Keira Kant, Associate Dean, informs students about the residential requirement for the 2021-22 calendar year.
As a residential college, we require all students to live on-campus all four years during their time at Gettysburg. The Office of Residential and First-Year Programs receives regular inquiries from students and parents regarding living off-campus. Each fall, we send a letter to all students (with the exception of current seniors) and their parents to explain the process and position of the College with respect to releasing students from their residential requirement. This annual letter also clearly states that students should not sign a lease to live off-campus until students have been officially approved to do so and are notified in writing by the College that they are released from the residential requirement.
In the past, the College has conducted a process in the spring semester for students to apply to live off-campus. We have released a small number of seniors, who met GPA and conduct requirements, from their residential requirement in order to live in private, third-party rentals in the town of Gettysburg. The decision to release students from their housing obligation is based on College enrollment and the current number of residential buildings and spaces available for the College to use during the coming year.
It is important for you to know that based on our current evaluation of enrollment and residential space, we are not yet certain if we will be in a position to release any students from their residential requirement for the 2021-22 academic year. Students should not sign a lease or enter into an agreement to live off-campus. In the past, this message has been focused on the fact that inpidual students were not guaranteed to be released during the process. I want to be clear in this note, that for the 2021-22 year, it is possible that all students will reside on campus. Students who sign a lease and are not released from their residential requirement will still be obligated to live on campus and pay College housing fees.
The College will continue to closely monitor and provide an update in the spring including notice if the status changes and we are in a position to release some students. In the meantime, all students should be prepared to live on campus for the 2021-22 year. We anticipate sending information to students about the Housing Process for 2021-22 in early March. More detailed information can be found on the Office Residential & First-Year Programs website and the Student Handbook. Please contact the Office of Residential & First-Year Programs via email at residencelife@gettysburg.edu if you have any questions about the process.
Thank you and be well,
Dean Kant