Students who wish to appeal a housing related charge or assignment may do so according to the following process. Any charges previously assessed will remain on the student’s University account during the appeal process. Any late fees assessed by the University are the responsibility of the student and will not be overturned via this appeal. It is important that students submit their request for appeal in a timely manner to avoid incurring financial penalties related to unpaid balances on their University account.
Appeals must be written and submitted by the student from their University email account.
Initial Appeal (Basic Appeal)
- Students wishing to appeal must submit their appeal within 60 days of the first billing statement (electronic or paper) upon which the charge appeared.
- Appeals must be submitted in writing (verbal appeals will not be considered), students may submit appeals via email to housing@udayton.edu.
- All appeals must include at a minimum, Student’s full legal name, UD Student ID number, an explanation/rationale as to why an exception is warranted, and documentation to support the explanation/rationale.
- For housing contract appeals, a student must demonstrate that their situation is unique and unusual or that there are exceptional circumstances that were not present at the time the contract was entered which prevented compliance with the existing housing contract.
- For damage/check-out charge appeals, the student must document that the charge is in error or otherwise due to circumstances beyond their reasonable control.
- Following receipt of materials, the information will be reviewed and a decision communicated within 10 business days of the appeal submission.
*Please note, submitting an appeal does not guarantee approval, all charges stand until written affirmation an appeal has been granted is received from the Department of Housing and Residence Life.
Initial appeals are reviewed and decided by an Assignment Officer, Desk Operations Manager, or Access Control Data Manager. If needed, they will consult with an Assistant Director in the department of Housing and Residence Life.
Second-Level (Escalated Appeal)
If an initial appeal is denied, a student may re-submit a request for review should new or additional information warrant reconsideration.
- The second-level appeal must be received within 10 business days of the initial appeal denial.
- Appeals must be submitted in writing (verbal appeals will not be considered), students may submit appeals via email to housing@udayton.edu.
- For consideration, a second-level appeal must include:
- All materials from the initial appeal.
- Additional information/documentation the student wishes to submit to support the request consistent with criteria previously indicated.
- A written statement indicating how the new or updated information/documentation impacts the previous decision.
- Following receipt of materials, the information will be reviewed and a decision communicated within 10 business days of the appeal submission.
For second-level appeals, an Assistant Director within the department of Housing and Residence Life will review and render a decision. If needed, they will consult the Director of Housing Assignments and Operations.
Housing Appeal Board
If a second-level appeal is denied, a resident may appeal to the Housing Appeal Board for additional consideration if they have new documentation/information which has come to light that was not previously available for submission as part of previous appeals or an error in process occurred that impacts the results of the appeal.
- The appeal must be received within 5 business days of receipt of the second-level appeal denial.
- Appeals must be submitted in writing (verbal appeals will not be considered), students may submit appeals via email to housing@udayton.edu.
- For consideration, an appeal must include:
- All materials from the previous appeals.
- Additional information/documentation the student wishes to submit to support the request consistent with criteria previously indicated.
- A written statement indicating why documentation submitted was not previously available during prior appeals or a statement indicating the process that was not followed and how it impacts their appeal. This should also include how/why this newly available documentation warrants reconsideration.
- Appeal board decisions will be communicated within 10 business days of the board’s meeting. The decision of the board is final and may not be appealed.
This Housing Appeal Board is composed of nine people which include 2 students and staff from the Division of Student Development, Facilities Management Residential Properties, Housing and Residence Life Leadership Team (not previously part of the appeals process), Flyer’s Student Services Team, and the Office of Learning Resources. The board requires five members to facilitate a hearing. The Director of Housing Assignments and Operations will facilitate the Housing Appeal Board.
The facilitator of the hearing will moderate the hearing and present the information from previous appeals. The student will be afforded the opportunity to make a statement with regards to the reason that the appeal should be granted. Witnesses are not permitted in this hearing; however, they may submit written information as part of the application for an appeal.
The agenda for a housing appeals board is outlined below:
- Welcome and Introductions
- Review of Previous Appeals
- Student Statement
- Questions by the Housing Appeal Board for the Student
- Adjourn to Executive Session to Deliberate
Written communication of the board's decision will be sent to the student’s University email address within 10 business days of the hearing.
Items That Do Not Warrant an Appeal
The reasons for which appeals are granted will vary as no two situations are identical. Staff cannot tell you what/how to write your appeal as it should be based on your personal situation and must include supporting documentation. However, the following items would not warrant consideration of an appeal:
"I didn’t sign a contract." – The housing contract is part of the University housing application, you cannot submit an application for housing without having completed a contract.
"I was unaware there was a deadline for …" – The terms and conditions are outlined in the housing contract you completed. When submitting the application/contract you confirmed that you had read the contract and understood the terms and conditions as outlined.
"Someone else completed the contract in my name" – The housing contract is part of the application for housing which is available only via secure log-in to a University server. For this to occur, a student must have either provided their University credentials to another individual(s) or had their account hacked. In either case, a serious violation of University policy has occurred and the matter will be referred to Community Standards and Civility for investigation and appropriate conduct action for the responsible party(ies).
"I only did it in case my off-campus plans fell through." or "I found something off-campus afterwards." If you intend to live off-campus, you should complete your off-campus search prior to submitting your University housing application. Once you apply, you are contracting to live on-campus and the cancellation terms of the contract would apply.
"I didn’t like the assignment I received." – All housing assignments are made in accordance with the Housing Assignment Process, which utilizes a self-selection or lottery style system. For upper-division students, following receipt of your assignment, you had 3 business days to submit a cancellation without penalty. For first- and second-year students, your continued enrollment affirms your understanding of the University’s residency requirement.
