Winter Break Information

The Montclair State campus will close at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24 and reopen on Monday, January 4.

With the following exceptions:

Residence Halls and Dining Services

• The main information booth, University Police, The Village at Little Falls, Clove Road Apartments, and Russ Hall (resident rooms only) will be open and staffed during the entire period, but qualified student residents remaining on campus must make prior arrangements with their respective community director.
• Except as noted above, all residence halls will close at 11 a.m. on Monday, December 21, and reopen at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 17.
• The Red Hawk Diner will close at 3 p.m. on Thursday, December 24 and reopen at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, January 4.  From January 5 through the remainder of the winter break, the Diner will follow a schedule of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the weekend.  The Diner will close at 12 midnight on Sunday, January 17 and resume 24-hour operation at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, January 18.
• Blanton and Freeman Dining Halls will close after an extended breakfast from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 21 and reopen for dinner on Sunday, January 17.
• Hours of operation for all other food service locations will be posted at each unit and displayed on the Dining Services Web site.

Health Center, Recreation Center, Student Center, and the University Bookstore

• The University Health Center will close at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24 and reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, January 4.  From Monday, January 4 through Friday, January 22, business hours will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  The Health Center will be closed on Monday, January 18 for the Martin Luther King holiday.  Regular hours will resume on Monday, January 25.
• The Student Recreation Center will be on Winter Hours starting Friday, December 18.  It will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the weekend.  The Recreation Center will close at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 24, but the pool and gymnasium will remain open for scheduled rentals and events.  The Recreation Center will reopen on Monday, January 4 at 6:00 a.m. and follow and abbreviated schedule until classes begin.  It will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the weekend.  The Recreation Center will resume normal operating hours on Tuesday, January 19.
• The Student Center and Student Center Annex will close at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24, and reopen on Monday, January 4.
• The University Bookstore will close at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24 and reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, January 4.

Sprague Library, Computer Centers, and Information Technology Services

• Sprague Library will close at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24.  The Library will be open the following week only on Tuesday, December 29 and Wednesday, December 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The Library will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, January 4, and be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until classes begin on Tuesday, January 19. 24/7 hours will resume when classes resume.
• Access to the Library’s electronic resources (databases, e-journals, e-books, and interlibrary borrowing request forms, for example) and the online catalog is available at all times, even when the Library is closed, via the Library website. Reference and research assistance is available in person and by phone (973-655-4291) when the Library is open.  Requests for assistance via e-mail at Ask A Librarian will be answered on the same day if the Library is open, or the next day the Library is open if a request is made on a day when it is closed.
• The Technology Solutions Center on the fifth floor of University Hall will close at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24 and reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, January 4.  During that period, Center staff will be monitoring and answering voice-mail messages left at the University Help Desk (973-655-7971) except on the following dates: December 24 (after 4:30 p.m.), December 25, December 31, and January 1.
• To provide support for Winter Sessions classes, the Information Technology Division is providing online instructional support from December 26 through January 1 (inclusive).
  • For support, faculty, staff, and students may e-mail winterhelp@montclair.edu or contact Ms. Fei Gao directly at 973-261-4214 between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
  • People using Elluminate and needing technical support should call 1-866-388-8674 and select option #1. The University has contracted with Elluminate to provide 24/7 day support, including during the holidays.
• The Public Computing Laboratory facilities will be available as follows:
  • The Information Commons Computer Lab on the fifth floor of University Hall will close at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24 and reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, January 4.  The Computing Laboratory will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday for the period of January 4 through January 15.
  • Laptop Lending at the Circulation Desk in Sprague Library will conform to the Library’s operating schedule.
  • The Student Interactive Multimedia (SIM) Lab on the second floor of the Sprague Library will close at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, December 18 and reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 19.
  • The Surf-n-Print Depot located on the first floor of the Student Center will close at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, December 18 and reopen at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, January 4.  The Depot will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the period of January 4 through January 14.
• The Technology Solutions Center will perform maintenance and firmware upgrades on the campus’s Internet edge routers and the enterprise networking and switch gear between Tuesday, December 29 and Thursday, December 31.  These maintenance activities will produce service interruptions and degraded performance for periods of 15 to 45 minutes throughout the day.
• With the exception of the planned service interruptions outlined above, any significant problems with the University’s hardware and software systems will be announced on the Montclair State homepage and University list services and be a message on the Technology Solutions Center telephone line, ext. 7971.

General Access to the Campus

To maintain the security of the campus during the winter closing, employees may have access to their offices only in the unusual circumstance that their supervisors require them to perform a specific job duty during that period or, in the case of faculty, to pursue ongoing research or other faculty responsibilities.  The employee or a dean must inform University Police via msupolice@montclair.edu as soon as the need to be on campus is known, specifying the purpose, date(s), and time(s) that access is required.  Upon arrival and departure, the employee must sign in and out at the University Police building.

The names of students who are engaged in research that requires their presence during the winter closing must be submitted in advance to University Police via msupolice@montclair.edu by a faculty mentor or dean.  The submission must indicate that no safety hazards are posed by the student’s presence in the laboratory and/or office.  Upon arrival and departure, the student must sign in and out at the University Police building.  Students may also have access to buildings if they are accompanied by a faculty member or administrator who has followed the procedures from the building.  All employees and students must have a key and/or access code to gain entry to the specific room requested. University Police will be responsible for opening the exterior door of the building as needed.

Please note that most building temperatures will be lowered from 68 degrees to 65 degrees to conserve energy.