Anger over Warwick Accommodation

**UPDATE: We were made aware Wednesday 12 November afternoon that Warwick Accommodation has changed their decision. Click here to read more.

Warwick Accommodation have neglected to inform students that finalists will no longer be able to apply in groups for on-campus accommodation, students have complained.

Those currently on their year abroad have been particularly stressed and frustrated about the difficulties that they say are likely to occur as a result of the change.

The decision made by Warwick Accommodation will not only affect current students on their year abroad, but also any students intending to live on campus in their final year, as well as students who are planning to take a year abroad as part of their degree in future years.

“We were not informed”
Students complained that they were not informed about the change before applications were sent out. There has yet to be an official communication from the University as of the first week of November regarding the matter.

A petition asking for the return of group applications has been started by student Jessica Price in response to the decision. It has gained over 200 signatures in 24 hours.

Rosie Leverton, a third-year French and English student, argued that even if their reasons were valid, they should have informed students before November, as she claimed that it has put many in a much more difficult position to find alternative accommodation.

Jessica Price, a third-year French and German studies student, said: “We only found out about these new changes upon applying to Warwick Accommodation. Usually there should have been an option to live with friends, but on the application form it said we could only apply as individuals.”

“Advised to look off-campus”
When Fiona Kinloch, a third-year French Studies student, contacted Warwick Accommodation about the change, they were told that it was to accommodate for the increased numbers of incoming first-year students.

They also said that there were issues with the group system itself, such as the difficulty of filling gaps left in flats.

Ms Kinloch was told that off-campus properties were recommended as an alternative. She however commented: “Although I was told it would be possible to live in a group in off-campus accommodation, I would rather not live in Leamington again.

“I would also like to know what happens to the other groups of students wishing to live together once off-campus accommodation is full.”

Olivia Cerullo, a third-year French with Italian student currently on her year abroad in France, felt that the process which had led to the decision was ultimately flawed, as Warwick Accommodation is obliged to provide room for the right amount of returning students.

She added: “They know that the majority of finalists will choose off-campus accommodation rather than isolating themselves from their friends.

“By only allowing group applications for off-campus properties, they are making space for first-years, but at the expense of finalists.”

Jessica Miley, a fourth-year German and English student, told the Boar that she believes that living with friends makes the stressful final year of university much more manageable. She said that she could not understand why Warwick had made the sudden change.

“The gap rooms are unpopular”
When contacted for a statement, the University responded: “It is simply no longer sustainable for the University to accommodate these requests for group accommodation.

“The gap rooms [as a result of finding a set of rooms for groups] are unpopular with first-year students who would prefer not be placed with a very close knit group of older students.

“Of even more concern is that the vast majority of single gap rooms that become available for emergency student accommodation needs are also increasingly tending to be associated with those student groups because of the higher turnover in those unpopular leftover rooms.

“We are surprised at the suggestion that this change will push groups of finalists off campus.

“We fully expect that all those students will continue to be attracted by the considerable allure of on-campus accommodation and that they will not elect to live elsewhere simply because some of their friends may be a few hundred metres away.

“The University is sorry that some of the affected finalists did not become aware of this change before they began their accommodation planning, but we do believe that this will benefit many more students in the long run, particularly the most vulnerable.”