A Guide To On-Campus Housing Requirements

Student housing can be an essential part of the college experience. It provides opportunities for new students to make friends, get involved in campus life, and access the resources they need to transition into the independent college lifestyle.

Some schools have on-campus housing requirements because there are many benefits to living in student housing. We cover the most common on-campus requirements below, while providing tips to help students navigate their school’s housing requirements.

Overview of on-campus housing requirements

The general idea behind on-campus housing requirements is to provide most students at an institution with the opportunity to spend some time living in a campus residence hall. This allows them to be exposed to college life and gain a residential experience that they can cherish after graduation.

If your school is considering updating its residency requirements for full-time students, here are four areas to look at before finalizing your student life policy for housing.

Mandatory First-year housing

One of the most common types of on-campus housing requirements is for all first-year students to live in a dormitory. Some schools have dedicated dorms for freshmen, while others mix first- and second-year students. The best option for your institution may depend on its current housing layout and unit availability, as well as the specific goals of the housing requirement.

For students, mandatory first-year housing serves as an introduction to each other and the campus experience. It helps them become part of the academic community before they pursue off-campus living arrangements. A study has shown that students who live in residence halls tend to have higher GPAs, greater satisfaction with their college experience, and higher graduation rates than those who live off-campus.

While there are many benefits to requiring first-year students to live in student housing, there are also a few situations in which this may not make sense. For example, transfer students with more than two years of college credits may not need to live on campus, as they may already have a good understanding of the college experience. The same could apply to those who are beginning college at a later age than the average freshman. Each school will need to decide on its own rules around mandatory student housing and age or college completion, based on its preferences and goals.

GPA Requirement

Although schools with housing requirements generally want students to live in on-campus dorms, they may still set standards for residency. One of the most common of these is the GPA requirement.

Typically, this means setting a minimum GPA that all students must retain to remain in student housing. It doesn’t need to be a high GPA but should be at a level indicating the student is at least putting forth the effort. The idea behind this policy is to prevent students who are not working seriously on their education and may become a distraction to others from living in the dorm. 

Some schools have honors dorms, which are reserved for students pursuing advanced placement courses and tend to have higher GPA requirements than standard student housing. Your school may want to consider creating a housing application for an honors dorm to allow these students to live in a more productive environment.

Meal Plans And Housing Contracts

As you consider about how your skill will approach on-campus housing requirements, make sure to incorporate meal plans into your considerations. Some schools require all students living in student housing to purchase meal plans. You may wish to do the same, but should at least give students a few options to choose from to account for different preferences.

Housing Exemptions

Even schools with strict on-campus housing requirements typically allow some students to claim an exemption from them. Living with parents is the most common example of this. Some schools allow students to be exempt from the on-campus housing requirement if they can continue living with their parents while commuting to school.

Other common examples of exemption applications include students who:

• Are married

• Are engaged in active military duty or are veterans of military service

• Have dependent children

• Are international students

• Aren’t taking enough college credit hours to qualify as full-time students

• Have disability circumstances that make living in on-campus housing difficult

In all these situations, you can see why it wouldn’t make sense to force the student in question to move into a dorm designed for young college students. Your school may also want to consider giving students the option of making an exemption request form for a reason that’s not included on your list. That way, your exemption process would account for unique situations you may not have considered while creating your policy.

How To Prepare For On-campus Housing

If your school will create an on-campus housing requirement, it should do its best to prepare students to conform to it. An essential part of that is ensuring that you communicate your requirements to new students effectively by the time of enrollment. You don’t want your requirement to be a surprise that someone only discovers after signing a lease for an off-campus apartment.

It’s also good to help your students find on-campus living situations that meet their unique needs and preferences. This will ensure that every student can live on campus safely and happily, regardless of their circumstances.

The two key components of this process are effective roommate matching and providing a variety of housing options for your students to choose from. You can use student housing technology to do this more effectively. For example, Housing.Cloud features an integrated tool for roommate matching that will help you find better roommate fits for every student based on their lifestyle and living preferences.

Make The Transition Easier With Housing Cloud

Transitioning to a required on-campus housing policy can be challenging for both students and your institution if you don’t have the right tools at your disposal. Housing.Cloud can help make the process easier by providing you with the necessary tools and resources.

It’s an intuitive, all-in-one student housing platform that makes it easier to provide excellent housing experiences to students. You can use it to simplify the process of creating and signing new rental agreements, building custom forms, and much more.

Sign up for a free demo today to see for yourself!