The University of Connecticut Student Mail Services announced on Aug. 9 that they would no longer be providing mail keys to residential students.
According to the Student Mail services website, “students have started to receive less paper mail and more packages,” and a need for mail keys has become less apparent.
Mail services stated that “students have overwhelmingly informed Residential Life office they don’t want or need their mail key.”
University Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz expressed that over the last few years Residential Life has found a “large number of students don’t turn in their mailbox key at the end of the academic year,” because they’re unaware that they must return it.
This has led to charging these students a fee and a “need for the University to order a large number of replacement keys heading into the fall semesters,” said Reitz.
Due to this, UConn has implemented a pilot program this year in which students can request and receive a mail key if they feel a need for one.
“Residential Life and Facilities Operations will track the numbers of keys given and returned, and use that data to determine if this approach should be adopted in future years,” said Reitz.
The university recommends students who plan on receiving paper mail and those who intend on receiving an absentee ballot for the upcoming election to request a mail key, said Reitz.
Students who would like to receive a mail key can fill out the “Mailbox request form.” The form can be found on student’s MyHousing accounts under the applications section.
According to the “Mailbox request form,” once a student has requested a mail key, they will receive an email when their key is ready to be picked up. Students can pick up their keys from the Residential Life Central Office in the Whitney Residence Hall. Central Office hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The office requires students to show their UConn Student ID when picking up their keys, and only the person requesting the key can pick it up.
So far 1,500 students have requested and received mailbox keys out of about 13,200 students living on campus, according to Reitz.
When returning a mail key at the end of the academic year or semester, students will receive instructions from their hall director, according to the UConn Residential Life website.
If a student moves out during the semester, then they must either return the mail key to the service desk at Whitney Hall or put the key in the drop box at Whitney Hall located by the rear entrance and parking lot, as stated on the Residential Life website.
When returning a key in the drop box, students must place the key in the return envelope which can be found to the left of the drop box. The envelope must be filled out by writing “your name, room information that corresponds to the keys you are returning, and the date and time that you are returning your keys,” according to the Residential Life website. Students must then take a picture of the keys they are returning, showing the codes on the keys, and then place the envelope in the drop box.
According to Reitz, if a student fails to return a mail key, “a charge is assessed against them for the replacement, so students are encouraged to return the mailbox keys early if they know they won’t be using them, since that would avoid the chance of forgetting to do so later and incurring the charge.”
Although students are no longer receiving mail keys, Mail Services still plans on sending notices to students’ UConn email addresses when they receive packages, and students can still pick them up from their dorm’s mailroom.
All mailroom locations and hours are on the Student Mail Services website.