Revised 4/2021

Policy Name	Four-Year Residency Policy
Policy Category	Student Life
Policy Approved By	Senior Vice President
Responsible Division Head or VP	Senior Vice President of Student and Campus Life and Chief Health Officer
Responsible Department	Residential Life
Responsible AVP or Director	Director of Residential Life
Original Policy Date	11/2016
Last Known Revision Date	04/2018
Current Policy Effective Date	04/2021
Recommended Policy Review Date	02/2022
Policy Applies To	Students
Additional Authority/References	None

POLICY PURPOSE

The policy identifies and outlines Albright’s institutional commitment to a residential college.

DEFINITIONS

TERM	DEFINITION
Term 1	Commuter Student: a student living with a parent or legal guardian whose permanent residence is within 30 driving miles of Albright College’s main campus (the route driving distance from permanent address to main campus as indicated by Google Maps)
Term 2	Off-Campus Student: a non-Commuter student who is approved to reside at a location other than their permanent address with a parent or legal guardian, college-owned housing, or college-managed housing.
Term 3	Resident: a traditional full-time undergraduate student living in college-owned or college-managed residential areas.

POLICY TEXT

Four-Year Residency Policy

As a residential college, Albright’s campus living environment is integral to the college experience. Living together in a community provides opportunities to interact with faculty, staff, and other students. Through this shared living experience, students will enhance their social, intellectual, and interpersonal growth. In support of this philosophy, all traditional full-time undergraduate students at Albright College will live in on-campus or college-managed housing during their tenure as a student.

Housing selection procedures and guidelines are distributed to enrolled students in the Spring semester. All enrolled traditional full-time students must indicate their housing preferences for the following academic year by submitting an electronic housing form through the Office of Residential Life by the designated time. Students who do not participate in housing selection procedures will be automatically assigned to available space and the default dining plan*. New first-year and transfer students will receive information about housing procedures and deadlines during the admission process. Electronic housing forms for the following academic year will be available for new first-year and transfer students on May 1st. New students are notified of their roommate(s) and housing assignments beginning August 1st.

To further support Albright’s residential campus, commuter status or off-campus status will only be approved for traditional full-time undergraduate students through the residency petition process** (see below for relevant definitions). Residency petitions must be completed on an annual basis following the submission of the electronic housing form. Residency petitions are reviewed by campus representatives and approvals are granted only for specified academic terms. Traditional undergraduate students who are 22 years of age or older by August 1st, married, the parent or legal guardian of a minor, or who are fifth-year students will be permitted to live off-campus through the residency petition process.

Albright College’s current residential portfolio includes eight Affinity Houses, Albright Court, Albright Woods Apartments, North Hall, Quad Buildings for first-year students (Crowell Hall, Krause Hall, and Walton Hall), Smith Hall, and Mohn Hall. Albright College manages Rockland Hall, a suite-style living space for Junior and Senior students.

The following definitions may help clarify the policy:

Resident: a traditional full-time undergraduate student living in college-owned or college-managed residential areas.

Commuter Student: a student living with a parent or legal guardian whose permanent residence is within 30 driving miles of Albright College’s main campus (the route driving distance from permanent address to main campus as indicated by Google Maps)

Off-Campus Student: a non-Commuter student who is approved to reside at a location other than their permanent address with a parent or legal guardian, college-owned housing, or college-managed housing.

* The default meal plan is the Gold Unlimited plan.

** Residency petitions will be available during designated times for currently enrolled students. Regardless of intent to submit a residency petition, enrolled students are required to submit an electronic housing form prior to completing the residency petition.

ASSOCIATED PROCEDURES LOCATION

See the Residential Life web page for associated housing processes/procedures and relevant updates.

REVISION LOG

DATE OF REVISION	MAJOR CHANGES *(Note: electronic copies of the former versions of the policy must be maintained within the unit, department, or division)*
11/2016	Original release of policy
04/2018	Definitions included in policy. Grandfather clause included for classes of 2019 and 2020 who met certain criteria.
4/8/2021	Removal of class of 2019 and 2020 grandfather clause (no longer applicable). Further clarified commuter definition.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN – For decision-making purposes only. This will not appear in the Final Policy that is posted to the Policy Repository.

NA. Will post to website. Will include policy link in future communication regarding housing selection process.

DECISION – For decision-making purposes only. This will not appear in the Final Policy that is posted to the Policy Repository.

Date of Draft Policy Review	04/2021
Name of Reviewing Committee/Individual	Senior Vice President, Samantha Wesner
Date Approved	4/15/2021	Comments: Approved via email
Date Rejected	Click or tap to enter a date.	Comments:
Date Draft Tabled or Further Review Needed (provide comments including plan for re-submission)	Click or tap to enter a date.	Comments:

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