All students are required to live in University residence halls. Students who meet at least one of the criteria below may seek a waiver of the residency requirement, through which they can request to live off campus.

The following criteria are accepted when seeking a waiver of the residency requirement and requesting to live off campus: Lives in primary residence within 45 miles of the Fayette campus for two years prior to enrollment; parents’ or guardians’ names must be included in the request; Has completed at least 90 credits; Is a transfer student to UIU and has completed at least 48 (non-UIU) credits; Married and/or has dependent children; 22 years of age or older; Military serving or (honorably discharged) Veteran.

Waivers of the housing residency requirement are available via the Residency Requirement Waiver Form. Those seeking a waiver must do so 30 days prior to the start of Session 1 or Session 3. All requests to live off-campus are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Requests in which at least one of the above criteria is not met are rarely granted.

Once a student is approved for a residency requirement waiver, it is for the remainder of their time at UIU, unless they decide to move back onto campus at some point after approval. If a student decides to live on campus, they will need to complete another waiver form for any future plans to live off campus.

Starting in academic year 2024-2025, students who fail to take up residency or move off campus without permission will be assessed a financial penalty of $5,000 until off-campus criteria is met. Students will not be required to maintain a commuter meal plan. Those who have already submitted an off campus request in prior academic years and do not meet the requirements will be allowed to maintain the previous policy of a $3,000 penalty and 80-block commuter meal plan until they meet the criteria to live off campus. If a previous request has already been submitted, students do not need to complete a new form.

Acting as the policy owner, the Assistant Vice President for Student Life is responsible for answering questions regarding the application of this policy.