- Apply
- Visit
- Request Info
- Give
Beginning in the fall of 2013, Eastern moved to an annual housing contract.
The Annual Housing Contract will bind you for the entire academic year (fall and spring semesters) when you pay the non-refundable housing deposit, complete the housing application and/or receive a housing assignment for the fall semester. If you apply after the start of the fall semester, you will be bound for the remainder of the academic year - through the spring semester. If you apply for the spring semester, your contract binds you for the entirety of the spring semester, but does NOT roll into the fall.
Fall housing assignments will automatically roll to the spring semester if you remain enrolled at Eastern. The good news is that instead of paying $500 per year in non-refundable housing deposit fees (one in the fall and one in the spring), you'll pay a one-time, non-refundable amount of just $250 during the spring semester as we move forward with the housing selection process for the fall.
Does this contract include breaks like winter break?
No. The annual contract refers only to the normal "open/close" schedule for the fall and spring semesters as developed by the Housing Office each year. Students will check in and check out of the buildings, as has always been the case, according to this schedule.
The residence halls are closed and students must vacate them during all University breaks (i.e., Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring breaks). Specific dates of University breaks will be published on University and/or Housing & Residential Life calendars.
The year long Housing Contract will end at the conclusion of the spring semester on the date publicized on the University and/or Housing & Residential Life calendar for residence halls to close.
The $250 non-refundable Housing Deposit is paid once each year, when a student applies for housing for the following year (or for the spring semester if coming into housing for the spring semester only). The deposit is non-refundable, and will cover the entire year for which you applied. All students (returning and new) must submit a housing deposit by the deadline and complete a housing application for each fall semester (or the spring if you are new to housing for the spring) prior to be assigned to housing. Returning students who do not submit the deposit and application by the deadlines are not eligible for the housing selection process.
Students new to Eastern: Once you have paid the deposit and submitted a Housing Application, you will be assigned to a residence hall pending space availability. All incoming first-year, re-admit and transfer students who pay the deposit and apply by April 1st will be assigned to housing starting in mid-April. Students who pay the deposit, but do not complete a housing application will not be assigned until the application is submitted. Once an assignment has been made, you will be notified by our department via your Eastern email address. We will make every effort to accommodate your request for specific residence halls, but there is no guarantee that you will receive your specific request. Roommate preferences are NOT used to make hall assignments.
Current Eastern students but not on campus the prior semester: Placements are made on a space-available basis once all current on-campus residents have been assigned to housing. The order by which you are assigned is determined by the date your deposit is paid, as long as an application has also been completed. We will make every effort to accommodate your request for specific residence halls and/or roommates, but there is no guarantee that you will receive your specific request.
Once assignments are made, a charge will be placed on your account on a semester-by-semester basis. Essentially, although it is a annual contract, the bill will reflect only one semester's charge at a time.
Because the contract will cover the entire academic year, there may be reasons a student may need to cancel the contract. Students who submit a Housing Contract Cancellation Request Form to cancel their Housing Contract and/or Assignment may be released for the following reasons:
If you have a need to cancel your Housing Contract for a reason other than those listed above you must also submit a Housing Contract Cancellation Request Form, which will be reviewed by a Housing Cancellation Review Committee. Requests should be as specific as possible in order to give the committee as much information as possible when discussing requests. Requests for automatic cancellation of the Annual Housing Contract must be made by June 30th for the fall-spring semesters, or December 1st for the spring semester (Dec. 1st only for those students who are new to housing for the spring semester). Students who are assigned to housing after the cancellation dates will have one week from the date of assignment to cancel housing.
Fall 2024-Spring 2025 Housing Contract Cancellation Request
If the committee approves your request to cancel, you will forfeit the Housing Deposit per Board of Regent policy.
If the Housing Cancellation Review Committee does not approve the request to cancel a student's housing contract, the room will be maintained in the student's name, and the student will be responsible for paying all associated fees for the duration of the Annual Housing Contract. Students should contact the Card Services Office to discuss the meal plan if assigned to a meal plan required hall. Students whose request is not approved and remain assigned to housing, but do not occupy the assignment will have their fob access disabled.
If the Annual Housing Contract is cancelled for judicial or disciplinary reasons, the student remains responsible for paying fees for the duration of the semester in which the contract was cancelled, and is entitled to no refund.
A committee of University staff will be assembled by the Vice President for Student Affairs or his designee to review Housing Contract Cancellation requests that are for reasons other than those listed above. This committee includes staff from Housing & Residential Life, Financial Aid, Bursar, and the Dean's Office and other staff may be consulted that may provide any insight regarding the student's ability (or lack thereof) to fulfill their Housing Contract. Students who have requested to have their Housing Contract cancelled for the current semester we are in will have a written decision related to the outcome of their request within 10 business days of submitting the request. Requests for a spring release that are submitted during the fall semester will not be reviewed until after Thanksgiving break in late November. Students will receive a written decision related to the outcome of their request within 10 business days after the Thanksgiving break has ended.