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Housing requirement & eligibility

A page within Residence Life

First Year Students Housing Requirement

All first year students are required to live on campus. Any exceptions must be approved by the Director of Residence Life or the Director’s designee. Exceptions are considered under the following circumstances:

  1. You are living with a parent/legal guardian at their permanent home and are commuting from within a 25 mile radius of the UWL campus.
  2. You are currently a primary caretaker for a dependent.
  3. You are married.
  4. You have served one year of active duty within the military. (ROTC, National Guard, and Reserve duty do not qualify for this exemption.)

Any student wanting to request a housing exemption must complete the housing exemption form on the UWL Housing Portal. 

Campus Housing Eligibility

As a campus resident you must be able to perform your own independent tasks or provide an attendant to assist you. You are responsible for your own self-care including appropriate personal hygiene, mental health, management of medical conditions/illnesses, and/or disability-related personal needs. You are expected to utilize the various resources available to provide care for yourself. Students with the inability or perceived inability to care for themselves and/or who cause harm to themselves, or others may be asked to adhere to an action plan and/or may have their housing contract cancelled.

You must be enrolled with a full-time credit load as a student at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse or otherwise determined eligible by the Director of Residence Life or Director’s designee. The Office of Residence Life reserves the right to cancel your contract if you are under-registered; however, under-registration does not automatically result in housing contract release in all circumstances.

Students who withdraw from the university during the fall semester, resulting in housing contract release, and are readmitted to the university for the following spring semester are not guaranteed to be eligible for spring semester campus housing.  Depending on available occupancy, readmitted students who would like to return to campus housing in the spring semester will be required to complete a new housing contract and application. If a student receives a new room assignment, they are not guaranteed to be assigned to their former fall semester room. 

Returning students and students transferring to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, regardless of accumulated credit level, are not guaranteed campus housing.  Eligibility to apply for campus housing will depend on the time of year and availability of campus housing.  If a returning student or transfer student completes a housing application and contract, they are subject to all terms and conditions of the contract, including cancellation deadlines and financial responsibilities.