Housing

Single Student Housing

Your educational experience at UAF will be one of the great adventures of your life. UAF Residence Life will be a vital part of that adventure through programs designed to offer you a comfortable, energetic environment in which to live and learn. The community you live in will foster close friendships and academic achievement; it will help you develop individual leadership ability and will provide opportunities for personal growth.

UAF’s residence halls are some of the best in the state, and they are the only residence halls in the nation that boast a view of the Alaska Range and Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest peak in North America.

Residence Life offers living environments to meet every need. Options include coed buildings by floor, coed buildings by suites, small community atmospheres for rural Alaskans, apartment-style options, single rooms, alcohol-free environments, quiet lifestyle environments, and first-year experience halls. All residential units are pet free and smoke free.

Residence hall students have few worries and all the conveniences of home within walking distance to class. Consider some of the benefits:

  • 30-channel cable television service
  • Local telephone service
  • High-speed ethernet connections
  • Laundry facilities on site
  • Trained staff on call (24 hours)
  • More than 400 programs offered each year

Eligibility

All UAF students are eligible for campus housing, but students are not guaranteed housing until approved by the Department of Residence Life. To better manage occupancy, Residence Life may establish occupancy priorities and eligibility/credit hour requirements.

Application Process

Residence Life sends out applications for on-campus housing upon request, and applications are also available on the web. Applicants must send $260 ($225 deposit, $35 non-refundable application fee) with the Application/Agreement. Upon acceptance, Residence Life will return a written confirmation and receipt to the student. For information on contacting Residence Life by mail, telephone, e-mail, and on the web, see Where can I get more Information?.

Costs

On-campus costs are comparable to off-campus living costs. And when amenities such as telephone service, cable television, computer connections and laundry facilities are added in, the on-campus costs are even more favorable. Residential fees (room and board) are due in full at fee payment along with all other fees.

Current residence hall and board plan fees are listed in the UAF Costs section of this catalog. All room and board costs are subject to change. Students whose housing applications have been accepted will be given the opportunity to withdraw without penalty (less application fee) if rates increase after they applied. Contact Residence Life about residence hall fees. Questions about the board plan can be directed to UAF Dining Services, (907) 474-6661.

Consequences of Canceling a Housing Contract

After August 1, students who have submitted a housing contract are expected to live on campus and pay appropriate housing fees for their reserved space. Students who fail to occupy their reserved space by the first day of classes or cancel their reserved space after August 1 will be assessed a minimum of 10 percent of the room rate and forfeit their deposit.

On-campus housing agreements are for the academic year. Students living on campus for the fall semester are obligated to live on campus for the remainder of the academic year, so long as they are UAF students. Exceptions may be granted for the conditions listed under the "termination/forfeits” section of the agreement.

Room charges and refunds are processed according to the following schedule:

Schedule of Room Charges and Refunds
Withdrawal Period Refund Amount
August 1 through class day 5 90 percent of semester housing charge
Class days 6–15 75 percent of semester housing charge
Class days 16–30 50 percent of semester housing charge
Class days 31–45 25 percent of semester housing charge
Beyond 45 class days No refund will be issued

Deposits will be carried forward to subsequent academic years for students with agreements. Deposits will be forfeited for several reasons. Please refer to the residence hall agreement on the back of the application for campus housing for specific regulations.

About the Halls and Rooms

Every residence hall has common areas—including recreation lounges, study lounges, small kitchens and laundry facilities—designed to foster academic and personal growth. Recreational lounges typically have televisions, couches, tables, chairs and pool tables or ping-pong tables. Hall kitchens generally include a range/oven, microwave, sink and table and chairs. Kitchens are for preparing snacks and not designed to replace the university meal plan.

All student rooms have high-speed ethernet connections, local telephone service and cable television service. Students must furnish their own linens, blankets, pillows, towels and telephone. Custodial service is provided for all common areas such as hallways, lounges and centrally located bathrooms.

EDGE Program

The Education, Development, Growth and Experience (EDGE) program provides support and resources to help traditional first-time freshmen achieve academic success. The EDGE program is mandatory for all first-time freshmen under 20 years of age who have less than 20 post high school credit hours and who live on campus. EDGE halls have live-in tutors and twice the number of resident advisors as other halls. Alcohol is prohibited in the EDGE halls. Participants receive instruction in academic success skills, campus resources and other topics that foster success.

Room Use During Vacation Periods

All halls are open during Thanksgiving and spring break, but most are closed during the winter break. All students living on campus in the fall and spring are eligible to remain on campus over the winter break provided they apply and pay the winter break fee. Summer housing assignments are made through the Department of Residence Life.

Family Housing/Graduate Housing

UAF offers a variety of on-campus housing to meet the needs of student families. The university owns and maintains 180 furnished apartments on campus, ranging from one- to three-bedroom units. They are affordable, comfortable and conveniently located near the center of campus. All apartments are smoke free and pet free.

Eligibility

Residence Life gives priority to students who are married and accompanied by their spouse, single parents with full legal custody of their children, financially interdependent domestic partners and graduate students. At least one adult family member must be enrolled as a full-time UAF student. Students planning to be married by the time they move in may apply. However, students may not sign an occupancy agreement until they present a marriage certificate or obtain financial interdependence approval.

Application Process

Residence Life will mail an application for family housing upon request (also available on the web). Applicants should return the completed application as soon as possible with a non-refundable $35 application fee. Residence Life establishes waiting lists according to the order in which it receives applications. The application is not a guarantee of accommodations, but it gives Residence Life the information it requires to meet the applicant’s needs. All apartment preferences are honored on a first-received, first-served basis. Three-bedroom units are often in high demand.

Costs

Costs for families living on campus are comparable to the costs of living off campus. On-campus family apartment rental rates include all utilities except telephone in some units.

Deposits for family housing are $600. Upon acceptance of your assigned apartment, $300 of the deposit is due. The balance of your $600 deposit and your first month’s rent is due when you check in. Your occupancy agreement is for the entire academic year, but you may cancel the agreement for spring semester without forfeiting your deposit if you graduate or are not enrolled at UAF. Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to the Department of Residence Life by December 1. See the cancellation/termination section of your agreement.

About the Apartments

The Fairbanks campus maintains five apartment complexes: Stuart Hall and Walsh Hall offer one-bedroom apartments (400 square feet) for couples without children; Hess Village offers one-bedroom (425 square feet), two-bedroom (720 square feet), and three-bedroom (900 square feet) apartments for families with children and a recreation room for community use; and Garden Apartments is a six-plex offering two-bedroom apartments for families. Harwood Hall offers efficiencies (380 square feet) and one-bedroom apartments (470 square feet) for graduate couples without children and single graduate students. All complexes are equipped with laundry facilities.

Campus apartments are fully furnished and usually include ethernet computer connections, cable television service, laundry facilities and local telephone service.

Immunization Policy and Housing

The University of Alaska statewide strictly enforces immunization and test requirements for students living in high-density housing. To be eligible to live in residence halls and single-student apartment complexes, all students and other persons born after 1956 must complete, sign and submit a health inventory form to the Center for Health and Counseling. The form must show:

  1. Proof of immunization against or immunity for measles, mumps, rubella (two MMR are required).
  2. Proof of immunization against diphtheria and tetanus (within the past 10 years).
  3. PPD screening for tuberculosis (within the past year). If your screening was positive, you must provide evidence of a negative chest X-ray.

Although the university urges all students to be immunized against communicable diseases, these requirements are specifically intended to help ensure the health of all resident students.

Mandatory Immunizations and Tests

Your registration may be withheld for your second semester if you have not submitted these items. The university may require additional or expanded immunization and testing if the university community’s health and safety warrants it.

The university may grant exemptions from immunization requirements based on medical or religious reasons. The chancellor may also grant exemptions to people who will occupy student residence facilities for less than a semester. Those exempted from immunization or testing for a disease may be removed from student residence facilities should an outbreak of that disease occur or threaten to occur. Residence Life cannot authorize exceptions to this policy.

See Board of Regents’ Policy, Part IX-Student Affairs, Chapter XI-Student Health. For more information, contact the Center for Health and Counseling telephone (907) 474-7043, e-mail fyheaco@uaf.edu, or online at www.uaf.edu/chc/.

Where to Get More Information

Department of Residence Life
P.O. Box 756860
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6860
Telephone (907) 474-7247
Fax (907) 474-6423
e-mail: housing@uaf.edu
web: www.uaf.edu/reslife/