Residence License Agreements for next year have been mailed by the Office of Housing and will be in students’ mailboxes early this week, Director of Housing Marc Robillard said yesterday.

Students will be receiving a Residence License Agreement which must be signed and returned with a $500 housing guarantee payment by Feb. 28 in order to be eligible for on-campus housing. Students with financial aid missing the on-campus deadline will lose all supplemental university grant money included in their aid.

‘The $500 is essentially a prepayment of tuition and room and board charges,’ Robillard said.

Letters were mailed to parents last Friday explaining what would be sent to students and laying out deadlines for on-campus housing next year.

Students must fill out a room selection form designating whether they plan to keep the same room, move internally within their current residence or move to a different campus building.

Despite the need to accommodate this year’s large freshman class, Robillard said no changes have been made to housing choices offered to students next year.

‘Everything that we used this year will be used next year,’ he said.

According to Robillard, most students have decided to remain on-campus in recent years.

‘A lot of sophomore men move off-campus,’ Robillard said. ‘But it’s a harsh reality off campus. We have a lot of those people try to come back on.’

While many students believe upperclassmen leave on-campus housing, Robillard said many choose to remain on campus due to the quality of housing offered. He mentioned the competition to obtain housing in The Student Residences at 10 Buick Street shows that desire to live on campus.

‘We expect 75 percent of each class to come back,’ he said. ‘It used to be much more drastic than that.’

Robillard said he expects a smaller number of students to live on-campus next year.

‘Our numbers may shrink a little bit because I think the off-campus opportunities are a lot better for students this year,’ Robillard said. ‘We may see more students moving off campus.’

Students will be receiving lottery numbers and room selection appointment times toward the end of March, according to Robillard. Between March 30 and mid-April, students will go through one of three phases offered to select housing.

Those choosing to remain in the same room take part in the first phase. Students deciding to move internally and in the community take part in the second and third phase respectively.

At each appointment, students will leave with a housing assignment for the next year. According to Robillard, students should go into the appointment prepared with many different options, as housing fills quickly.

‘On-campus apartments are the most popular,’ he said.

According to Robillard, approximately 1,200 students usually choose to return to their current residence.

‘We have a lot of people who select the same room, which makes it a lot easier for us,’ Robillard said.

Robillard said the office has set up three cancellation deadlines for students who decide not to live on-campus after submitting their deposits. Students can recoup $250 and $150 if they cancel their on-campus housing plans by July 1 and Aug. 1, respectively. Students canceling after Aug. 1 will not receive any refund, he said. Students are essentially locked into their housing contracts after Aug. 22, he said.

Robillard referred to these dates as reminders and said these dates and amounts have not changed.

‘What we’ve done for the last 15 years in terms of cancellation deadlines has stayed the same,’ Robillard said.

Students deciding to study abroad are not bound to housing agreements and will be let out of agreements with adjustments being made to accommodate them.

‘If a student is going to study abroad, we encourage that,’ Robillard said.

The Office of Residence Life will hold a housing expo Feb. 26 to provide students with the necessary information about campus housing choices.