New to Nebraska

"There is no place like Nebraska...
is something you will hear often. Our department is here to help you discover that it is truly great to be a Husker!

- Questions or assistance, contact us unl.police@unl.edu, 402-472-2222

Access to Campus Facilities

Students, faculty members, staff members, and visitors at the University of Nebraska have access to facilities on campus at appropriate times. Access to some facilities is restricted to selected students, faculty members, or staff members. For example, certain classroom facilities are open only to students, faculty members, and staff members involved with classes taught there or in the operation of those facilities.

Other facilities are open to all students, faculty members, staff members, and the general public. An example of this type of facility would be the Nebraska Union dining facilities during normal business hours.

Residential Information

During your stay at Nebraska, there are a number of residential options available to you. Approved residential units include University residence halls and recognized fraternities and sororities. The University of Nebraska owns campus residential properties that provide single sex and coed residence halls, family student housing, a limited number of Greek units, and visitor accommodations. The University does not provide supervision for off-campus housing. Please visit University Housing website for more on-campus residential housing information.

The residence halls accommodate three living options: halls for women, halls for men, and coeducational facilities. The visitation hours of each housing unit are determined by the residents, within the guidelines established for Nebraska. All freshman students under the age of 19 on the first day of classes are required to live in one of the approved housing units during the academic year unless living at home or with a family member.

Professional residence directors and resident assistants are members of the University Housing staff who live in the residence halls and are on call 24 hours a day. As part of their responsibility for residence hall security, these staff members attend lectures and seminars on the safety and security of the campus conducted by University administrators, police officers, and environmental health and safety officers.

Most residence hall doors are locked 24/7. To enter a residence hall, residents must be verified by electronic scanning of the student I.D. card. Both on-campus and off-campus visitors to residence halls must be escorted through the residence hall by a resident. All windows have locking devices and securely attached screens. Outward viewing door viewers are installed in residence hall student room doors. Violations of the hall security policies and procedures, including tampering with fire safety equipment or failure to comply with fire alarm evacuation protocol, may result in severe disciplinary sanctions as outlined in the Nebraska Code of Conduct.

Fraternities for men and sororities for women provide an alternative on-campus housing option for students. Greek living units are privately owned and maintained by a local alumni corporation board or their national headquarters. However, fraternity and sorority chapters can request University recognition as an approved housing unit on an annual basis. Chapters seeking University-approved housing status must agree to enforce all University regulations and policies of the University of Nebraska which pertain to University-approved housing units. Additionally, each chapter must employ a live-in house director, sometimes referred to as a house mother.

The University expects Greek chapters to provide safe, secure living environments for their members. This includes maintaining appropriate security and fire safety systems in each Greek housing unit. A private security company provides twice weekly safety checks of Greek living units and fire safety inspections are scheduled on a regular basis to ensure chapter houses are in compliance with all city fire safety regulations. Educational sessions on security and fire safety issues are provided by staff members of the Office of Greek Affairs, University Police, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, National Headquarters staff, and community resources.

Greek living units have access to both the University Police and the Lincoln Police Departments.

The University also offers guest apartments and has 152 family housing apartment units for rent. Security is provided by University Police patrols. Security information is distributed to tenants by University Housing and University Police personnel.

The legal drinking age limit in the state of Nebraska is 21. Nebraska has a drug and alcohol-free policy put forth by the Board of Regents (RP-2.1.5) and the university. What this means is that no student or employee can possess, use, and sale of alcoholic beverages and illegal drug on campus.

The University also has a tobacco-free campus policy in place. No tobacco products may be used in facilities or vehicles of the University of Nebraska. This includes electronic cigarettes or other forms of electronic smoking. Use of tobacco products on the grounds of any Nebraska site is allowed as long as such use is not within 10 feet of any building perimeter. Certain buildings have an extended proximity of 25-feet limit. Please refer to the Tobacco Free Campus Policy for further information.

Possession of dangerous weapons - concealed or unconcealed - on University property, on the work-site, in University vehicles, or in personal vehicles when on University property shall be a violation of Nebraska's Weapons Policy and the Board of Regents policy (RP-6.4.8). A dangerous weapon shall include guns, knives, explosives, or any other device defined by statute or as determined by the University, which in the manner used or intended is capable of producing death, harm to person or property, or bodily injury. Violation of this policy shall make the offender subject to appropriate disciplinary or legal action. University Police provides free weapon locker storage for individuals on campus. Please contact us anytime regarding weapon storage.

If you are staying in a residential hall, please refer to University Housing's Residence Life page regarding your stay on-campus which can be found here. If you have an addiction problem and need to talk to someone or a group, please visit this helpful University Health Center page.

We are frequently asked if an international driver's license may be used to operate a vehicle. An international driver's license will allow you to operate a vehicle up to 30 days. All international students who wish to operate a motor vehicle for a longer period must go to the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a Nebraska Driver's License. A written test along with a driving test will be required to obtain a new license. The driving (or road test) will be waived if the driver has a license from Canada, Germany, Mexico, or any U.S. territory. More information may be found by visiting the Nebraska DMV website.