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V-5.00(A) UMCP POLICIES CONCERNING STUDENT HOUSING
APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT 1 AUGUST 1991
I. On-Campus Housing and Dining
A. No student is required by the University to live in any
University-owned housing.
B. Any undergraduate or graduate student at College Park
is eligible to live in the residence halls. Preference
is given to full-time students. There are no facilities
in residence halls for married couples or families.
C. Any graduate student at College Park may apply to live
in the University owned Graduate Apartment Complexes.
However, all 476 units are typically assigned to full-
time graduate students who have been granted Graduate
or Research Assistantships or who have approved
scholarships or fellowships. One and two bedroom units
exist for spouses and one or two children. Efficiency
apartments are available for unmarried students or
those students whose spouses and/or children will not
reside with them.
D. Residence halls and dining agreements are for the
entire academic year and may be renewed on an annual
basis. Students may be released from these agreements
during the academic year only upon withdrawal from
classes, graduation, marriage, semester of study abroad
or exchange, and student teaching.
E. In the Graduate Apartments, initial leases of 12 months
are renewable, on a month-to-month basis, for not more
than one additional year (total two years maximum
residence, for those enrolled in a Master's program) or
for not more than three additional years (total four
years maximum residence, for those enrolled in a
Doctoral program).
F. Returning students in the residence halls have absolute
priority for the next year's housing spaces.
G. New students are assigned at random to spaces in the
residence halls that were not chosen by returning
residents. New students are newly admitted freshman,
transfer and graduate students and enrolled students
who had been living off-campus.
When a waiting list becomes necessary because more
students want residence halls space for a fall semester
than can be assigned, the following priorities dictate
"new-to housing" students' positions on the waiting
list:
1. Highest priority is given to students who live in
Maryland but are farthest from the College Park
Campus. These students are known as "non-
commuters" on the waiting list. Second priority
is given to students who do not live in Maryland.
Third priority is given to students who live in
Maryland and are considered "commuters" because
their homes are close to campus. Commuters for
purposes of the waiting list are students who can
get to campus within one hour on a public bus.
2. Students are added to the waiting list on a first-
come, first-served basis, based on the date of
admission/application.
H. Preferred rooms in the residence halls, including
singles and spaces in renovated, air-conditioned suites
and apartments, are allocated through a "priority for
room selection" procedure based on seniority. The
exception to this rule is that an individual resident
normally can "pull-in" to a vacant space in his/her
bedroom a roommate of choice from any other residence
hall.
I. All residence hall students pay the same housing and
dining fees, regardless of whether they live in the
older, traditional "dormitory style" buildings or the
renovated air-conditioned and newly furnished
"apartment-style" units. These annual fees are paid in
two equal installments by the first day of classes for
each semester. No monthly payments or other deferred
payment plan exists.
Rental fees for the Graduate Apartments are collected
monthly and are different for each type of
accommodation.
J. Residence Halls, the Graduate Apartments, and dining
halls must be self-supported by mandate of the General
Assembly. No State or University funding is received,
so student fees must be sufficient to pay all expenses
including utilities, facilities renewal, plant
maintenance and construction debts. In addition, the
affected departments (Resident Life, Graduate
Apartments, Dining Services) must pay a percentage of
expenses to the University as overhead.
K. Students living in residence halls (except those in
kitchen-equipped spaces) are required to be on the
Resident Meal Plan. A student who wishes to maintain
traditional Jewish dietary laws may meet this
requirement by substituting an approved kosher meal
plan provided by the Hillel House.
II. Fraternities and Sororities
The campus is authorized and acts to maintain a
comprehensive Greek community, where about 1,600 students
choose to live. Registered fraternities and sororities at
UMCP are self-governing and operate autonomously from the
campus and one another. The Campus advises all chapter
houses on matters related to fiscal viability and the
promotion of responsible citizenship by individual members.
For those chapter houses whose structures are owned by the
Campus, the Campus provides necessary maintenance and works
closely with elected officers and advisory boards to assure
their budgeting and fees collection processes result in
continued viability.
III. Campus Parking for Residents
Resident juniors, seniors, and graduates may register to
park on campus. No freshman or sophomore students who live
in residence may register. Exceptions to this rule can be
made when the student provides proof of an off-campus job
or personal situation that warrants the need for a vehicle.
Resident upperclassmen and graduates are assigned to park
in the lots closest to their residence halls. Freshman and
sophomore residents who are given parking exceptions are
assigned in selected perimeter lots.
IV. Off-Campus Housing
A. The Campus does not own, operate or have any role in
the development or management of rental opportunities
for students in the communities that surround the
College Park campus.
B. The Campus maintains an off-campus housing locator
service which helps students who want to find rental
apartments, homes or rooms. Only properties in which
the owner makes the facility available to students in
conformity with all pertinent federal and State laws on
non-discrimination in housing are listed.
C. The Campus maintains its own transit system which by
day shuttles students to and from their off-campus
residences within a several mile radius of the campus,
and by night provides a security shuttle service for
on-campus residents. Off-campus daytime routes connect
to the Metro system thereby facilitating transportation
to the Campus for students who live in the District of
Columbia, Northern Virginia and extended distances from
campus in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
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