The Board of Visitors' Student Affairs and Athletics Committee announced a plan Friday to guarantee first years on-Grounds housing for their second year beginning with the class of 2008. The guarantee aims to reduce the pressure increasingly experienced by first years to sign leases for off-Grounds housing early in their first semester at the University.
"Over the past several years the University has been receiving feedback from parents of first years and first years themselves," said Richard A. Kovatch, associate vice president for business operations at the University, who oversees housing. "They have felt anxiety about having University housing available to them for the next year. This is an attempt to alleviate the concern of that group of students."
The announcement marks the first time the University will promise to accommodate 100 percent of those who apply.
"In the past we never made that statement," Kovatch said. "With regard to the number of students who have applied in the past, we believe we have a sufficient number of beds available to guarantee housing."
The new housing policy requires students to submit applications for on-Grounds housing by Nov. 1. Students will receive an assignment within a week of that date and then must sign a contract and make a deposit within a week of receiving their assignment.
During the current academic year, students were able to submit housing applications until the end of January and received an assignment notification in February and official housing offers by March 1.
While the guarantee may be new, the University's ability to meet the demand for on-Grounds housing is not.
"It is important to note that all of those who have applied for housing in the past have received an offer," Kovatch said. "It just might not be the specific location that they wanted, which is usually the most significant issue students have when applying for on-Grounds housing."
The plan will continue to guarantee housing to upper-class students who want to remain in the same room assignment from one year to the next.
Kovatch said he does not anticipate a significant impact on the number of students who will opt for on-Grounds housing because of the new plan.
"There is a possibility that if students know they will receive an offer, more will apply," Kovatch said. "It may become a more attracting option to rising second years. "
In addition to reducing the stress experienced by first years, the guarantee offers parents relief, too.
"Parents are concerned about the transition that their students go through between their first and second years, moving from the tight-knit dorm communities to living off Grounds and being spread out from their friends and community," Parents Program Director Jackie Ashton said. "They are hopeful that this might ease some of that stress and encourage students to stay on Grounds."
The University also is considering options to increaseon-Grounds housing and is in a planning process to identify future on-Grounds housing sites, Kovatch said.
The University currently provides housing on-Grounds for 100 percent of the first-year class, 50 percent of the second-year class, 30 percent of the third-year class and 20 percent of the fourth-year class, according to University relations.
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