General Housing Policies & Procedures

Read below regarding some of our policies, procedures, & general info.

  • Moving In

    Students are expected to abide by the College's official opening & closing dates for campus housing and to make their travel plans accordingly. Students who are found in College residences prior to their move-in date will be fined $150 per day or a portion thereof and may be reported to the Dean's Office for disciplinary action.

    The College will hold a student's room in the fall until the second Friday after classes begin. If a student has not checked in to campus by then, the room may be made available for another student.

    Moving Out

    Before you leave, pack your personal things and take them with you. Please leave your room in good condition with all college-provided furnishings in place. Remove all trash and place it in the appropriate receptacles.

    If you are assigned to a room that uses keys (vs. a room code), you must return your room key to OCL's key dropbox prior to leaving campus. If you forget to return your key, you can mail it back to campus C/O OCL. Unreturned keys are subject to a fine. If you have a room code (instead of a key), no action is necessary.

    If it is determined that a student did not remove all of their items from their room, leave by their specified departure date, remove all trash from their room, or they did not turn their key in, a minimum reduction of 10 points will be assessed to the student's Housing Points for the next academic year and may be reported to the Dean's Office for disciplinary action.

  • First Year Assignments:

    Incoming first year students will receive a housing assignment for their first year living experience at Williams College. There are two main residential areas on campus where first years can reside including Frosh Quad and Mission Park. These assignments are made by the Office of Campus Life and communicated to students prior to their arrival to campus in the fall.

    Upper Class Lotteries:

    Co-Op - Williams offers Co-Ops (six small houses and one apartment complex) for seniors who are looking for a slightly more independent living situation while still residing in campus-owned housing.

    Off-Campus - Williams, as a residential college, strongly believes that students living on campus together is an important aspect of community-building during their time at Williams – and thus, the College requires its students to live on-campus. At the same time, due to fluctuations in enrollment numbers and changing on-campus bed-count numbers, the College releases a certain number of students from the on-campus living requirement for their senior year (the cap for 2021-2022 is 125). These students typically live in houses or apartments in close proximity to campus that are owned and managed by entities other than Williams (landlords, real estate agencies, property management companies, etc.).

    Please Note: simply signing a rental agreement with a landlord does not guarantee that a student will be released from College housing for their senior year. 

    General Lottery - The General Lottery is the room selection process for any returning student at Williams College who has not secured housing through the Co-Op or Off-Campus lottery processes.

    Students with Advanced Life Experiences (SwALEs) & Transfer Students: Generally, new transfer students will be expected to live in traditional student housing on campus. However, a new transfer student may qualify as a SwALE – read below for more information.

    A SwALE or new transfer student who believes they have a significant diagnosis, condition, or situation that cannot be addressed via the regular housing processes or programs or within College policies, may request a Housing Accommodation.

    Vacancies & Vacancy Preparation:

    Vacancy Preparation - When a vacancy or empty bed exists in your room, it is expected that space remains free of your personal belongings and ready to receive a new assigned resident at all times. This includes removing any personal items so the space can be cleaned before occupancy by a new resident. In spaces with individually assigned bedroom spaces, personal items should only be in your assigned space and never in another space, even when empty or unoccupied.

    The Office of Campus Life reserves the right to place another student of the same sex into the vacant space in the room at any point.

    Room Changes & Unauthorized Changes:

    Room Changes - Room changes are available at the mid-point of the year, through the Mid-Year Room Change and Selection process. Information about this process is emailed to eligible students and published on our website.

    Unauthorized Room Change - Students who change rooms without receiving approval from Housing & Residential Education will be fined $250, receive a reduction in Housing Points, and may be referred to the Dean’s Office for possible disciplinary action.

    The Office of Campus Life reserves the right to adjust the occupancy limit for a room/space, subject to health and safety guidelines, at any point.

  • Various offices on campus may place a hold on any student's eligibility to participate in a housing lottery/room draw and/or on their eligibility to receive the key/code to their room when they move in. Student Health Services, the Office of Student Accounts, Financial Aid, the Dean's Office, Facilities, Environmental Safety & Compliance, Campus Safety, and OCL all have authority to place a lottery and/or key hold on your PeopleSoft account. Typical reasons include but are not limited to: incomplete paperwork, late payments, unpaid parking tickets, disciplinary issues, etc.

    Students with a Lottery Hold on their account are ineligible to participate in housing lottery/draw processes until the Lottery Hold has been released. Students with a Key Hold may have their room key/code held upon moving into their room until the Key Hold has been released.

    To find out if you have a Lottery and/or Key Hold on your account, look in PeopleSoft Self-Service. It'll also note the office(s) which placed the hold on your account.

    To get a Lottery or Key Hold released, contact the office(s) which placed the Hold on your account. Once they confirm with OCL that the situation is taken care of, the hold will be released.

  • Reasonable activity in student residences will of course result in some reasonable noise. However, the creation of persistent & excessive noise is a violation of good conduct. Since student rooms are appropriate places to study as well as sleep, noise should be kept to a minimum at all times.

    The option of designated Quiet Housing is available for upperclass students as well.

  • Other than fish, no student-owned pets are permitted in College housing. Students who are advised to remove a pet and continue to house a pet will be fined $100 per day for each day the pet remains after notification.

    For information on Service & Emotional Support Animals, click here.

  • Incoming first-year students are invited to indicate on their housing preference form if there is anything about their gender identity and related housing preferences that they would like us to keep in mind for first-year housing assignments.

    Sophomores, juniors, and seniors may opt to live in a double with another sophomore, junior, or senior regardless of gender identity. In non-same-gender roommate situations, both roommates must agree in advance to the arrangement.

    Contact Doug Schiazza, Senior Associate Dean of Campus Life, with any questions about gender inclusivity & housing.

  • Williams residential students are afforded the privilege to host guests on the Williams College campus and are therefore expected to abide by the following regulations:

    A guest is defined as a registered Williams College student who lives in another room or off campus; a current student on leave; or any non-student, including family members, alums, etc.

    Williams students are expected to seek approval from their room/suitemates in advance of inviting a guest to their room and are permitted to host overnight guests for a maximum of three (3) consecutive nights with their room/suitemates approval. A guest must be accompanied by their host at all times. It is the responsibility of the host student to inform their guest(s) of house community standards and college policy.

    Guests’ presence may not infringe upon the rights of other Williams students. Any roommate, suitemate, or other Williams student who feels inconvenienced by a guest should first discuss the matter with the host student. If that brings no result, the student should contact their JA, HC, or the Office of Campus Life. Hosts are responsible for the behaviors and actions of their guests and therefore may face disciplinary action and/or loss of guest privileges if their guest violates college or residential policies.

    The right of a student to live in reasonable privacy and safety, and use of their room for academic purposes, takes precedence over visitation rights. It is the responsibility of all house residents to help maintain the security of their residence hall by not propping doors open or otherwise allowing unauthorized persons to access their residence hall. Unless formally assigned by the college, residential spaces are not available to accommodate spouses, partners, family members, children or other dependents of College resident students. In addition, guests are not permitted to sleep in common rooms, hallways, laundry rooms, or other public spaces in residence halls. Any resident who provides ongoing guest status to a non-student or an off-campus student is in violation of college regulations and may be subject to disciplinary action.

    Williams students can obtain visitor IDs and/or temporary parking permits for their guests by visiting Campus Safety & Security in the lower level of Hopkins Hall.

    Questions or concerns about the guest policy should be directed to the Assistant Directors of Residential Life and Housing in the Office of Campus Life.

  • Ongoing construction & maintenance work is an important part of maintaining & improving Williams. OCL, the Dean’s Office, and Facilities staff work hard to minimize the impact on students and to reasonably accommodate those who are subject to the greatest disruptions. Understand, however, that students aren’t eligible for refunds or other compensation on the basis of such work.

    Typically speaking…

    • Construction and/or maintenance activities outside or in close proximity to occupied college-owned student residences will not begin prior to 8am. Outside services (such as trash pick-up) and some emergency situations may start earlier than 8am in the morning and are beyond the college’s control.
    • Construction and/or maintenance activities inside occupied college-owned student residences (aside from normal custodial services) will not begin prior to 9am.
    • Construction and/or maintenance activities will end no later than 6pm daily.
    • Construction and/or maintenance activities on weekends will take place between 9am – 5pm.
    • Please note that Facilities is often called in on evenings & weekends for emergency repairs that may or may not fall within the timeframes noted above.

    Construction Activity Notices (CANs)

    • The correlated Project Manager in Facilities (PM) is responsible to publish the CAN in Daily Messages and on the “What’s Happening” page on the Facilities website, and to send the CAN to a campus departmental distribution list, at least 3 business days in advance of correlated work taking place.

    CANs for Last-Minute and/or Emergency/Urgent Work

    • The PM is responsible to publish the CAN in Daily Messages and on the “What’s Happening” page on the Facilities website, and to send the CAN to a campus departmental distribution list, ASAP.
    • The correlated PM is responsible to email OCL ASAP with a copy of the CAN, highlighting that this is a last-minute/emergency/urgent CAN.
    • OCL is responsible to email the CAN ASAP to the students in buildings likely to be impacted.
    • Please note that Facilities is often called in on evenings & weekends for emergency repairs that may or may not be able to be communicated in the manner outlined above.

    Major Construction Project Starts & Transitions

    • The PM is responsible to email OCL with a notice of the start or major transition at least one full month in advance.
    • OCL is responsible to email the students in buildings likely to be impacted ASAP, and to notify the students that a TBA meeting will take place to discuss any questions & concerns they may have.
    • The PM and OCL are responsible to schedule a day/time to meet in person ASAP with likely-impacted residents to answer their questions & concerns.
    • OCL is responsible to notify the students ASAP of the meeting, coordinate it & execute it with the PM and the correlated JAs and/or RDs + HCs.

    Responsibilities of Students

    • Students are responsible for reading Daily Messages (emailed to all Williams students, faculty & staff daily M-F) and visiting the “What’s Happening” page on the Facilities website to be aware of work taking place that may affect them and for following any instructions included there.
    • When emails are sent out, students are responsible for reading the emails they receive & for following any instructions included there.
    • Students are responsible for contacting the PM and/or the correlated staff member (Patty for North & West Campus, Maddy for East & Central Campus, Dave for Frosh Quad & Mission Park) with questions & concerns they have.
    • When outreach is made regarding a major project, students are responsible for taking advantage of the opportunity to come together with the correlated administrative staff to raise questions & concerns.
    • Students are responsible for notifying OCL if they notice things outside of the parameters listed above, so that follow-up can take place.
    • Students who feel that they need to move due to construction impacts on their housing, are expected to utilize one of the standard processes for housing changes available to them.

  • Williams College works closely with several vendors and contractors for a variety of services and support. At times, this work requires that the vendors/contractors access our residence halls.

    This policy is in place to help ensure student safety while also enabling vendors/contractors to do their work in an efficient and timely manner.

    General Description

    This policy applies to Williams College’s student residences when they are occupied.

    Vendors/Contractors who are new to Williams College or who have not established Known status (see section below) will require a Williams College escort while accessing and working inside occupied student residences. Escorts are to be arranged through the college department/office with which the vendor is connected, and the escort may be a staff member from that department/office or a Campus Safety Services officer.

    Offices/Departments that work with Known vendors/contractors must complete the Vendor/Contractor Log form in Google Forms each time a Known vendor/contractor signs out an access card/badge, and update the correlated GForm when the card/badge is returned. (The form is not necessary for situations where a Vendor/Contractor is escorted by a Williams staff member while they are doing their work in the student residence.)

    Typical access hours are regular business hours Mondays through Fridays, though there may be situations where a vendor/contractor will need access outside of those hours.

    Vendors/Contractors who establish/maintain Known status (see correlated section below) are permitted to access each residence hall’s common spaces without a Williams College escort (including laundry rooms, kitchens, building living/TV rooms, hall bathrooms, etc.). Known vendors/contractors must first check in with the office/department with which the vendor is connected, to sign out the access badge and lanyard with the approved access date; the access badge/lanyard must be returned daily.

    When a hall bathroom is being serviced, a vendor/contractor (escorted or Known) must knock and announce themselves and not enter until the bathroom has been vacated; then an “Out of Order” sign must be placed on the bathroom door until the work is completed.

    Vendors/Contractors must always have a Williams College escort when accessing a student’s private bedroom or private en suite bathroom, regardless of Known status. When a private bedroom that has an active booking is being serviced, the department/office responsible must notify Residential Life & Housing/OCL at least 3 business days in advance, so that student occupant/s can be given at least 2 business days advance notice by RLH/OCL. The vendor/contractor must be escorted and they must knock and announce themselves prior to entering. The escort must remain with the vendor/contractor for the duration of the service/work in any room with an active booking.

    Establishing and Maintaining Known Status

    Vendors/Contractors can establish Known status with the college in order to access designated residential common areas without an official Williams College escort, by completing the form at this link and receiving verification of Known status by the correlated Williams College department/office.

    To do so, the vendor/contractor acknowledges the need to ensure a safe environment for the students, employees, volunteers, and visitors of Williams College and the campus. Accordingly, all work by the vendor/contractor needs to be done under and in full compliance with a contract that includes the most recent version of the College’s CORI/SORI background check and non-harassment clauses*. The vendor/contractor must provide the names of specific employees who are to be covered by Known status, and the college department/office with which the vendor/contractor is connected will cross-check the employee name/s anytime an access lanyard/badge is checked out by the vendor/contractor.

    Vendors/Contractors who have established Known status are permitted to check out and return a badge on a daily basis for their work, from the college department/office with which the vendor/contractor is connected, or from Campus Safety at CSS’s discretion.

    Vendors/Contractors are required to recertify their Known status annually, as well as at any time a new employee is designated to come to campus for residential access, with the college department/office with which the vendor/contractor is connected. Recertification requests are to be submitted by completing the form at this link (the same form as establishing Known status).

    *Individual CORI/SORI issues are to be reported by the correlated office to their respective Senior Staff member for review & consideration.

    Identification and Badging

    Known vendors/contractors who access occupied residence halls must wear a clearly-identifying article (e.g., a uniform, a nametag, a lanyard with an ID) noting their company and their name, and must wear the lanyard with the college-provided access badge; the lanyard will include the approved work date/s. The lanyard with the access badge must be returned to the college department/office with which the vendor/contractor is connected, daily.

    Regular Work/Access Schedules

    Known vendors/contractors are likely to be inside of occupied residence halls between the hours of 9am-5pm ET, Mondays-Fridays. There may be times when those hours are expanded, including to the weekends.

    Student Notifications

    Irregular contractor/vendor access will be conveyed via email to the correlated students at least 2 business days in advance through OCL/Residential Life & Housing; however, there may be emergency/urgent situations that would be conveyed with less notice.

    Reporting Vendor/Contractor Concerns

    Any member of the Williams community who believes that there is a situation with a contractor/vendor that is concerning, should report their concerns to Campus Safety.

  • Connors Brothers Moving & Storage
    • Bill Baldwon
    • Jarrett Bayliss
    • Dakota Brown
    • Travis Daniels
    • Jake Gladu
    • Anthony Jannini
    • Mike Leventhal
    • Paul McCarthy
    • Jose Rodrigues
    • Carlos Sampson
    • John Stack
    • Matt Wood
    CSC Serviceworks
    • Jason Beagle
    • Brian Long
    • Orlando Rivera
    • Keith Ryan
    • Dan Vanalstyne
    Gigliotti Electric
    • Ryan Anderson
    • Ryan Baran
    • Nick Chicoine
    • Dylan Darling
    • Mike Goodermote
    • Andy Goyette
    • Tom Liebenow
    • Andre Martell Jr.
    • Andre Martell III
    • Tony Mazza III
    • John Melillo III
    • Chase Randall
    • Trevor Swistak
    • Zach Swistak
    • Zach Withers
    Aladco
    • Bill Carr
    Modena Painting
    • Robert Modena
    GEM Environmental
    • Jose Abreu
    • William Barlow
    • John Butler
    • Guss Ferreria
    • Craig Gifford Sr.
    • Craig Gifford Jr.
    • Devin Katzenberger
    • Rafael Mota
    • Norman Rolnick
    • Wagner Saint Clair
    Eco-Genesis Corporation
    • Josh Berthiaume
    • Jake Elder
    • Brian Hart
    • Scott Latvalla
    • Myron Ritrosky
    A/Z Corporation
    • David Bible
    • Devin Callahan-Cormier
    • Jimmy Mosteller
    RI Baker, Co (aka RIBCO)
    • Merritt Burdick
    • Jesse Burdick
    • Mike Desautels
    • Carter Foucher
    • John Howland
    • Adam Lemaire
    • Paul Paquin
    • Tom Pelczynski
    • Bob St. Pierre
    • Jim Spofford
    • Jeff Therrien
    Dupee Floor Sanding
    • Dave Dupee
    • Donald Fortin
    • Steve Stojda
    Gordon's Window Decor
    • Connor Chapman
    • Chris Sciara
    • Ryan Wichert
    B&R Painting
    • Robert Donnelly
    • Ray Pilling
    Geary Builders
    • Jon Boland
    • Kyle Lamb
    • Ray Milesi
    • Chris Morales
    • Evan Sadlowski
    • Jose Vazquez
    • John Wohrle
    Nexamp
    • Jacob Aramburu
    • Mike Behling
    • Adam Jara
    Ashley Swift & Sons
    • Matt Coyne
    • David Dunn
    • John Horn
    • Justin Horn
    • Matt Kincaid
    • Martin Lyon
    • Jacob Robinson
    • Cory Spencer
    Adams Plumbing & Heating
    • Wesley Daignault
    • Trevor Tatro
    Carpenter Hill Construction
    • Jonathan Briggs
    • Dominique Chenail-Briggs
    Filter Sales & Service
    • Earl Allderige
    • Jeff Condel
    Power & Process
    • Jeff Campbell
    • Jon Gibbs
    • Theus Martin
    • Bob Saunders
    • Kevin Varrone
    Laureyns United
    • Richard Astle
    • Michael Collins
    • Christopher Eastwood
    • Matthew Emerson
    • Paul Emerson
    • Mark Hartford
    • Ezra Holland
    • Jamie Kelly
    • John Medon
    • Scott Morley
    • Michael Rieger
    • Thomas Skot
    • Sccott Smoak
    • Joshua Tarjick
    Fire Equipment Inc.
    • Scott Cordis
    RR Window
    • Jim Sheldon
    Mack Brothers Elevator
    • Brian Marchegiani
    • Brian Triggs
    • Troy Spencer
    • Robert Henry
    • Josh Dow
    Berkshire Carpet Inc
    • James Hancock
    • Mike Crews
    • Jose Canitrot
    • Jeffrey Hancock
    • Craig Williams

  • Care is taken to protect personal property in College buildings, but the College cannot assume responsibility for loss or damage to such property through fire, theft, or any other cause. Williams does not carry insurance on personal property. Students are therefore advised to keep their rooms locked when absent from them and to investigate personal property coverage through their parents’ Home Owners policy or other ways of obtaining such coverage. Williams is not responsible for loss or damage to your personal items.

  • During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing. Exceptions:

    • A certain number of seniors (up to a cap – approx. 125) may request to be released from the residency requirement; the process for this takes place in the fall of the student’s junior year.
    • Married students who wish to have a non-student spouse in residence with them, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Accommodation request through their Housing Portal and showing legal proof of the marriage – see the Housing for Married Students policy below.
    • Students who wish to have their child or children in residence with them, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a request to the housing office – see the Housing for Students with Children policy below.
    • Students who are 24 or older at the time of matriculation, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a request to the housing office. See the Students with Advanced Life Experience policy below.
    • Other students who believe they have extenuating circumstances that would necessitate their living off-campus, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Accommodations request through their Housing Portal.
    • Students who are on a study-away program are not allowed to reside in campus housing during the term(s) they are studying away.

    Housing for Married Students

    During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing, and married couples without children where both spouses are actively enrolled at Williams simultaneously may live together in a double in student housing.

    The College does not allow married couples where one spouse is actively enrolled at Williams and the other is not, to live in traditional on-campus residential buildings together. The college does maintain a small stock of off-campus college-owned apartments for student who are married to non-Williams individuals. A married student who wishes to have a non-student spouse in residence with them, may request an off-campus apartment or to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Accommodation and showing legal proof of the marriage.

    If an offer of off-campus student housing is provided, the student will need to decide whether to accept the off-campus housing assignment or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer for an off-campus housing assignment is extended and accepted, it is expected that this will be the student's housing assignment until the student's graduation from Williams as long as the student's enrollment at Williams is continuous. The Office of Campus life reserves the right to relocate students based on the needs of the institution.

    If an offer of release is provided, the student will need to decide whether to accept the release or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer of release is is extended and accepted, it is expected that this will be the student's housing arrangement until the student's graduation from Williams as long as the student's enrollment at Williams is continuous. The student will be expected to provide updates address and landlord information any time their information adjusts prior to graduation.

    Housing for Students with Children

    During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing. However, the College does not allow students who are parents to live in campus-owned student housing together with their child/ren. A student who wishes to have their child/ren in residence with them, may request off-campus student housing (if space is available) or to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Accommodation request and showing legal proof of parentage.

    If an offer of off-campus student housing is provided, the student will need to decide whether to accept the off-campus housing assignment or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer for an off-campus housing assignment is extended and accepted, it is expected that this will be the student's housing assignment until the student's graduation from Williams as long as the student's enrollment at Williams is continuous. The Office of Campus life reserves the right to relocate students based on the needs of the institution.

    If an offer of release is provided, the student will need to decide whether to accept the release or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer of release is is extended and accepted, it is expected that this will be the student's housing arrangement until the student's graduation from Williams as long as the student's enrollment at Williams is continuous. The student will be expected to provide updates address and landlord information any time their information adjusts prior to graduation.

    Housing for Students with Advanced Life Experience

    During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing. However, students who are 24 years old or older as of the start of the fall semester may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Accommodation request.

    If an offer of off-campus student housing is provided, the student will need to decide whether to accept the off-campus housing assignment or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer for an off-campus housing assignment is extended and accepted, it is expected that this will be the student's housing assignment until the student's graduation from Williams as long as the student's enrollment at Williams is continuous. The Office of Campus life reserves the right to relocate students based on the needs of the institution.

    If an offer of release is provided, the student will need to decide whether to accept the release or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer of release is is extended and accepted, it is expected that this will be the student's housing arrangement until the student's graduation from Williams as long as the student's enrollment at Williams is continuous. The student will be expected to provide updates address and landlord information any time their information adjusts prior to graduation.