FAQs - Contracts & Assignments

General

Are freshmen required to live on-campus? No one is required to live on-campus. However, our research has shown that students who live on-campus their first year do better academically and have higher rates of graduation.

Where am I allowed to live on-campus? Where you are eligible to live on-campus depends upon your age and student status. Generally, freshmen are assigned to Richardson Court or Union Drive. Please review our Places to Live section for more detailed eligibility information.

What is AccessPlus? AccessPlus is a secure, confidential, on-line campus information system. For the Department of Residence and ISU Dining, you will use AccessPlus to submit your housing and dining contract, view your assignment information, select/change your assignment and/or meal plan, purchase DiningDollar$, view your charges and much more! You need your university ID and password to view your information.

What if I don't feel comfortable using AccessPlus? Contact the Administrative Services office. We'll do our best to walk you through it!

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Contracting

When do contracts get sent out for newly students? Technically, contracts aren't "sent out." Once you have accepted your offer of admission and paid your $275 admission fee, you can go on-line into the AccessPlus secure website and submit your housing contract on-line. If you do not have internet access, or choose not to use the on-line method, you may accept your offer of admission via the US Postal Service. If you choose this method, the Department of Residence will mail out a paper version of the Housing Contract.

When is the earliest that new students can submit a contract? The DOR begins accepting NEW STUDENT housing contracts on July 1 of the prior year (i.e. July 1, 2007 for fall 2008). Generally, a contract is considered to be early if it is submitted before November.

Is there a deadline to submit my contract? While there is no deadline for submitting a Housing Contract, the date that your Housing Contract is received determines your priority for an assignment. As such, it is in your best interest to submit your Housing Contract early. It is STRONGLY SUGGESTED that you submit your housing contract on-line using Access Plus. Due to the unpredictability of delivery services, the DOR can accept no responsibility for contracts delayed or lost in the mailing process.

What is the prepayment? All newly admitted, undergraduate students must submit a $125.00 prepayment and a $10.00 non-refundable processing fee. These fees are included as part of the $325 acceptance fee paid to the Office of Admissions. The prepayment is NOT a deposit. It is prepayment of room fees that secures a space for you on-campus and it is applied to your spring semester room fees.

I haven't decided if I want to live on-campus, should I still submit my contract? This decision is entirely up to you. However, you should know that the contract is a legally binding document between you and the DOR for both housing and dining services. If you sign a contract now and decide you want to cancel later on, you could face substantial financial penalties. Generally, you should not submit a housing contract unless you are sure that you want to live on-campus.

As a Continuing Student, do I need to sign a contract if I will be gone on internship / study abroad / student teaching / etc. for the Fall semester? This decision is entirely up to you. You have two choices:

• Sign a contract that begins Fall and then submit a Waiver Form. If you do this, you will be released from the contract for the time that you are away. However, upon your return, you will be required to live on-campus for the Spring semester (or face cancellation penalties). You will retain your current student status and will be assigned or will be able to select your spring assignment prior to new students.
• Wait to sign a Spring contract. If you do this, obviously you will have no fall charges or obligations. You have until November 1 to cancel without penalties. However, you will not be able to select your own assignment and an assignment will be made for you based upon the date of your contract, which could be after new students have already been assigned.

As a Continuing Student, I have applied to be a CA / RM next year, should I sign a contract? This decision is entirely up to you. If you sign a contract now and you are not hired as a CA, the March 1 deadline still applies and you could face substantial financial penalties if you decide to cancel. Generally, you should not submit a housing contract unless you are sure that you want to live on-campus even if you are not hired to be a CA.

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Assignments

How are assignments made? How your assignment is determined depends upon whether you will be a New Student or a Continuing Student. Please refer to those sections for specific information.

What if I have special needs for housing? If you have a medical issue that requires special housing accommodation, please review the information provided in our Housing Accommodation Requests section.

How do I make a roommate request? If you are submitting your contract via AccessPlus, you AND your roommate request MUST each get your roommate number code from AccessPlus and then share them with one another. You then must enter each other's codes into your housing contract. If you are completing your contract via paper, you may make a roommate request in the appropriate space on your contract.

What happens if I don't have a specific roommate request? If you don't have a certain someone in mind, don't worry, a roommate will be assigned to you. You will be informed of your roommates before you move in either through mail or Access Plus.

When will I find out my assignment? Once an assignment is made, you will be sent a post card (Fall) or letter (Spring) notifying you that your assignment is available to view on Access Plus. The first set of postcards is sent out the week of June 1st. The room assignment tells you everything you need to know about what building, house, floor, and room you will live in.

I don't have a room assignment yet - will I have a place to stay? Yes! Absolutely! We start making assignments starting in late May and continuing throughout the summer. We continue to assign spaces to contracted people using the date the completed contract was received. We assign contracted students to spaces we get through cancellations. Keep checking AccessPlus.

What if I don't get my first choice? Unfortunately, we can't guarantee that anyone will receive a specific building, house or room for an assignment. Your priority for an assignment is determined by when your Housing Contract is received. If you did not receive a specific assignment that you preferenced, it is most likely due to the fact that the option you selected was full prior to the date that your Housing Contract was received.

• PLEASE NOTE: While it varies from year to year, some of the more popular options, such as Eaton, Friley, Maple and Martin Halls, fill with early contract dates, often as early as two months after the date we begin accepting contracts. It is strongly recommended that you consider preferencing at least one (1) option that is not in one of these locations.

Can I change my assignment? For contracts that start Fall, you can make changes to your assignment using AccessPlus on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout June and July. During the third week of Fall classes, AccessPlus will open up once again for you to make changes Monday - Sunday. For contracts that start Spring, once you have an assignment, you can make changes until the end of December. No changes will be allow from January 1 until after you have arrived and checked-in. Generally, AccessPlus becomes available the second week of the semester.

Meal Plans

Am I required to have a meal plan? If you live in Richardson Court, Union Drive or Buchanan Hall, you are required to have a meal plan. If you live in Wallace Hall, Frederiksen Court or SUV, meal plans are encouraged, but not required. With so many options, it is likely that you will find one that fits your needs!

What meal plans are available? For a full description of all available meal plans and rates, please visit the ISU Dining Web site.

How can I select / change my meal plan? Initially, students assigned to meal plan required areas are defaulted to the Premium Cyclone Plan. You can change your meal plan on Access Plus prior to the first Friday of classes each semester. After that date, changes are not permitted for that semester. Once Dining Dollar$ have been issued, typically in mid-August for Fall, they are not refundable. So, if you change to a meal plan that has less Dining Dollar$, you will keep the Dining Dollar$ from your previous plan.

Can I cancel my meal plan? If you live in an area where a meal plan is required, you can only cancel your meal plan if you also cancel your housing, at which point penalties may apply. If you live in an area where a meal plan is not required, you can cancel your plan up to the first Friday each semester. Afterwards, you can only cancel your meal plan if you also cancel your housing, at which point penalties may apply.

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Cancellations

Can I cancel my contract? Any resident wishing to cancel his/her contract must submit a Contract Cancellation Form to the Administrative Services office in 2419 Friley Hall. If mailed, the postmark on the envelope will be considered the date of cancellation. Newly admitted ISU students who wish to cancel both their housing contract and their admissions acceptance should notify only the Office of Admissions. In this case, there is no need to notify the DOR separately.

Is there a deadline to cancel my contract? Yes and no. Any one may cancel a contract at any time. However, depending on WHEN and WHY you cancel, you may incur a substantial financial cancellation penalty.

• If your contract begins the FALL semester, you will not be charged a cancellation penalty if you cancel your contract on or before the following dates:
  • March 1 for Continuing Residents.
  • May 1 for New Residents.
• If your contract begins the Spring semester, you will not be charged a cancellation penalty if you cancel your contract on or before November 1.

What are the Cancellation Penalties? If you cancel your contract after the above dates, the penalties are as follows:

• 80% Penalty - You will be required to pay 80% of the remaining value of the entire contract - both housing and dining (if applicable). There will be no refund for unused Dining Dollar$ and un-issued Dining Dollar$ will be issued and billed at face value. Residents not yet assigned a room will be billed 80% of the value of a Richardson Court traditional double room plan and the Premium Cyclone meal plan
• Forfeiture of Prepayment - Newly admitted undergraduate students will forfeit their $125 prepayment. If you haven't paid the $125 prepayment yet it will be charged to your Ubill.
• If you have already moved in, in addition to the 80% and forfeiture of the prepayment, you will also be charged room and board until you have officially moved-out.

Are there any exceptions to the Cancellation Penalties? In some special situations, penalties may differ from what is described above. See section V of the Terms and Conditions terms for more information.

Can I appeal my cancellation penalty? Yes. Please refer to section V of the Terms and Conditions for details regarding the appeals process.

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