Off-Campus Living Policy

New Off-Campus Policy for 2008-2009 (click here)

Current Policy for 2007-2008

The Office for Campus Life seeks to serve the educational objectives of the College by offering housing facilities which provide a setting in which individual education is furthered.  Educational programs, services, and supervision are provided in campus residence halls to develop living/learning communities where students can grow and learn during their college experience.  Living in the residence halls is an important part of the educational process at Guilford College and for this reason, the students are encouraged and expected to live on-campus for the majority of their time at Guilford.  Any student may submit an application to live off-campus; however, only students who can clearly illustrate their readiness to live off-campus will be granted approval.  First-year students will rarely be granted the opportunity to live off-campus.  First-year and transfer students who apply to live off-campus should focus their essays on compelling reasons why they want to live off-campus and/or facts that demonstrate their maturity and readiness to live off-campus.

Guilford College requires all traditional students to live on-campus in a College-owned facility unless they receive formal approval to reside off-campus or commute from home (with a parent or guardian in residence with him/her; a non-traditional-age student may live in his/her home or privately-owned rental unit).   A student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits to be eligible to live in a College-owned or supervised facility.

Students interested in living off-campus are required to complete an application to live off-campus and submit it to the Office for Campus Life. Applications are available to print from the website or pick-up from the Campus Life Office. Students who live off-campus one year, and plan to do so the next, are still required to submit an application every year and should not sign a lease until they have been approved to live off-campus for the year specified in the lease.  Upon receipt of an application to live off-campus, the Office for Campus Life conducts a review of the applicant's on-and-off-campus conduct record. If the applicant has been sanctioned for misconduct, has a less than satisfactory academic record, or has demonstrated other behaviors that indicate he or she is not ready to life off-campus, that student’s application may not be approved.  Only those students who have proven their maturity, academic success, leadership, have records of acceptable community conduct, and have made positive contributions to the Guilford community, are granted the privilege of living off-campus.  Living for the first time outside the supervised educational environment of the campus residence halls is an important step in a student’s developmental journey and students need to clearly demonstrate that they are ready for this challenge.

The number of students approved to live off-campus is determined annually. Applications are approved individually and on a rolling basis until the maximum permissible number is reached. All other variables being equal among applicants, the earlier a student applies to live off-campus, the greater his or her chances are of being approved.

 

Since approval to live off-campus is never guaranteed, students should not sign a lease for an off-campus accommodation until they receive approval in writing from the Office for Campus Life.  Students should note that a 25% reduction in any institutional merit aid they receive will occur if they choose to live off-campus (except if the student is approved for financial reasons).  To avoid the 25% reduction, students must be approved to live off-campus through the American Disabilities Act approval process, or must be deemed eligible by the financial aid office to avoid the reduction.

Once off-campus living approval has been granted, the responsibility for arranging accommodations rests entirely with the student. That is, the student typically locates the rental property, negotiates with his or her landlord, and signs a lease. Because of liability concerns, the College cannot be involved in inspecting non-College -owned facilities located off campus, and therefore cannot ascertain whether such facilities are safe, sanitary, and in compliance with local ordinances; nor does it provide residence life services for those living off-campus.

In general, a student's behavior off-campus is subject to the sanctions of local authorities, but may also be subject to campus disciplinary procedures. Students living off-campus who are cited by the local authorities for disorderly conduct, excessive noise, underage drinking, etc., may be required to return to campus if their misconduct is judged serious enough by the Office for Campus Life to warrant forfeiting the privilege of living off-campus. Should it be determined that a student must return to campus, he or she must move into a College-owned facility by the last day of the calendar month in which the decision is made.