Housing Policies

Policy Statement

I.     Residential Space

1.     Organizations may only occupy College-approved housing.

2.     Organizations seeking to enter a lease for any type of physical plant which is not owned by the College (i.e. former fraternity property, off-campus property, etc.) or purchase a physical plant must obtain approval from the College and the town, so that the organization does not violate the terms of its recognition.

a.     Organizations may only reside in properties that carry property insurance which is equivalent to the property insurance coverage offered in the Dartmouth College Office of Greek Life Group Insurance Policy.

b.    Organizations that reside in a non-College owned property are expected to meet all requirements described under the Physical Plant Management section for “Organizations which own a Physical Plant."

II.   Eligibility 

1.     Dartmouth undergraduate students are eligible to reside in their organization’s physical plant when they have met all of the following criteria:

a.     The student is an undergraduate member of the organization that is occupying the physical plant in which s/he seeks to live,

b.     The student has an ‘R’ (defined as registered for classes) as his/ her Dartmouth enrollment status for the term in which housing is sought,

c.      The student is eligible to reside in college housing[1] and is in good standing (as defined by College disciplinary proceedings) with the College.  (Students who have been prohibited from living in College housing are not eligible to reside in any Greek letter organization physical plant.)

i.      Leave term (or other actively enrolled) students may be eligible to reside in a Greek letter organization physical plant only after the organization has completely met its required occupancy level by housing students who have ‘R’s in their D-plans, and with the express permission of the Office of Greek Life.

2. Students can live in College-recognized Greek houses beginning in the winter term of their sophomore year, and in undergraduate society houses beginning in the fall term of their sophomore year.

2.     Graduate student, fifth-year Thayer BE students, and alumni/ae members of the organization are eligible to reside in a Greek letter organization physical plant if the following criteria are met:

a.     The Office of Greek Life gives express permission, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, for such an individual to reside in the physical plant before the organization houses the person, and

b.     The organization has completely met its required minimum occupancy number by housing members who have an ‘R’ in their D-plan, and

i.      Seniors who complete college work early may continue to reside in the facility until graduation as long as they remain in good standing with the college

c.      The individual is enrolled as a student at Dartmouth College, or

d.     The individual is: 1.) an advisor to the organization, or 2.) serving as part of a specific programmatic aspect of the organization, and

e.     The individual is required to purchase either a Smart Choice or a Block Choice dining plan.

3.     Any chapter found housing non-members without following the explicit expectations in this policy will be fined twice the current standard college housing room rent per violation

III.Occupancy Requirements

College recognized Greek letter organizations & societies that reside in physical plants of any kind must meet their required occupancy numbers each term by the Housing Occupancy Deadline each term, please refer to the Undergraduate Housing website. (see Appendix D for occupancy numbers).

1.     Recognized organizations with any type of physical plant must maintain a membership size that ensures compliance with the required occupancy.

2.     During the summer term only when the sophomore class are the primary residents, Greek letter organizations & societies may deviate from their required occupancy number for the term as indicated below.

a.     Organizations with College-owned physical plants must fill to at least 75% of their required occupancy in order to remain open for summer term. These organizations may house leave term students during summer term provided that the students are working on campus or conducting research on campus for a minimum of 30 hours per week. Documentation of campus work must be provided to the Undergraduate Housing office along with the roster and contract. College-owned physical plants that are not filled to 75% of required occupancy by the housing deadline will be closed for summer term.

b.     Organizations with privately-owned physical plants do not have an occupancy requirement for summer term.

3.     An organization has the obligation to fill its house with its current membership. 

a.     If an organization is below its standard occupancy number, and has members with ‘R’s in their D-plans who are living somewhere other than the house, the organization is responsible for having these members fill the housing vacancies until the required occupancy number is met.  There are to be no vacancies in a house when an organization has enough members with ‘R’s in their D-plans to comply with the required occupancy number.  This is applicable during every term- summer, fall, winter, and spring.

b.     In special instances, an organization may be granted permission from the Undergraduate Housing office to fill its vacant spaces with non-members, provided both conditions (i-ii below) are satisfied:

i.      Any non-member resident must be a Dartmouth undergraduate who has completed four terms at Dartmouth. (Transfer students must have successfully completed one term at Dartmouth).[2]

ii.     In the case of a privately-owned facility, the alumni board must grant permission for any non-member residents to reside in its physical plant. 

4.     If an organization falls below the required occupancy number, the College will help the organization fill vacant spaces in order to ensure that the undergraduate residential system in its entirety continues to accommodate the maximum number of enrolled students in any given term (subject to conditions a & b above). 

a.     If an organization has members with ‘R’s in their D-plan living in College housing, these members may be reassigned to spaces in the organization’s physical plant to fill the vacancies.

b.     After vacancies have been filled by members, and an organization has exhausted the possibility of filling the vacant spaces with non-members, the College may assist the organization in filling those vacant spaces with other undergraduate student(s) as appropriate (subject to conditions a & b above).

c.      In the case of a College-owned facility, the College may require a change in the member to non-member room ratio to best meet the needs of the residential life system OR the College may reassign the organization to a space that more appropriately suits the size of the membership; or the College may withdraw the organization’s residential status if its membership size cannot support occupying a physical plant.

d.     In the case of a privately-owned facility, the College may work with the alumni board to lease the vacant spaces for a given amount of time, and then sublease these spaces back to students who apply through the Housing Application process.

e.     No organization can house students without an active student affiliation with Dartmouth College

5.     In all circumstances, if an organization falls below its required occupancy number, social restrictions may be revoked until the occupancy number is met.

6.     The undergraduate organization’s president, house manager and financial officer (treasurer) must reside in the organization’s designated residential space during their current term of office. These students count towards the required occupancy number even if they are on a leave term.

IV. Housing Contracts

(See Appendix E: Housing Forms)

1.     All individuals residing in a Greek letter organization physical plant must complete a Greek letter organization housing contract, available online from the Undergraduate Housing Office.

2.     Only students with contracts on file with the Dartmouth College Undergraduate Housing office may be billed for rent.

3.     All individuals residing in a Greek letter organization physical plant (including leave term residents) are required to purchase either a Smart Choice or a Block Choice dining plan.

4.     Students who have signed a contract to reside in a Greek letter organization physical plant for a given term are not eligible to participate in other campus housing processes for the term (e.g. Room Draw). Students can only be released from the contract with written permission from the organization's Housing Coordinator or President and approval from the Undergraduate Housing office.

a.     Students may not be released from a Greek letter organization housing contract to reside in an undergraduate residence hall if the release would result in the organization falling below its required occupancy number.

b.     For fall term housing only, students may be released from a Greek letter organization housing contract to participate in Room Draw only if the release is granted at least one week prior to the first Room Draw event for the relevant fall term.

c.      For Fall Term:  Students who cancel an assignment in a Greek letter organization physical plant before the cancellation deadline will be subject to a $250 contract cancellation fee. Students who cancel an assignment in a Greek letter organization physical plant after the cancellation deadline, but before the start of term will be subject to a $500 contract cancellation fee. https://students.dartmouth.edu/residential-life/policy/cancellation-housing-assignment

d.     For Winter/Spring/Summer Term: Students who cancel an assignment in a Greek letter organization physical plant after the cancellation deadline for the term will be subject to a $500 contract cancellation fee. https://students.dartmouth.edu/residential-life/policy/cancellation-housing-assignment

5.     A student must sign a new Greek letter organization housing contract each academic term.

V.   Housing Assignment Requirements

1.     Each organization must designate a member to serve as the housing assignment coordinator for the organization. The housing assignment coordinator is responsible for submitting room assignment rosters and contracts to the Dartmouth College Undergraduate Housing office by the scheduled housing deadline each term.

2.     The Dartmouth College Undergraduate Housing office will provide each organization with a roster template that lists all of the available rooms in its physical plant and outlines the information necessary for the Housing Office to make housing assignments. This roster template must be used when submitting room assignments to the Undergraduate Housing Office.

3.     To facilitate planning, organizations must submit housing lists for the upcoming term. A full roster must be submitted including the room assignment, Dartmouth ID number and class year for each resident, as well as a list of the president, house manager and treasurer.

a.     Any resident not listed as an active Dartmouth-affiliated student must have permission from the Office of Greek Life Director to reside in the facility before they move in. Organizations submitting rosters that do not include all residents face a fine twice the college room rate.

4.     During spring term, organizations will be asked to submit housing assignments for both summer term and fall term. Officer elections and room draw meetings for these terms should be held prior to the housing assignment deadline.

5.     Any additions, cancellations or changes to room assignments made after a room assignment roster is submitted should be sent in writing via email to the Associate Director of Undergraduate Housing. Changes should be reported promptly as they affect billing, meal plans, keys, etc.

6.     Students are expected to reside in the rooms designated on the roster or as reflected in any subsequent room changes submitted in writing and approved by the Associate Director of Undergraduate Housing.

VI. Housing Assignment Deadlines

1.     Housing assignment deadlines may be found at the Undergraduate Housing website.

2.     Organizations that fail to submit complete housing information by the deadlines outlined above are subject to the following penalties:

For fall term only, no member of a Greek letter organization may participate in Room Draw for fall term until the organization has met its required occupancy for the term by submitting a complete roster with room assignments and signed contracts for all residents.

Any changes or updates may be found here: https://students.dartmouth.edu/residential-life/undergraduate-housing/housing-policies/housing-assignments

Interim Housing

1.     Students residing in a college-owned Greek letter organization physical plant must abide by the Interim Housing procedures as outlined at https://students.dartmouth.edu/residential-life/policy/interim-housing If officers are required to stay during the interim period to perform duties for the organization they must apply for interim housing through the normal process. Documentation of house-related responsibilities during the interim period must be sent to the Undergraduate Housing office by the organization’s advisor or the Office of Greek Life Director.

2.     Permission must be sought from the Housing Assignment Coordinator, President and/or Alumni Corporation for interim housing in private physical plants.

3.     Any student/students occupying and/or utilizing space in a private or college-owned physical plant must adhere to all rules outlined for physical plant upkeep.