Important updates in preparation for 2022-23 undergraduate housing assignments

Dear students,

THANK YOU for being a part of the first four classes to live in Stanford’s neighborhoods. Although winter quarter has just begun and the pandemic continues to challenge us, we would like to proceed with residential assignments and the RA selection process for the 2022-23 academic year. The first phase of building residential communities for next year starts on Jan. 12 with the opening of residential student staff selection. Keep an eye on your email for more details.

In preparation, we want to share (1) progress to date with our transition to neighborhoods, (2) adjustments we’re making to respond to challenges students have helped to identify, and (3) long-term plans.

Progress to Date

With your help, here’s what we’ve achieved in the first few months of neighborhoods (learn more via this web resource):

• Our frosh have expressed enthusiasm about their housing assignments this year, with 97.5% of our frosh having been placed in their first choice.*
• For this academic year, we created 11 all-sophomore dorms to help the Class of ’24 get to know each other and had 450 sophomores participate in the roommate matching process.
• We provided more access to the Row for juniors and seniors. The Row is 93% juniors and older this year, as compared to 75% in the 2019-2020 academic year.
• Juniors and seniors had more access to apartment style living than ever before.
• We supported disability accommodations in more houses and dining halls than in past years.

*This does not include late admit students.

Addressing Challenges

• Neighborhood Life: We have heard that you are eager to have a richer experience and more opportunities to come together within each neighborhood, even if your neighborhood’s buildings are far apart. We agree! This winter, we are launching neighborhood community councils, which will take the lead on creating opportunities for the residents of each neighborhood to come together. They have dedicated funding for house and neighborhood events, and late night and weekend programming. Would you like to get involved in helping the students in your neighborhood come together? Fill out this interest form to be a part of your community council by Thursday, Jan. 13.
• Creating Right-Sized All-Frosh Communities: Students continue to share the importance of their frosh year dorm community. We are working to right-size frosh dorms to ensure frosh can connect as a community. We will be decreasing the size of all-frosh communities to 175 or fewer students. To help accomplish this, we will be:
  • Moving Branner from Neighborhood F to Neighborhood N, which will allow Crothers complex to have one building (Crothers) devoted to all-frosh, and one building (Crothers Memorial) devoted to upperclass students. If you are currently living in Branner, don’t worry. Your home neighborhood will remain Neighborhood F for next year. In addition, Lantana will become an all-frosh dorm.
  • Adelfa & Loro will be transitioned from all-frosh houses to upperclass houses.
• Increase Housing Options for Upperclass Students:
  • We will be switching this year’s all-soph housing to upperclass housing to provide more options for upperclass students within each neighborhood.
  • In addition, Adams will be shifting from all-frosh to upperclass.
  • Also, If you are assigned to apartment style housing (EVGR-A or Mirrielees) next year, you will be able to select any apartment within the building instead of being restricted to specific floors/floor segments. This will allow seniors to have access to the best apartments in all of EVGR-A and Mirrielees (after disability accommodation assignments). Apartments will continue to be assigned to students from the same neighborhood. Friends from other neighborhoods will now be able to be next-door neighbors.
  • As we are able, we will work to decrease the number of triples in Mirrielees and EVGR-A.
• Balancing Neighborhoods: Students have shared concerns that there is an imbalance across neighborhoods regarding access to premier living spaces for upperclass students and access to the Row for specific neighborhoods. We reviewed all of the neighborhoods with this concern in mind, and found that Neighborhood A had the least access to premier living spaces for upperclass students and to the Row, while Neighborhood N had the most. To address this imbalance, we will be moving Pluto and 650 Mayfield from Neighborhood N to Neighborhood A. We know that this will be a disappointment for some of the residents living in Neighborhood N, but we believe it is the most fair distribution of housing for all students. Current residents of Pluto and 650 Mayfield will continue to have Neighborhood N as their home neighborhood next year.

As we develop the neighborhoods for the long term, what we will pursue next

• Building linkages between the first-year curriculum on Civic, Liberal and Global Education and the neighborhoods.
• Working to determine long-term names for the neighborhoods.
• Designing how we can reconfigure the use of common area spaces to provide students more room to gather and be creative in their neighborhoods.
• Working to develop a building and fundraising plan for new and enhanced facilities.

We look forward to working with you to develop your neighborhood homes!

Cheryl Brown
Assistant Vice Provost for Residential Education

Susie Brubaker-Cole
Vice Provost for Student Affairs

Sarah Church
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Shirley Everett
Senior Associate Vice Provost for Residential & Dining Enterprises
Senior Adviser to the Provost on Equity and Inclusion

Imogen Hinds
Executive Director for Residential & Dining Enterprises Student Housing Operations

Tim Warner
Vice Provost for Budgets and Auxiliaries Management