, students must turn in their keys and leave campus — even if they are coming back for interterm.