In its efforts to build community, Southern has chosen to be primarily a residential university as opposed to a commuter institution. The campus provides two residence halls, which are gender-exclusive. For more information regarding housing, visit southern.edu/housing.
Single students under the age of 23, who are enrolled for more than six semester hours, and do not live with their parents or legal guardians, are required to live on campus. Exceptions to this policy are outlined below.
GENDER HOUSING ARRANGEMENTS
Except for students who live in family housing and university-approved situations, Southern students of any age may live only with individuals of their same gender.
HOUSING AGE REQUIREMENTS
The residence halls are designed for currently enrolled undergraduate students under 23 years of age. Those who are older than 23 may live in the residence halls if space permits, but only after all younger students have received an on-campus housing assignment.
PETITIONING TO LIVE OFF CAMPUS
Students who are not 23 or have completed the academic minimums above may request an exception by submitting a petition to the Housing Appeals Committee. Exceptions are rarely given to freshmen and sophomores, more often given to juniors, and almost always to seniors. The petition form along with pertinent information on requesting an exception to policy is found at: southern.edu/housing.
A student’s petition is complete only when the following information has been submitted: parental approval, specifics regarding the off-campus residence at which you hope to reside, a letter of invitation if the student will be living with a family, and the reasons an exception to the policy is being requested. The committee may request further information to make an informed decision, such as proof of the parent's local residence when a student makes the statement as part of the petition that parents have moved to the Chattanooga area. Incomplete petitions will not be evaluated.
When making a decision on a petition, the committee also considers a student’s citizenship—has a student had a clean record for at least a year—and one’s chapel attendance—is it up-to-date and does the student consistently complete this requirement. While not the sole criterion on which a decision is made, a no answer to any one of those questions decreases the chances of a petition being approved. Requests will not be considered if a student is on citizenship probation.
If approval has been obtained through the housing appeals committee, the approval is for that school year only and you will have to submit requests for each subsequent school year. Moreover, if you change residences after having been approved, you are expected to inform the office of Student Development of such a change.
Students who do not abide by the residence requirements will have their registration placed on hold.