Housing and Dining Services

First Year Residency

In July 2021, K-State announced starting in Fall 2022, the university will require incoming Manhattan campus first-year students to live on campus during their first two semesters. K-State is implementing this residency requirement to contribute to student success.

First Year Residency Policy

Exemptions

There are exemptions to the policy that students may be eligible for upon submitting an exemption application for review with appropriate documentation.

Exemption Procedure:

  1. The Director of Housing and Dining Services or designee is charged with reviewing applications for exemption and the subsequent granting or denial of exemptions.
  2. In order to request exemption from the First Year Undergraduate Student residency requirement, at least one of the eligible exceptions listed below must be met by the first day of the month when classes begin and the applicable exemption must continue to apply throughout the applicable semester. All exemptions require proof of validity as outlined in the application.
  3. Exemption requests must be submitted online via the Exemption Request Form on the Housing and Dining Services website along with the appropriate documentation, by May 1 for the fall semester, by Dec. 1 for the spring semester, or immediately for admissions approval after May 1/Dec. 1 but before the start of the semester. Students who fail or refuse to comply with the residency requirement and/or who furnish false information to a University official in connection with a request for an exemption may be subject to disciplinary action.
  4. Appeals of exemption denials may be submitted to the Vice President for Student Life within five days of receiving denial and must contain new information not shared in initial exemption request. The Vice President for Student Life's decision regarding appeal is final.
  5. Questions regarding the policy and the application for exemption should contact the Department of Housing and Dining Services at 785-532-6453 or housing@k-state.edu . The Vice President for Student Life has authority over this Policy and its implementation.

Exemption Categories

Exemption categories along with links to the exemption request forms are as follows. If completing an exemption request, please visit the link for that category as the links are specific to the exemption category.

  • Students who are 21 years old or older before the first day of classes. (No exemption request form is necessary, exemptions for age are automatically given)

  • Students who are part time and are enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours per semester. Should a student with fewer than 12 credit hours add a class during the semester resulting in a change to full-time student status, the student will be expected to move on campus or apply for an exemption under a different exemption category. Exemption Request Form

  • Students who will commute from the home (within 40 miles of the Manhattan campus) of a parent/step-parent, guardian, or close relative (defined as a grandparent/step-grandparent, sibling, step-sibling, aunt, uncle). Aforementioned relative must be 21 years of age or older and proof of address is required. Exemption Request Form

  • Students who are married or in a civil union (copy of marriage/union license required). Exemption Request Form

  • Students who are the custodial parent of a dependent child (copy of birth certificate required). Exemption Request Form

  • Students who have at least 24 hours of college credit from an accredited post-secondary institution, OR transfer students who whom the University has accepted at least 24 semester credits post high school graduation. Transfer credits earned while in high school, including dual credit and/or AP classes will not be counted toward the total for exemption consideration (transcript copy required). Exemption Request Form

  • Students who have lived in University residence halls for two or more semesters (excluding summer). Exemption Request Form

  • Students with a verifiable financial hardship as determined by the Housing and Dining Services Financial Advisory Group. Exemption subject to exhaustion of all on-campus alternatives. (FAFSA must be completed if requesting an exemption on this basis.) Exemption Request Form

  • Students with disabilities, for whom no reasonable accommodation is available that would allow them to use or enjoy on-campus housing. (Requests for an exemption on this basis and supporting documentation will be reviewed by the Student Access Center.) Exemption Request Form and Student Access Center Registration Process for University Housing Accommodations

  • Students residing in a community-living environment provided by an independent Student Organization that has submitted documentation to the Center for Student Involvement, demonstrating it has registered as a not-for-profit business entity with a state government or otherwise demonstrated it is officially part of another incorporated entity that is registered as such with a state government (e.g. fraternity/sorority house, Smith Scholarship House, Wesley House, Clovia House). (Copy of completed housing contract/agreement required.) Exemption Request Form

On-campus residency has been proven to increase student retention and academic success.

  • National research and an analysis of university-specific data both show a statistically significant difference in the first-year retention rate and cumulative first-year grade point average between students who lived on campus versus students who lived off campus.
  • Fall 2018 K-State freshmen who lived on campus were retained at 87.6%, compared to 79.9% retention for freshmen who did not live on campus.
  • Fall 2019 K-State freshmen showed a 5% gap in retention between those living off campus and those on campus.
  • On-campus residency requirements are very common.
  • K-State remains committed to offering safe, affordable on-campus housing to students.

Questions regarding the first year residency requirement should be directed to Housing and Dining Services.

The University retains discretion to interpret and apply this policy in a manner that is not clearly unreasonable, even if the University’s interpretation or application differs from the interpretation of the parties. Despite the University’s reasonable efforts to anticipate all eventualities in drafting this Policy, it is possible unanticipated or extraordinary circumstances may not be specifically or reasonably addressed by the express policy language, in which case the University retains discretion to respond to the unanticipated or extraordinary circumstance in a way that is not clearly unreasonable.