On behalf of Orange Coast College and the department of Housing & Residential Education (HRE), I would like to welcome you to The Harbour at OCC. We are excited to be one of the first Southern California community colleges to offer on-campus housing for students. We opened our doors in Fall 2020 and can accommodate over 800 residents. HRE and our partners, The Scion Group, are committed to providing opportunities that contribute to student learning and development as well as further enhancing student success and the Pirate experience here at OCC. We are excited for you to consider OCC's preferred student housing community at The Harbour.

Living on-campus is a transformative experience for students! It provides you with many opportunities to engage with the campus and its resources, make significant and life-long connections with peers, and explore your own identity, leadership, and personal values. Through dynamic programs and services HRE will create inclusive living-learning environments that will allow you to make meaning of your college experience and find a true sense of belonging within the diverse OCC community.

What you choose to do in your living, studying, and recreational environment will greatly influence your total academic experience. Studies have shown that students who live on campus have a higher GPA than those that do not, are more involved on campus, and graduate at a higher rate. Take the initiative to get involved, contribute and engage within the residential community. Living in a residence hall community requires considerable cooperation, responsibility, and, above all, respect for others.

If there is any way that I or the HRE staff can assist you as you make the transition to Coast please let me know. Welcome to The Harbour at OCC; welcome home.

Go Pirates!
Jamie Kammerman
Director, Housing & Residential Education
The Harbour Logo

 

Contact Us

The management office can be visited or staff can be contacted at the phone and email below during business hours.

1369 Adams Avenue Costa Mesa, CA 92626

  • Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
  • Sunday, Closed

 

 

p: (714) 643-5100

e: live@theharbourocc.com

About

Housing & Residential Education (HRE), in partnership with The Scion Group, serves as an integral component of Orange Coast College's core philosophy by creating inclusive, safe and clean living-learning environments that promote student success. Through the intentional and efficient delivery of programs and services, HRE facilitates student engagement, and collaborates with the campus and the community. HRE maintains secure, sustainable spaces for students in order to promote a sense of belonging, holistic personal development, co-curricular learning, responsible community membership, and academic success within a diverse community.

  • We value the social, emotional, intellectual, and ethical development of students.
  • We value a community of respect where dignity is practiced and is a shared concern for all living together in community.
  • We value the education of student rights and responsibilities.
  • We value initiatives and efforts that create an environmentally sustainable community.
  • We value safe, clean, and well-maintained living facilities.
  • We value diversity, inclusion, and equity, and embracing campus ideals.
  • We value the engagement, involvement, and the spirit of fostering a sense of belonging for all students.  

As a premier community college in California with the largest on-campus living program, Housing & Residential Education aspires to transform the lives of our residents through innovative and collaborative community development programs and educational interventions with the intention to develop responsible and active citizens, locally and globally. The Harbour at OCC will be a preferred housing choice for Orange Coast College students that provides efficient management of housing operations and a living-learning environment that practices inclusion and empowers residents to become engaged contributors and leaders in their community. 

Housing & Resident Information

The 2023-2024 Resident Handbook is available here for residents to review or downloadl. All residents are expected to review this important document for Harbour students. The handbook includes an overview of The Harbour Community Policies, as well as, College and District Policies and Procedures, housing processes, resident safety information and campus resources.

It is highly recommended that all incoming Housing students provide documentation of vaccination or immunity to the following infectious diseases; Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Varicella, Pertussis and Meningitis, and provide tuberculosis (TB) clearance as recommended for colleges and universities by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to protect the health and safety of residents and staff. 

Visit the Student Health Center Housing Immunization page to learn more about the OCC Immunization Recommendations and FAQs. The Housing Immunization Forms are available on the Student Health portal and the deadline to submit immunization recommendations and health screening for Fall 2023 is October 1, 2023.

Meal plans will be available for Orange Coast College student residents. To learn more about the available plans visit the OCC Food Services Meal Plan.

In addition to registering a general emergency contact with Orange Coast College, students residing in on-campus housing can identify a confidential contact who would be notified in the event that the student is determined to be missing by local law enforcement or the Department of Campus Safety. Current residents are encourage to submit a Confidential Contact Form

Housing Procedures - Accommodations

Orange Coast College is committed to the full participation of students with disabilities in all aspects of college life, including residential life at The Harbour. Orange Coast College does not discriminate unlawfully in providing educational or employment opportunities to any qualified individual with disabilities. In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Orange Coast College has established housing procedures to ensure students with documented disability(ies) have equal access to housing opportunities at The Harbour.

Please Note:

  • Students who need academic accommodations should contact the Accessibility Resource Center to seek services.
  • This document is intended to cover the procedures for housing accommodations, including any other type of animal(s) other than a service animal. Service animals are defined as a working animal, individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a student with a disability. This procedure does not impose any limitations on service animals.  For more information about service animals, please refer to the Coast Community College District Administrative Procedure 3440 (Service Animals).

Process for Requesting Reasonable Housing Accommodations

  1. Submit Housing Accommodations Request Form

In order to request and receive housing accommodations, the student is encouraged to complete the Housing Accommodations Request Form. The student is encouraged to promptly notify The Harbour of any condition and/or limitation that may impact their residential life experience. Housing accommodations are provided based on documented need and as space permits.

The Harbour encourages returning students to request housing accommodations by April 30 and new incoming students to request housing accommodations by June 1 preceding the Fall academic semester. Doing so will enable The Harbour to gain a clearer understanding of the accommodations requested, and the availability of suitable spaces and roommate matches.

Housing accommodations requests submitted after these dates will be considered and reviewed as accommodations are needed, throughout the academic year. Housing options may be limited due to occupancy/resources in inventory.

  1. Provide Confirmation of the Need for Accommodation

To determine reasonable housing accommodations, confirmation that describes the needed accommodation or modification, and the relationship between the student’s disability and how the requested accommodation is necessary to use campus housing is required. The student may provide information to establish their disability and needed accommodation without sharing specific diagnosis information.

All confirmations must be provided by a medical or mental health professional on official letterhead or otherwise verified, and address the following:

  • Student’s name and student’s identification number (if available).
  • Describe medical/mental health professional’s specialty, and how long the student has been in their care.
  • Verify that the student has a qualifying disability that causes a substantial limitation of a major life activity.
  • Identify the accommodation(s) the student needs.
  • Describe the relationship between the student's disability and how the requested accommodation or modification is necessary for them to fully access and participate in housing opportunities at The Harbour.
  • Their signature or digital signature and license information or otherwise verified.

 

The student may be expected to participate in an interactive process with The Harbour staff. Depending on the housing accommodations requested, additional documentation may be required to evaluate the request.

Housing accommodations may be approved on a temporary basis (for a particular semester or full academic year), or permanently through the student’s time at Orange Coast College. This determination is made on a case-by-case basis and will be communicated to the student at the time of initial approval.

  1. Evaluation and Determination of Reasonable Accommodations

The Harbour strives to accommodate all reasonable requests for disability-related assistance. Reasonable housing accommodations are determined based on documented/verified medical and/or mental health need and are given consideration on a case-by-case basis.

 

The Harbour staff, in consultation with Accessibility Resource Center and other Orange Coast College departments as needed, identifies appropriate housing accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The Harbour meets monthly, or otherwise as needed, to review accommodation requests.

The student will be notified of the status of their request in writing. The Harbour may offer alternative reasonable accommodations and the student may be expected to participate in an interactive process. Depending on the housing accommodations requested, additional documentation may be required.

Under circumstances when the student is not amicable to accepting alternative accommodations offered by The Harbour, or if there are no alternative accommodations provided, the student will receive an explanation in writing of the reasons for denial of requested housing accommodations.

 

When the requested housing accommodations are determined unreasonable in nature, students will receive an explanation in writing of the reasons for denial of these housing accommodations. A housing accommodation may be considered unreasonable if it: (1) is not made by or on behalf of the student with a disability, or there is no disability-related need for the accommodation; (2) creates an undue financial or administrative burden; (3) results in a fundamental alteration of The Harbour facility, program or policies; (4) poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others in the Orange Coast College community, or would cause substantial damage to The Harbour; and/or (5) is deemed otherwise unreasonable to the operation of The Harbour.

If The Harbour cannot reasonably accommodate the student’s validly supported request for housing accommodations, the student will have the option to terminate their housing agreement/contract without incurring any penalties.  

Students with disabilities are not responsible for paying a surcharge to cover the reasonable costs of accommodations/modifications that are needed to provide equal access to housing opportunities at The Harbour. Examples of requested housing accommodations for students related to disability need may include, but is not limited to, an accessible bathroom, additional space for medical equipment, allergen-free room, automatic door opener, emotional support animal, ground floor or lower floor room, lower occupancy room, professional healthcare attendant, requested roommate placement, semi-private or private bathroom access, specific building placement, strobe light fire alarm/smoke detector, and visual doorbell.

Requesting an Assistance Animal Other Than a Service Animal

The Harbour does not allow pets in campus housing; however, a student resident with a confirmed disability may request a reasonable accommodation of an assistance animal in housing when its use is necessary to afford a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their campus housing.

Assistance animals may include emotional support animal (ESA) or companion animal, which is an animal that provides emotional support or comfort for the benefit of a person with a disability and alleviates the effects of the disability. Exotic, wild, and agricultural animals are likely inappropriate as ESAs. Nothing in this procedure overrides federal, state, or local law restricting the possession of such animals.

ESAs may not be kept in campus housing without the approval from The Harbour. Students are encouraged to complete the Request Form and provide the request packet which includes the following:

  • Housing Accommodations Request Form
  • Confirmation of the need for accommodation, as outlined in Step 2 above
  • Assistance Animal Owner/Handler Responsibilities: Once approved for an assistance animal as a reasonable housing accommodation, the student is responsible for any damages to property and for any injury caused by the assistance animal. The student will be expected to review these responsibilities and sign the Assistance Animal Owner/Handler Responsibilities Form. 
  • Assistance Animal Registration - Once approved for an assistance animal as a reasonable housing accommodation, the student must provide animal registration and proof of vaccination from a veterinarian and sign the Assistance Animal Registration Form.

The Harbour will accept and consider a request for an ESA at any time; however, students anticipating making a request for an ESA are encouraged to complete the process prior to moving into campus housing and always before bringing any assistance animal onto campus.

Based on roommate matching considerations, requests for accommodation for assistance animals are more likely to be granted promptly when requested more than 30 days before move-in.

An ESA may be brought into the student’s residence at The Harbour after the completion of the interactive process recommending the ESA as a reasonable housing accommodation. ESAs are not permitted in any other apartment or other campus buildings except for the student’s assigned housing space and common resident amenity spaces at The Harbour, where the student needs to be accompanied by the animal in order to fully use and enjoy the amenity space. An ESA must be under the control of, and is the sole responsibility of the student, who agrees that the animal will be well cared for at all times and must be properly contained or restrained when the student is not present. Under this procedure, an ESA may not be left alone or in the care of others overnight in campus housing or for any period exceeding 24 hours without prior approval from The Harbour.

If the student shares a residence, it is highly recommended the student have a conversation with their roommate(s) about bringing the animal to live in their shared campus housing. Please contact The Harbour as early as possible if any issues arise so that assistance can be provided.

A student with an approved ESA may be asked to remove the animal from The Harbour if the animal’s behavior or presence is unduly disruptive, poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others (for example, if it displays vicious or aggressive behavior toward people or other animals), causes substantial damage to the property of The Harbour or other individuals' property, or fundamentally alters or creates an undue burden to the program, activity, or services of The Harbour or of Orange Coast College.

A request for an ESA through this procedure will be primarily treated as a request for housing accommodations. A student making a request for an ESA as reasonable academic accommodation under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 must apply and provide documentation to the Accessibility Resource Center.

Appeal Procedures

In cases where the requested housing accommodations are not granted, the student is unwilling to accept alternative accommodations offered and/or the accommodations are determined unreasonable, the student has the right to file an appeal. The student must file a formal written request for an appeal within ten (10) business days to Orange Coast College’s Student Relations Officer.

The Student Relations Officer will adhere to the accommodation hearing process set forth in Coast Community College District Administrative Procedure 5140 Disabled Student Programs and Services. The Students Relations Office will determine the composition of the hearing committee members and chair the appeal proceedings.

Any decision made by the hearing committee and ratified by the Vice President of Student Services is final; there is no further right of appeal. For more details, please review Coast Community College District Administrative Procedure 5140 Disabled Student Programs and Services.

Additional Resources for Students with Disabilities

Accessibility Resource Center

The Accessibility Resource Center on campus can assist students with disabilities with receiving accommodations in the classroom. Students seeking academic accommodations must complete the application and provide documentation to the Accessibility Resource Center.

Email: occarc@cccd.edu

Phone: (714) 432-5807

Location: 2701 Fairview Rd, Costa Mesa CA 92626, Building 10