The license that students sign when registering for on-campus housing requires them to stay on campus for a full school year, but many students are not aware of the rule.

The University Housing License for 2009-10, which is similar to ones for previous years, states, “The only permissible reason for a resident to cancel the license is if he or she will not be a student at the University.”

According to Grace Hoefner, senior associate director of Residential Life, students who are withdrawing, graduating, transferring, studying abroad or participating in the National Student Exchange Program have to fill out an appeal form in order to cancel their housing for the spring semester, in which case they are generally exempt from the terms of the license.

Similarly, the license states that residents who withdraw from the University for the current semester before the Dec. 1 deadline, but remain students for the spring 2010 semester, are “not liable for fulfilling the terms of the license for the spring semester.”

According to Hoefner, the full-academic year housing commitment has been a University policy for at least 14 years, if not longer. She did say that last year’s housing situation was a special case because of the number of temporary triples that still existed at the end of the fall semester.

“We made the exception and allowed anyone who wanted to move off campus the opportunity to do so,” Hoefner said.

Approved housing cancellation requests are based on the status of the student for the spring semester.

Residents who want to move off campus but do not have an approved housing cancellation request will be held “liable for room rent fees for the balance of the academic year.”

“Failure to occupy a space after signing this license does not relieve the student of the responsibility to fulfill its terms,” the license states.

In order to receive permission to cancel housing and, in turn, the license, the student must have submitted a written request by the end of the fall semester.

According to the license, this request must have been submitted and approved by Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m. in order to avoid a $200 fee.

If a cancellation is approved between Nov. 6, 2009 and Jan. 21, 2010, it will result in a $200 fee, with no exceptions.

“Residents who attend a SUNY-sponsored program or transfer from the University and do not submit a Request for Housing Cancellation form by the cancellation deadline will be billed for the $200 housing cancellation fee even if they are not yet accepted to the program or another institution,” the license states.