Office of Campus Living
Lewis & Clark College considers residence hall living to be an integral part of every student’s liberal arts education. The basic goals of offering the residential experience are to provide students with food and a comfortable place to live, study, and learn.
Residence hall living enables students to develop interpersonal skills and intercultural understanding in an atmosphere of mutual support for academic, cultural, and intellectual pursuits. Because of the educational importance of the campus living
experience, Lewis & Clark College requires students to live in a residence hall on campus for four-semesters beginning with the first year of attendance.
Exceptions to this requirement include:
living at home with parent/s or spouse;
married or having reached the age of 21 before the semester begins.
We recognize that a percentage of Lewis & Clark students have some prior community living experience. While it is not our intention to minimize that experience, a previous boarding school experience will not be considered an exception to the four consecutive semesters of residency requirement.
Four-Semester Residency Requirement
If you are seeking an exception to the four-semester residency requirement to live off campus, you must complete the form below and submit it with any supporting documentation. It is your responsibility to demonstrate the uniqueness of your
situation and the difference between your current circumstances and those of the past that enabled you to live on campus.
Your contractual obligation with the College will be waived if approved by the Contract Release Committee and only in the case of demonstrated, verifiable exceptional need, hardship, or other extenuating circumstances.
If a psychological or medical condition precipitates your petition (Question 3 below), please first make an appointment with the Office of Student Accessibility. In that appointment you will need to provide documentation/paperwork from a licensed health professional including length of association with that professional, diagnosis, functional impairment and a recommendation that you live off-campus. The staff member that you meet will share with campus living that this requirement has been met.
If financial hardship (Question 4 below) is your reason for petitioning to be released from the contract, please outline your official calculated costs for attending L&C. If you are a financial aid recipient, it will be helpful to meet with a
Financial Aid staff member. Financial calculations must present a significantly different financial picture that when you were originally admitted to the institution. You must be able to exhibit a $5,000/semester shortfall to receive consideration.
If your parents and/or legal guardian live in the Portland metropolitan area and you are requesting a release from your contractual obligation to move home with your parents, please complete the form below. In addition, your parent/guardian must send an email or letter to Campus Living stating that you will be moving home and must include a recent utility bill showing the address of your family home.
Breaking A Housing Contract or Lease Agreement
The Residence Hall Contract and Lease Agreement are legally binding documents. If you signed a contract or lease, you are obliged to complete the terms of the contract even if you do not fall under the two-year residency requirement. If it becomes necessary for you to withdraw from the College or take a Leave of Absence, your contract will be canceled when your official withdrawal from the institution is filed with the Office of the Registrar.
If notice of your withdrawal is received after the July 1 cancellation deadline, your housing deposit will be forfeit.
As explained above, your contractual obligation to the College will be waived only in the case of demonstrated, verifiable exceptional need, hardship or other extenuating circumstances even if you have completed the residency requirement. If you signed a contract or lease for the full academic year, and turn 21 during that time period, a release is not automatic. When completing the form below, it is your responsibility to provide information that clearly demonstrates your unique situation. See information above for additional instructions.
Procedure
1. Complete the Petition for Contract Release.
2. Be sure to include all supporting documentation necessary to demonstrate your extenuating need to live off campus,i.e., physician or counselor, financial worksheet, parental support etc.
3. Answer all questions thoroughly to make it clear why you believe you have special circumstances that warrant a release from the residency requirement or for breaking your housing contract or lease agreement.
4. Submit completed petition to the Office of Campus Living no later than March 31 in anticipation of filing a request for Fall semester housing; July 1 for a contract or agreement beginning Fall semester; November 1 for a Spring semester contract or agreement.
