The Simmons Office of Residence Life (ResLife) held four housing information sessions in November and December. These sessions presented information about the housing selection process taking place in the spring of 2023 to returning undergraduate students.

One significant change is the decision to have no annual housing deposit fee for the 2023-2024 academic year. “We advocated for that change to reduce any financial barriers and therefore increase accessibility to participate in the process,” said Brooke Bernard, Director of Residence Life in an email statement.

While the annual housing deposit fee is no longer required, students must have a housing deposit on file with Student Financial Services (SFS) in order to participate in the room selection process. “All first-time residents, first-year students, and transfer students pay a housing deposit through Slate when they enroll with the university,” added Bernard. “However, there are exceptions. For example, some students start their time at Simmons as commuters, so they wouldn’t have a housing deposit on file.”

“Having to pay [the housing deposit fee] was just another thing to worry about,” said Lia Vichi, a junior studio art major. “It’s definitely a good thing for students’ financial situations.” 

During the Housing Information Session, students were told to expect a rise in the cost of room and board. The Board of Trustees has not determined the room and board rates for the upcoming year. “Room and board rates increase each year with inflation, unfortunately. Rates will be determined within the 2023 spring semester,” said Amanda Russell, Area Coordinator for Arnold, Morse, and Smith. 

Simmons has also decided to incorporate more triple occupancy rooms. “We’re creating more expanded occupancy triples for first-year students to be able to accommodate upper-level housing needs,” said Russell. There are 1040 beds available on residential campus, but only 630 of those beds are available to upperclassmen. “We do have limitations based on lodging permits via the city of Boston,” noted Russell in response to the addition of more beds. ResLife did not respond to the Voice for further follow-up in time for publication. 

Students are urged to fill out and submit their housing applications on time to avoid being waitlisted, as the applications automatically close once all available beds have been filled. The housing application opens on January 24th at 9 a.m. ResLife has additional room selection information on its website. Questions can be directed to reslife@simmons.edu.