The University of Guelph’s longtime promise to ensure all first-year students can live in residence if they choose is a thing of the past.
The pledge was called off in 2020 due to pandemic-related restrictions – an approach taken in 2021 as well. A decision has since been made not to reinstate the housing guarantee, said Lori Bona Hunt, the university’s director of integrated communications.
“We no longer offer a housing guarantee for incoming students but give priority to secondary school students coming to U of G,” she said via email. “We are looking for ways to expand our residence capacity (which is currently about 4,700) and will work to support students who will need to find accommodation off campus.
“Also, spaces often open in residence during the winter semester.”
University officials are preparing for what could become the school’s largest-ever incoming class this September, based on data released Wednesday by the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre.
As of June 1, the centre had received 5,899 accepted admission offers for the U of G’s main campus.
The 2021 fall semester first-year class had 5,234 students. That was up from the 4,998 seen in 2020 but down from the 5,444 in 2019 and 5,482 in 2018.
“Our goal is to welcome as many students as possible to our campus residences,” Bona Hunt wrote, noting some of the people who have accepted admission offers may “not show up come fall.”
