Residential Student Guidebook
Living on campus is an essential part of the Clark experience. Our residence halls provide more than just a place to sleep, they are communities where students connect, learn, and grow. The 2025–2026 Residential Student Guidebook offers a comprehensive look at life in our residence halls, including available amenities and services, community expectations, and policies designed to keep everyone safe and supported. Whether you’re curious about room arrangements, residence hall facilities, or the rules that help our community thrive, this guide has everything you need to make the most of your on-campus experience.
Download a PDF of the 2025-2026 Residential Student Guidebook
Housing Processes
Move-in
New incoming students and transfers are welcomed back to campus a few days before classes start each semester. Incoming first-year and transfer students are not permitted to move to campus earlier than outlined move-in dates. During the move in day, you will be able to get your Clark OneCard and room key. Bins are available to assist in moving your belongings into your new space.
Returning residential students are allowed to move in the day before classes. Similarly to new student and transfer move in, during returning student move- in bins are available to assist in moving your belongings into your new space.
Late stay and early arrival requests
Undergraduate students are welcome to request to stay past the closing date or to arrive early before the opening date. Typically, our office allows students to stay up to 3 days late and allows returning students to arrive up to 3 days prior to the first day or classes. All applications to stay late and arrive early will be located on your Housing & Dining Self-Service portal, under the ‘Helpful Links’ section. Students must complete these requests on time to guarantee approval. Please be sure to view the Residence Calendar for the closing and opening dates.
*International students and students whose permanent address (as listed in Banner) is 500 miles or more away from campus are eligible to receive three days of the late stay/early arrival fee waived. These students must complete the corresponding Request form and be approved in order to stay late or arrive early. Incoming students cannot request early arrival, please refer to the First-Year and Transfer Student page for information about move-in dates.*
| Request | Cost |
|---|---|
| Approved late stay or early arrival | $30 per day |
| Arrive unannounced requesting key | Daily rate + $100 fee |
| In the halls without permission | Daily rate + $150 fee |
Room change requests
If you’d like to request a change to your on campus housing assignment, please complete the Room Change Request form that is located on your Housing & Dining Self-Service portal. The form is open for a month over the summer, for a majority of fall semester, and for a month in spring semester. Please note that these requests are not guaranteed, but our office will do our best to meet your requests.
Fall 2025: Students who want to change their rooms will be able to submit a room change request starting Monday, September 8 , 2025 and will close on Monday, November 10, 2025 . The form will be available online and further instructions will be sent to your Clark email address when the form becomes available. At this time, singles are very limited, so it is highly unlikely that you will be able to switch into a single room even if you complete the room change request form.
Dining services
Harvest Table provides dining services and meal plans at Clark University. Students, staff, and community members a like can enjoy a variety of offerings on any given day.
For more information on the types of meal plans offered, visit their website on meal plans. Meal plans begin the Sunday between the first day of classes for each semester and end following breakfast the day that the residence halls close.
Dining services and meal plans are only available during the Fall and Spring semester. Limited services are available during break times- schedules are posted in advance. During these break times, we encourage you to plan ahead for meals. You are encouraged to shop ahead, bringing food to campus with you when possible. If pre-arrival shopping is not an option, you can make use of delivery or mobile dining options like InstaCart, UberEats, DoorDash, GrubHub, etc. at your expense.
Meal plan changes
- Students are able to add a meal plan anytime by emailing the Residential Life & Housing office at reslife@clarku.edu . When emailing, please include your Clark ID number as well as the meal plan request.
- Students may change their meal plans at any point during the summer/winter break and through the first 2 weeks of school each semester. For specific dates each semester, please check the Residence Calendar
- During the summer/winter break and through the first two weeks of each semester students can login to your Housing & Dining Self-Service portal and click on Meal Plan Selecting & Changes to add, increase, or decrease their meal plan themselves.
- Students can request to cancel their meal plans by emailing our office at reslife@clarku.edu.
- After the first two weeks of the semester, RLH is unable to process any meal plan cancellation requests. .
Once a request is processed, it takes between 2-5 business days for the change to be reflected on a student’s account.
