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Residential Life & Explorations

Applying for Housing

Your experience living on campus at Rollins will be one you never forget.

You will benefit from a residential life program that is fully committed to empowering you to make the most of your experience in the residential facilities. More than 65 percent of Rollins students live on campus in our residential facilities, which range in format from traditional residence halls to apartments.

Starting with the entering Rollins Fall 2019 class, Rollins College will have a 3-year live-on housing requirement. Any students previously enrolled prior to Fall 2019 will be grandfathered into the previous 2-year live-on requirement.

All full-time College of Liberal Arts students are required to live on campus for 3 years (six semesters). All CLA students must submit a housing exemption application through their Fox Link account and additional documentation will be requested before approval is granted. Exceptions are made for students who meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Students who are married
  • Students seeking a degree after serving in the military
  • Transfer students that have completed 2 full years or 60 credits at another college/university
  • Non-degree seeking students or 2nddegree seeking students
  • Students who have children or dependents
  • Students that reside with their parent or legal guardian within a 50-mile commutable radius of the campus. In order to be approved for commuter status, students must submit a housing exemption application and provide a notarized letter from the parent/guardian stating that the student will be living at home. The notarized letter should include the home address and a copy of the parent/guardian's driver's license with a matching address. 

New & Returning Students

New Student Housing Selection

New students will apply for housing after receiving their FoxLink checklist. One of the items on that checklist will be the housing application! Housing assignments will be emailed to students in mid-July once the application deadline has passed. This allows our office to make the best personalized roommate matches using all applications rather than simply placing students with the next student on the list.

Housing assignments are made based on the student's assigned Rollins College Course (RCC) which will correspond with an assigned Living Learning Community (LLC). Students who have a special request should review our Housing Accommodation Policy under the Special Needs & Requests tab.

Returning Student Housing Selection

Current CLA students are able to select their own housing for the following academic year by participating in Housing Selection that occurs each April. 

Phase 1:  During this phase, students will submit an application online through MyHousing. The students agree to the Housing Agreement but the contract does not become binding until a room is chosen in Phase 2. This phase also covers Roommate Selection where all roommates must be chosen and confirmed before going on to Room Selection.
Phase 2:
The last phase of selection is room selection. Each roommate group (or student if going for a single) will receive an online appointment time to login to MyHousing and pick the building and room of their choice for the following academic year. 

The 2023-2024 returning housing selection booklet will be uploaded here in the coming weeks. 

To access the Housing Selection Booklet (different than Residential Organization housing selection process) please Click Here.

Maymester Housing & Study Abroad

Maymester - CLA Students who are enrolled in Maymester courses are eligible to live in Maymester housing. Students who plan to live on campus for Maymester should complete the housing application located on Foxlink/MyHousing when it becomes available.

Students who choose to live on campus for Maymester will be housed in Elizabeth Hall. The total cost of Maymester housing is $1050 ($800 for housing and $250 for the meal plan). 

Study Abroad - Housing is available for students that need only fall or spring housing due to participation in study abroad. Housing is also available for the fall semester for December graduates. Students who would like to live on campus for the only the fall semester can participate in the online selection process as normal and answer the question specific to graduation and study abroad on the application.

Gender Neutral Housing

Gender neutral housing is defined as a housing option in which two or more students mutually agree to share a multiple-occupancy apartment, regardless of sex or gender identity or expression. This practice allows students to base roommate choices solely on compatibility, unrestricted by sex. 

  • Students may request a roommate of any sex/gender during housing selection.
  • All students in the roommate group must request to "match" one another during the specified roommate selection period, as per the roommate request process.
  • Gender neutral roommate groups must be able to fill the room/apartment to full capacity.
  • Students will not be required to reveal their reasons for opting to live in gender neutral housing; however, this option is not intended for romantic couples.
  • Students will not be assigned to gender neutral room/apartments without request.
  • Students who select gender neutral housing but would like to move will be offered options through Residential Life's room change procedure.
  • Once an room/apartment is designated as gender neutral, that space will remain gender neutral as long as all residents continue to occupy the space during the current academic year.
In case of a vacancy:
  • The roommates left behind may pull in any new roommate- including a roommate of the same or opposite sex. All students in the space have to approve the new roommate.
  • The Office of Residential Life & Explorations will attempt to place students in the apartment who are interested in living in a gender neutral space.
  • If the above options are not possible, the Office of Residential Life & Explorations reserves the right to split and relocate the group in order to create single-sex groups.

Housing Accommodation Requests

Purpose and Definition

This policy outlines the Rollins College policy pertaining to Housing Accommodations based on a qualifying disability. Rollins College Office of Residential Life & Explorations and the Office of Accessibility Services are committed to achieving equitable access and do not discriminate against persons with disabilities. This policy derives from the College's commitment to non-discrimination for all persons in employment, access to facilities, student programs, activities and services and addresses reasonable accommodations. These accommodations will be provided within the basic guidelines to follow, with the understanding that students with disabilities may require unique housing accommodations and these needs will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 

This policy is in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (As Amended), and The Fair Housing Act of 1968 (42 U.S. Code § 3604).  Rollins must provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities that will ensure such access.

The definition of a “person with a disability” as defined by Sec. 12102 of the ADA is as follows:

The term "disability" means, with respect to an individual with

(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual;

(B) a record of such an impairment; or

(C) being regarded as having such an impairment.

Evaluation of Housing Requests Based on Medical, Psychological or Disability Related Needs

Housing assignments and the residential learning environment are integral parts of Rollins College programs. We evaluate all requests for need-based housing assignments carefully. When a student is assigned to a single room as a disability related accommodation, the student will be charged for a double room in the residence hall in which the student is assigned. Below is a summary of the factors considered when evaluating housing requests.

Severity of the Condition
1. Is impact of the condition life threatening if the request is not met?
2. Is there a negative health impact that may be permanent if the request is not met?
3. Is the request an integral component of a treatment plan for the condition in question?
4. What is the likely impact on academic performance if the request is not met?
5. What is the likely impact on social development if the request is not met?
6. What is the likely impact on the student's level of comfort if the request is not met?

Timing of the Request
1. Was the request made with initial housing request?
2. Was the request made before the deadline for housing requests for the semester in question?
3. Was the request made as soon as possible after identifying the need? (Based on date of diagnosis, receipt of housing assignment, change in status, etc.)

Feasibility and Availability
1. Is space available that meets the student's needs?
2. Can space be adapted to provide the requested configuration without creating a safety hazard (electrical load, emergency egress, etc.)?
3. Are there other effective methods or housing configurations that would achieve similar benefits as the requested configuration?
4. How does meeting this request impact housing commitments to other students?

Documentation:

To accurately and equitably evaluate requests for a disability-related accommodation, Rollins College will need proper documentation by a licensed professional health care provider who is qualified to diagnose the disability.  The documentation must consist of a comprehensive, typed report that states a specific, current diagnosis, describes the diagnostic criteria and/or test used, and reflect the student’s present level of functioning in the major life activity affected by the disability.  In order to avoid delays in the process, students should submit documentation in English. Documentation supporting a request will be reviewed by and held in the Office of Accessibility Services. All information is considered confidential.

Documentation should be updated and submitted yearly. The following information must be included:

  1. Documentation of the physical or mental limitation that is the basis of the request and the expected duration of the limitation;
  2. A clear description of the desired housing configuration;
  3. An explanation of how the request relates to the impact of the condition;
  4. An indication of the level of need for the recommended configuration (and the consequences of not receiving);
  5. Possible alternatives if the recommended configuration is not possible.

Timeliness of Requests:

In order to be considered for reasonable housing accommodations, students must supply the above information to the Office of Accessibility Services by the deadline set by Residential Life and Explorations. These dates will be updated annually and communicated to all students both through email and on the department’s website. Housing accommodation requests made after the communicated deadlines will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and are dependent upon availability and reasonableness of the request.

In order to be considered for reasonable housing accommodations, students must supply the above information to the Office of Accessibility Services by the following dates.

Returning Students for Fall 2022: March 18, 2022

Incoming Students for Fall 2022: June 1, 2022

Incoming Students for Spring 2022: December 1, 2022

 

Student Procedure:

To initiate a housing accommodation request, students must contact Accessibility Services at access@rollins.edu for more information. 

Availability of Resources:

If reasonable housing accommodations that have been approved through this process cannot be immediately satisfied due to capacity/facility design/availability/etc., the Office of Residential Life & Explorations will prioritize this request before handling other non-ADA-related requests of the same nature. Distraction-reduced Housing Requests: The learning environment and residential living are central to the Rollins College experience. It should be noted that living within the community and learning to share space and be considerate of others is part of that learning experience. Requests for single rooms (as an accommodation) based solely on a desire to have a "quiet, undisturbed place to study" will be granted only in unusual circumstances. By virtue of the shared facilities, resources, and number of people living under one roof, it is not logical to assume that having a private room would provide for such quiet, distraction-free space to any appreciable degree beyond living in a standard double room.

Appeal Process:

If a student with a documented disability believes that he/she has not be provided with a reasonable housing accommodation, the student should direct the concern to the Associate Dean of Students The student must provide, in writing, the nature of the concern and any other relevant information.