Warwick accom off campus

[Michaelah]

A friend's DC has just been allocated accom at Warwick and was a bit shocked to be told there was no room on the main site so he would be put in private accom in Coventry.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Does anyone with an older DC at Warwick have any words of wisdom about how much of an issue this would likely be socially for a first year?

I'm not in your position but I live in Leamington spa and there are LOADS of students both here and in Coventry due to lack of accommodation on campus at Warwick and also Cov uni being fxcking massive now.

From what I see and hear from my son (not at uni but also uni age) there's a really good student social scene in both places.

What kind of private accommodation? Is it a private student halls shared with Coventry Uni or a shared house with other Warwick students?

If they're out of space on campus, the chances are that there are going to be a bunch of them in the same situation (unless they were only one room short!). Are they putting them all in the same private halls? If so, they'll probably form a good social group there.
The other question to ask is whether they will be able to swap onto campus if people drop out. I think sometimes universities have resorted to putting a few in Travelodge or similar, on the assumption that within a few weeks they will be able to move them onto campus.
If it's the university "putting them" into private halls, is the university going to subsidise the rent down to what students are paying on campus? (Or maybe even less, to compensate for being off-site?)

It’s a shame not to be on campus in your first year but it’s also really common for students to live in surrounding areas and loads of transport links to campus. I sometimes work over that way and get a bus from Coventry towards the campus and it‘a chocka with students at all times of the day!

There is a great Facebook group called something like warwick university parents group. There has been lots of discussions about the accommodation situation. It is also really useful throughout the year!

Yes the Facebook page is really good and helpful. Warwick University Parents.
The uni has put 1000 first year students into brand new student accommodation near Coventry and also walkable from the campus because some of the current campus stock has been taken out of use (poor condition). The problem is this wasn't mentioned until recently so it's been a shock as 1 of the main appeals of the uni is first year campus accommodation etc.

Warwick uni is in Coventry so being off campus isn’t that big a deal, depending on where his accommodation is? There’s very good public transport to the uni.

It's a fairly big deal if you were expecting a campus university and ended up with accommodation 3 to 4 miles away, in accommodation you haven't considered or known about before and signing up with a private provider so there is no chance of moving onto campus later on if rooms become available as you are tied into a contract.

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/accommodation/students/partnership/

It wasn't mentioned as a possibility before (in prospectus, on website or at open days) and has randomly been announced over the past week.

I really feel for all the students and families affected. They will be with other students, but those choosing Warwick probably won't doing so because they wanted city centre living.

Also , the university has handled this very badly springing it on students when they were already tied into the university (a week after results day) having never mentioned it before. These are students who had Warwick as a firm choice, met their grades and applied for accommodation when they were told to. Also there has been no communication about why this has happened to apparently 1,000 students this year (having not happened before).

Take note future students choosing Warwick!

Warwick have failed to accommodate all students on campus before. I remember about 12 years ago there was a similar problem, albeit on a much smaller scale. Surprised it has reoccurred in these numbers though.

No one (outside the uni) knows the actual numbers I don't think, "a thousand" is a the rumour going round. It might be based on someone supposedly calling Warwick and asking. But it does seem to have affected quite a few as the partner accommodation next to the uni filled up and only Coventry town centre available now, apparently.

It sounds not nearly so bad if there will be lots of them and they'll be together in one of the private halls walkable from campus.
Possibly planned renovations have overrun...

The issue now is the off campus new accommodation is now full and they are still sending out accommodation emails to those waiting to say they have been allocated off campus and now the options are in the centre of Coventry. If they had sent all the off campus emails at the same time all the students would have had a chance to book the new option at the same time.

I hadn’t realised they didn’t tell everyone at once - that is shabby and explains why the one just off campus offered was full L ready when he contacted them.

I do think there is some sleight of hand about “partnership accom”. The accom guarantee does mention sometimes using partner accom and I have seen that elsewhere eg UCL often as part of their regular accom offering takes blocks of rooms in private halls, but then the student’s relationship is with UCL, with the usual swapping scope and protection if they have suspend etc. Warwick isn’t providing accom at all - they are just pointing students to private providers and leaving students to sign private contracts. So actually there is no accom guarantees- the only advantage of going to one of the 3 indicated by Warwick is that there are likely to be more fellow Warwick students there. Which is something, but it isn’t a guarantee.

Thank you so much all for the pointers and replies - really helpful.

As a former Warwick student, I would honestly not be happy with that. They could end up being the only Warwick student in their kitchen, which I'd imagine would be a bit isolating.

I think that when they're offered Partner accommodation through the University, they are then offered in a block (or maybe a flat?) that has been reserved by Warwick Uni so will at least be together with other Warwick Freshers.

It's still rubbish and nothing like they were lead to believe.

It is awful how this has been done by Warwick. Especially not even telling them all at once!

Hi, I’m going into third year at Warwick at write for the student paper. We’re really keen to speak to people who haven’t been allocated on campus accom, please send me a message if you’re happy to have a chat!

Recommend that they get on the Facebook parents group. It’s really supportive and there are others in the same boat.
It seems they are putting all the of campus students in the same 3 places, so hopefully it will be just like any other halls, just not on campus.

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Lw4iJSgpR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Son is in year 3 now and made most of his friends away from accommodation so I don’t think it will make too much difference.

@FiveFoxesny ds is looking at Warwick soon and this is really odd putting.

When looking at London unis we expect the acxmd isn't on a campus and we take that into account !
One reason ds likes another uni is because the campus is all on one site. Being out of it as a first year and having to get busses isn't good enough

This is really off putting .
I don't know if we want the risk really

I think for future years - go to the Open Days and ask them about why this happened this year. Do they have a reason why it has happened and is this year a one off or is it going to happen every year from now on.

So far, as far as I am aware, Warwick haven't given any reasons. But the Open Days would be the perfect place to ask.

Some poor families are still waiting to hear

The rumours I’ve heard are that one of the on campus halls is being renovated. I think some of the people who have been allocated that one need to move mid year into the renovated bit so that the bit they’re living in for the first half can be done.
I’ve also heard they’ve taken on extra students this year.
i would definitely ask at an open day what the plans are for future years as this seems to have been a surprise this year.
it does seem like they have sourced decent off campus choices, but obviously if you are looking at Warwick because you like the idea of living on campus (as we did 2 years ago) this is off putting.
They seem to have handled it badly and it’s taken a lot of people by surprise. I hope if it’s going to happen again they will be more open in their prospectus and maybe give the option to people to choose off campus when they are selecting their choices. Some people may prefer it.

If you’re seriously considering Warwick, I would get on the Facebook group and once it’s settled down and people are actually living in the off campus accommodation get on there and ask questions.

Wow this is really shocking! Warwick must know that their campus uni status is an important element of their appeal - these first years have been signed up under false pretences. Coventry is a very different beast to either campus or Leamington.

Yes, one of the halls (Claycroft) is being renovated. This was talked about at the open days and online in the accommodation information. The accommodation costs for that hall were kept lower to compensate for them having to move flats mid year. Which is all fair enough.

However there are 679 bedrooms in that hall and so capacity would only be reduced a bit (and actually I am not sure if that number already takes into account the reduction). There are rumoured to be 1,000 freshers off campus.

Also Whitefields hall (195 students) has been removed.

That still doesn't account for the sheer numbers who aren't on campus. The only explanation is that Warwick have increased their intake and don't have enough space anymore. If that is the reason, I can see it changing.

But asking them for reasons and assurances going forward is the only way to get their explanation.

I thought Warwick was well known for this? I’ve certainly seen similar posts on MN over the years and it was something I warned a relative of mine about last year when they were considering putting Warwick as an insurance choice. If it’s an ongoing issue I can’t see it changing 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's not previously been on this scale but it seems to happen every few years. It would put me off going to Warwick.