Second Year Residency Exemption Renewal and Continuation Process
The second year residency requirement was recently created as part of campus discussions focused on the student retention and graduation rates. These general discussions lead eventually to the creation of a second year experience which included a residency requirement for students. General issues that are to be addressed in the second year program include responsible citizenship in Oxford, making informed consumer decisions regarding off-campus accommodations, making more informed curricular and co-curricular choices, ethical decision-making, and choosing a healthy lifestyle. This list of general issues is not exclusive, as the second year experience is still being defined. Fraternities were allowed to apply for waivers of the residency requirement in order to fill their bed spaces with their traditional second year population. Fraternities agreed to follow specific housing policies regarding alcohol and to offer developmental programming for their residents in conjunction with the second year experience.
The purpose of this document is to attempt to clarify issues surrounding the second year residency exemption process. Campus fraternities recently applied for waivers from the second year residency requirement for the 2009-2010 academic year. The fraternities that have been given a waiver have been notified. Several waivers were granted provisionally with the understanding that certain expectations would be met.
Future Academic Year Exemptions:
Fraternities will need to apply for an exemption to the residency policy each academic year. The chart below provides a time line for the next few academic years.
Academic Year Application Deadline
2009 – 2010 April 15, 2008
2010 – 2011 April 15, 2009
2011 – 2012 April 15, 1010
Granting of Waivers:
Application for a waiver will be made to the Office of the Dean of Students. The Office of the Dean of Students will make decisions about waivers and communicate those decisions to the fraternities by July 1st of each year. Waivers are granted with the understanding that fraternities will be willing partners in providing a purposeful and developmental second year experience for their residents.
Revocation of Waivers:
The waiver for second year residency exemption may be revoked at any time by the Office of the Dean of Students if the fraternities are believed not to be engaged with the university in offering a purposeful and developmental second year experience for their residents. Revocation of the waiver is an administrative process, not a judicial process. Revocation of a waiver is not a judicial sanction. Therefore the same due process concerns, addressed in a judicial process, do not apply. Revocation would be based upon student conduct, academic performance or failure to deliver the Greek residential curriculum to residents. For example, if the behavior of a fraternity should come to the attention of the Dean of Students Office through judicial or legal avenues, their waiver would then be in jeopardy. Similarly, if the academic standing of the fraternity were to negatively change significantly, their waiver would also be in jeopardy. Once a waiver is revoked, the fraternity is free to apply for a new waiver for the next academic year, according to the appropriate timeline stated above. A provisional waiver may also be revoked if the original conditions were not met by the fraternity within the given timeline.
Revocation Process:
If the Office of the Dean of Students is considering the revocation of a waiver, the Office of the Dean of Students will notify the fraternity in writing. The president and vice president of the fraternity will be invited to the Office of the Dean of Students to discuss the issues of concern. The Office of the Dean of Students will then make a decision and notify the fraternity of that decision in writing within 3 business days after the scheduled meeting. In the case where a waiver was revoked, the Office of Residence Life will also be notified in order to initiate a process to move the sophomores students back into campus housing.
Appeal Process:
Once a fraternity has been notified by the Office of the Dean of Students in writing that their waiver has been revoked, the fraternity will have 10 business days to appeal to the Vice President for Student Affairs. The decision of the Vice President of Student Affairs is final.