Commuter Student Tips & FAQs
Quick Tips for New Commuters
- Don’t forget to complete & return immunization paperwork to Health Services.
- Sign up for Iona’s Emergency Text Alert system.
- Schedule your classes to fit your work/travel needs (register for classes as soon as your registration date becomes available).
- Exchange contact information with at least one person per class in case you are absent so you can find out what you missed. This is also a good ice breaker as you make new friends.
- Have a backup route to get home in case your bus or train runs late or if roads are flooded, etc.
- Obey on and off-campus parking rules and traffic patterns. The parking garage is one way up and one way down.
- The Campus Speed Limit is 10 mph.
- Please don’t rev your engines!
- Take the Gael Express from the New Rochelle transit center to the LaPenta Lot.
- Depending on the route, buses stop running around 7 p.m. and are more limited on weekends. Plan your schedule with your travel needs in mind.
- Check your Iona email every Wednesday for “This Week at Iona” with a list of all the events for the upcoming week.
- Check your email because that is Iona’s official way of communicating with you!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can access computers in both Ryan and Arrigoni Libraries. You can also access computer labs in the LaPenta School of Business, and on the ground floor of the LaPenta Student Union.
You can rent lockers for $25/semester in the Center for Student Engagement, which is located on the second floor of the LaPenta Student Union. The lockers are located on the ground floor of the LaPenta Student Union in the Commuter (Vending) Lounge.
In addition to spending time in any of the dining areas on campus including the Vitanza Commons and LaPenta Marketplace, commuters can also spend time in the Arrigoni or Ryan Libraries, in any of the computer labs on campus, in empty classrooms, or in the LaPenta Student Union.
The LaPenta Student Union has a commuter vending lounge, computer labs, the Unity Lounge, and a game room. Commuters may also decide to work out in the Hynes Athletics Center. Iona wants its commuters to feel at home everywhere they go on campus!
A great way for commuters to get involved is through the Commuter Student Association. CSA meets every week during an activity hour. Contact the Center for Student Engagement to learn more. Commuters can also learn about all of the clubs and organizations on campus by visiting the Center for Student Engagement on the second floor of the LaPenta Student Union. Also, keep an eye on your Iona email for “This Week at Iona,” a weekly email of upcoming Iona events.
To learn more about service and civic engagement opportunities on campus, visit the Office of Mission & Ministry on the second floor of the LaPenta Student Union.
Each first-year commuter is part of a cohort of other first-year commuters with an assigned commuter assistant. A Commuter Assistant is a returning commuter student leader who works for the Center for Student Engagement. Commuter Assistants reach out to their cohort members multiple times throughout the year, host cohort meetings and events, contact students via text, email, and/or social media, and collaborate on commuter and campus-wide programming initiatives. Commuter Assistants help build community among commuters, get commuters connected to the larger campus community, and serve as a resource for their cohort members. Communicate regularly with your commuter assistant!
While some offices only hire students with Federal Work Study, some have open employment opportunities for any student.
First-year commuters have a meal plan that consists of $200/semester in points that can be used at on-campus eateries. Returning students and first-year commuters can also add money with as little as $100, which can be used at on or off-campus eateries. Students eating on-campus do not pay tax when using their meal plan. However, when adding money to the off-campus meal plan, students can also eat at any of the off-campus eateries accepting the Iona meal plan.
Metro-North does not offer discounts to college students. You can buy discounted MetroCards for the Beeline Bus system and New York City Subway in the Center for Student Engagement on the second floor of the LaPenta Student Union. These cost $22.
Students can also use the Gael Express, a free Iona shuttle to the New Rochelle Transit Center.
Iona students are encouraged to park on campus! You just need a free parking pass, which you can get in the Office of Campus Safety on the second floor of the LaPenta Student Union.