Freshers allocated accommodation an hour from campus after University runs out of rooms

As many as 1,000 incoming Warwick freshers have been allocated accommodation in blocks as far as an hour away from campus after being told that University rooms were “fully allocated”.

The affected students received emails from the University informing them that “rooms on campus are fully allocated” and that they will be “offered accommodation with one of our partner providers” instead.

This off-campus accommodation includes rooms in blocks such as City Village, Longwood Place, and Albany Student Village.

Of these alternative options, Longwood Place is the closest to campus with it being a 15-minute walk from the University. On the other hand, City Village and Albany Student Village – both located in central Coventry – are located between 45 minutes and an hour walk away from campus.

The University’s decision to house new first years off campus has left parents and students ‘distraught’ and ‘disappointed’

In the email sent to the affected incoming students, the University stated that the partner providers offer “good quality housing located near to the University of Warwick”.

This was reiterated by the University in a comment to The Boar. The University said: “Our partner providers make every effort to accommodate Warwick students together in good quality housing located near to campus and public transport, so that students can feel confident in their home away from home.”

Despite this claim, the University’s decision to house new first years off campus has left parents and students “distraught” and “disappointed”. Some families have even travelled to the area to visit the alternative accommodation to “reassure” their children and evaluate the options.

All incoming undergraduate students who chose the University as their ‘firm choice’ by 19 August were “guaranteed an offer of university-allocated accommodation”, according to the University’s Allocation Principles.

While these guidelines warn that some students may be offered “partnership accommodation” if campus residences are fully allocated, parents have said that “a very clear heads up” should have been given about this when applying to Warwick and for accommodation at the University.

Recent closures of some on-campus accommodation, including Whitefields and shared bathroom rooms in Westwood, have likely had an impact on the number of rooms available on campus this year

In response, the University told The Boar that the allocation of partnership accommodation is “a standard part of the Warwick accommodation offer that has been used in previous years”.

Recent closures of some on-campus accommodation, including Whitefields and shared bathroom rooms in Westwood, have likely had an impact on the number of rooms available on campus this year. A number of Claycroft rooms are also unavailable this year due to ongoing renovation works.

When asked by The Boar, the University did not confirm whether the closures of these accommodation blocks have led to the fully allocated status of campus residences.

The emails announcing the “fully allocated” status of on-campus accommodation have only been sent in the last week – nearly two weeks after A Level results day – meaning that affected students have not been able to go through clearing to change their university choice.

Those who have contacted the University have been met with a lack of empathy regarding the situation. One individual, who phoned the University, said that they were simply told that: “We said ‘uni allocation guaranteed’, not ‘on campus guaranteed’.”

Students who applied for accommodation ‘within minutes of the portal opening’ are among those that have been left without rooms on campus

Another young person expressed her concern to the University via email. In a response, shared on TikTok, she was told: “We are not able to change your accommodation offer, so you will need to decide whether to accept or reject the offer you have been made with our partner provider.”

The University went on to explain that they have referred “several Warwick students to these providers” and that these individuals “will largely be housed together”.

It is thought that over 1,000 incoming freshers have not been allocated housing on campus. The exact number of individuals being offered partner accommodation was not confirmed by the University when asked by The Boar.

Warwick’s accommodation is allocated via a random system, rather than on a first-come, first-served basis. As a result of this, students who applied for accommodation “within minutes of the portal opening” are among those that have been left without rooms on campus, according to one Warwick Facebook group.

It is not the first time that incoming Warwick freshers have been allocated alternative accommodation as a result of the University running out of rooms on campus. In 2018, 39 first-year students were housed in Felden Conference Centre after an “unexpected increase” in students applying to study at Warwick meant that not enough rooms were available on campus.

We would like to reassure all our new students and parents that we are working through our accommodation offers as quickly and diligently as possible

University statement

The random allocation system also means that Warwick accommodation offers are often sent out later than those at other universities. On social media, many incoming students have expressed their frustration as they wait to hear where they will be living when they move to the University at the end of September.

The University told The Boar: “We would like to reassure all our new students and parents that we are working through our accommodation offers as quickly and diligently as possible, and we appreciate their patience while this process is ongoing.

“We are excited to welcome all our new students to Warwick in the weeks ahead.”