Housing Requirements
All full-time undergraduate students (registered for 12 or more hours per semester) at Ashland University are required to live on campus unless the student meets one of the housing exemptions.
Undergraduate students who started their undergraduate coursework at Ashland University prior to Fall 2023 or after Spring 2025:
- Students must live on campus for all four years.
Undergraduate students who started their undergraduate coursework at Ashland University in the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 academic years:
- Students are required to live on campus for their first three years (for a total of six Fall and Spring semesters).
- Students who wish to live off-campus will need to complete the Office of Residence Life's Off-Campus Housing Application.
All approvals are granted on an annual basis. Students must complete the Off-Campus Housing Application each year while attending Ashland University. Falsification of any information in an attempt to receive an off-campus exemption will result in room and board charges applied to your student account, as well as being considered a violation of the Student Handbook. Violations of the student handbook will be adjudicated through our student conduct process.
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Exceptions to the housing requirements may be made for the following reasons:
The student is living in the permanent primary residence of his/her parents or guardian and that residence is within 35 driving miles of AU's main campus (401 College Avenue, Ashland, OH 44805) or the Dwight Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences (1020 S. Trimble Road, Mansfield, Ohio 44906).
Please note that the Office of Residence Life considers the permanent home address of the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) to be the address of record on file with federal, state and/or local tax agencies and where a minimum of one of the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) resides. Students will not be exempted from their residency requirement to live with other family members (e.g. grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, etc.) or friends.
The purchase of property and/or lease or sublease of rental property within 35 miles of the University does not constitute permanent primary residence and will not be considered for housing policy exception.
Documentation Required:
- A copy of the parent/legal guardian’s driver’s license or state-issued identification, showing a matching address. Please redact or cover social security numbers if present on ID.
- A copy of utility bills listing the permanent address for a minimum of six months before the application date. Legal parent/guardian's name must be on the utility bill. Please redact or cover social security numbers if present on document(s).
The student is 22 years of age or older prior to Oct. 1 of that academic year.
No additional documentation is required.
The student is married, divorced or widowed.
Documentation Required:
- Marriage certificate, divorce paperwork or death certificate as appropriate. Please redact or cover social security numbers if present on document(s).
The student is the parent or guardian of a dependent child.
Documentation Required:
- Document showing guardianship of child or birth certificate with the student’s name listed as a parent. Please redact or cover social security numbers if present on document(s).
The student is a new transfer student who has completed four semesters and earned a minimum of 45 credits from an accredited college/university.
Documentation Required:
- A copy of the transcript showing completed credit hours. Please redact or cover social security numbers if present on document(s).
The student has served in the Armed Forces and received an honorable discharge.
Documentation Required:
- Discharge paperwork. Please redact or cover social security numbers if present on document(s).
The student has lived in campus housing for the equivalent of eight fall and spring semesters at Ashland University while enrolled in academic coursework each semester.
No additional documentation required.
The student has earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college/university.
Documentation Required:
- A copy of the transcript showing a completed degree. Please redact or cover social security numbers if present on document(s).
How to Apply to Live Off-Campus
Applying to Live Off-Campus
All approvals to live off-campus are granted by the Office of Residence Life on an annual basis. Students must complete the Off-Campus Housing Application each year while attending Ashland University, even if approval was granted to live off campus during a prior academic year.
If you have a completed housing application & housing agreement (located within the housing application), are later approved to live off campus and cancel your on-campus housing/housing agreement, you may be subject to a $500 termination fee per the rules of that agreement.
To complete the Off-Campus Housing Application, go to housing.rrmbaojie.com.
Maintaining Off-Campus Status
- Approval to live off campus may only be granted through the Office of Residence Life for up to one academic year. Once granted, permission to live off campus is only valid so long as the reason for the original approval still exists. Any change of status during the time period for which the student has been approved to live off campus may nullify the off-campus status, resulting in the student being invoiced for room and board and/or possibly incurring an action for misconduct.
- If you have obtained off-campus status, to retain that status you must maintain a valid local address and phone number through the Office of Residence Life. If you fail to provide an accurate address and phone number to the Office of Residence Life by July 1 prior to the academic year, you will be charged for room and board.
- If, as an off-campus resident, you disrupt the life/lives of those on campus (whether via noise, alcohol use or other means), the university may charge you with a conduct violation and/or rescind your commuter status.
Off-Campus Student Housing Offered through Auxiliary Services
Ashland University owns several properties that we rent on a long-term basis to AU faculty and staff, students and Ashland Theological Seminary students.
