Second-Year Residential Requirement

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Benefits

Enhanced academic performance. Maximized access to social, academic, and psychological support. A greater sense of safety and belonging. Higher retention rates. These are just a few of the wide-ranging benefits experienced by our on-campus Cardinals. University of Louisville (UofL) institutional data confirms that second-year students who live both on campus and with affiliate properties close to campus are more likely to succeed than their off-campus peers are.

For these reasons, effective as of Fall 2021, all second-year students at UofL will be required to live in on-campus or affiliated properties near Belknap Campus. Our current affiliates are The Nine, The Province, and The Retreat. This means that the Fall 2020 incoming cohort will be the first group of students to be affected.

Regarding this policy, second-year status is defined according to enrollment year rather than credit-hour status. This means that students who are enrolled in the university for a second year of study will be considered as “second-year,” regardless of their potential credit-hour status as anything otherwise (e.g. as juniors or seniors by credit hours).

Please note that exemption requests do not guarantee automatic approval and must be accompanied by the appropriate documentation required to complete your request.

Exemption Requests

While we encourage all second-year students to reap the above-mentioned benefits by living on campus or with an affiliate, we do realize that individual circumstances may result in the need for exemption. 

If the following situation applies to you, then you do not need to complete a second-year exemption request or take further action should you decide to live off campus:

1. You were approved for a first-year live-on exemption request during your first year at UofL because you resided with a parent or legal guardian* for the entire academic year in one of the following counties:

       Kentucky: Bullitt, Hardin, Jefferson, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, Trimble, Henry, and Meade.

       Indiana: Clark, Floyd, Scott, Washington, Harrison, Perry, and Crawford.

*Our office recognizes that not all students have a traditional family structure in which a parent or legal guardian live in the household.  A family can be comprised of people ordinarily living in the same household. Taking this into consideration, if you are living in one of the above counties with a family member who supports you, then you may provide supporting documentation of this circumstance by completing the First-Year Live-On Exemption Form in the Housing Portal on our homepage.

  1. You were approved for a first-year live-on exemption request during your first year at UofL because you were 21 years of age or older by the first day of classes.
  2. You will be residing in a sorority or fraternity house located along Greek Row (Unity Place) on Belknap Campus during your second year.
  3. You will be residing at an affiliated apartment property (The Nine, The Province, or The Retreat) during your second year.

*If you lived locally with a parent/guardian or were over the age of 21 by the first day of classes during your first year at UofL but were not approved for a first-year live-on exemption, you still need to complete the Second-Year Residential Exemption Request in the Housing Portal if you plan to reside off campus during your second year.

The following situations may qualify for a standard exemption, but you will still need to complete the Second-Year Residential Exemption Request in the Housing Portal:

  1. You are a veteran or are still serving in the U.S. Armed Services.
  2. You are married.
  3. You are the parent or legal guardian of a child.
  4. You have previously attended another accredited U.S. college or university for at least two full academic years (not including summer terms) prior to attending UofL. Credits obtained prior to high school graduation do not fulfill this condition.

If you feel that you qualify for an exemption based on an extenuating circumstance not listed above, you should submit the "Second-Year Residential Exemption Request" in the Housing Portal. The following are examples of extenuating circumstances:

  1. A financial circumstance which would hinder your ability to reside on campus. Students may be released from their licensing agreement, if the appeals committee determines that the student's financial circumstances hinder the student's ability to live on campus. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis through an examination of the student's financial aid.
  1. A health circumstance such as an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation which is not available on campus.

Please note that exemption requests submitted to University Housing do not guarantee approval and must be accompanied by the appropriate documentation required to complete your request. If you are requesting an exemption because you plan to live with a parent or guardian during your second year at UofL, please download and complete this Exemption Request Document. Then, upload the form as part of your documentation when you complete the request in the Housing Portal. Be sure that all signatures are original and hand-signed in blue or black ink. We cannot accept electronic signatures or signatures with red ink. If University Housing is unable to grant a standard exemption based on the supportive documentation submitted with the request, the request will be forwarded to an inter-departmental appeals committee who will then evaluate the request. Any exemption request must be submitted prior to the end of the appropriate term for the request to be valid for that term. Any exemption request received after the end of a term will not be considered for that term.

Non-Compliance Fee

If an exemption request is not approved and you continue to reside off campus, you will receive a non-compliance fee for each semester during which you are enrolled but living off campus. This fee is determined in accordance with the respective semester’s housing rate as it applies to a traditional-style double-occupancy room. This means that if you have not been approved to live off campus for the entire academic year, you must pay the non-compliance equivalence of two semesters of housing.

Failure to comply with this policy by living on campus or otherwise seeking an exemption will result in the non-compliance fee, so it is important for all students to apply for an on-campus space or seek an exemption.

Please note: Students can only appeal the non-compliance fee in the semester in which the fee is assessed.