First Year Housing Requirement

Columbus State University is committed to ensuring the academic and personal success of our students. To best fulfill this commitment, the University requires first-year students to live in on-campus housing for the first two semesters. In addition, we encourage students to live in University Housing throughout their tenure at CSU.

First Year Automatic Exemption

First year students are automatically exempt (no action required) from the policy if they:

Location Exemption

• Have a permanent address residing with a parent or legal guardian AND graduated from a high school in the following zip codes:

  • 30241, 30261, 31824, 31816, 31832, 31906, 31909, 31901, 31902, 31908, 31993, 31995, 31999, 31998, 31997, 36868, 31904, 36867, 31903, 31907, 31820, 31905, 31808, 36877, 36870, 31804, 36869, 31914, 31917, 31829, 31807, 36856, 31831, 31805, 36874, 31811, 36875, 31801, 31823, 36872, 31810, 36804, 36854, 31826, 31814, 31821, 36871, 31833, 31822, 36858, 36851, 36859, 36852, 36803, 31803, 36802, 31058, 31812, 31827, 36801, 31830, 31836, 36860, 36830, 31815, 36831, 31825, 31039, 36849, or 36863

• Students that graduate from a high school outside of these areas must submit an exemption request with supporting documentation proving that the parents/guardians have permanently relocated for purposes of employment to one of the above counties. Home School students will not automatically be considered exempt from the requirement.

Additional Exemptions

To be considered exempt first year students may also meet the following criteria:

• Are 21 years or older by the first day of classes for semester entering
• Are active military
• Are a transfer student with more than 30 transferable hours completed after high school graduation.
  • Note: Students earning 30 or more hours through dual enrollment are not exempt from the First Year Housing requirement.
• Are a current Columbus State University student who has resided on campus for two semesters, not including summer semester

Exemption Request Form

First year students who would like to request an exemption from the requirement for any of the following reasons must submit an exemption request form. All requested documentation must be attached at the time of request. All requests will be reviewed by the Housing Appeals Committee and may request additional documentation.

• Are Legally Married o Must provide a copy of marriage certificate
• Have custody of dependent children
  • Must provide birth certificate
• Parent or legal guardian has relocated to an exempt county for purposes of profession
• Must provide documentation from employer stating parent or legal guardian must relocate to one of the exempt counties for purposes of employment.
  • Copy of lease or deed for new residence
  • Copy of Driver’s License or state issued ID showing new address
  • Documentation proving parent or legal guardian has abandoned previous residence.
• Documented Severe Unavailable Economic Resources
• Fully Online Degree Program: Students who are enrolled in fully online degree seeking programs will not be automatically exempt. This will be reviewed by the Housing Appeals Committee and as a case-by-case situation.
• Have an extenuating circumstance that prohibits them from complying with the live on requirement. This will require additional documentation based on the individual circumstances.

Cancellation of enrollment and revocation of student status at Columbus State University may take place as a result of failing to comply with the first year live on requirement policy. This may be a result of:

• Providing false or misleading information in connection with a request for exemption
• Failing to comply by not registering for housing and/or not assuming occupancy in a University Residence Hall
• Receiving a conduct sanction that requires removal from University Housing

Procedures for Reviewing Exemption Requests

All correspondence related to the housing exemption request should be submitted online via the exemption request form.

All Housing Appeals will be heard by the Housing Appeals Committee consisting of (a) Faculty in Residence Member, (b) Staff member appointed by Vice-President for Student Affairs, (c) Student Affairs Staff Member appointed by Vice-President for Student Affairs, (d) Staff member from Enrollment Services, (e) Staff member from the Athletics Department. The appeals committee may consult with other units of the University including but not limited to Center for Accommodation and Access, Health Services, International Programs.

Decisions of the appeals committee will be final.

---