JWU Changes Residency Requirement for Incoming Students

PRESS RELEASE

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — November, 29, 2023 – Johnson & Wales University announced new residency requirements for incoming students. Starting in Fall 2024, all freshman students will be required to live in on-campus housing for their first three years.

The new policy raises the residency requirement by one year, as the university already required students to live on campus during their first and second years. Currently enrolled students will not be affected by the change.  

“More than 50 percent of students at JWU’s Providence Campus call one of the on-campus residence halls home,” said Melanie V. Tucker, Ed.D., vice president of Student Affairs and dean of students. “Living on campus allows our students to experience the best of Providence in a close-knit community.”

The new policy will apply to all incoming undergraduate students, including international students. Exceptions can be made is a student meets one or more of the following criteria:

• Student will be living at home with parent(s) or legal guardian(s) within 25 miles of JWU’s campus. 
• Student is married or has dependent(s).
• Student has a disability requiring off-campus housing
• Student turns 24 years old before the first day of classes of their first enrolled semester.
• Student is not eligible to live on campus 

The university is adopting the new policy for several reasons, including student retention and engagement, better access to support services on campus, encouraging a stronger culture of involvement and Wildcat pride, and concerns about the lack of housing in the Providence area.

“Community partnership is a pillar of Johnson & Wales' mission,” said Providence Campus President Marie Bernardo-Sousa, LP.D. “Here in Providence, JWU is committed to working with the city by freeing up community housing and allowing more options for those who live and work in the Providence area, contributing to an overall vibrant city for our students to call home.”

Learn more about residential life at Johnson & Wales University here.

About JWU

Founded in 1914, Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with more than 8,000 graduate, undergraduate and online students at its campuses in Providence, Rhode Island and Charlotte, North Carolina. An innovative educational leader, the university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in arts and sciences, business, engineering, food innovation, hospitality, nutrition, health and wellness. It also offers undergraduate programs in culinary arts, dietetics and design. JWU’s unique model provide students with the personalized attention, academic expertise and industry connections that inspire professional success and personal growth. The time students spend at JWU is nothing short of transformative, as demonstrated by career outcomes, expected earnings and economic mobility rankings. The university’s impact is global, with alumni in 125 countries pursuing careers worldwide. 

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