Move Out Day Concerns Addressed by College
Concerns have been raised by students about the Move Out Day for first year hall residents. In previous years, Move Out Day has always fallen on the last Saturday of term (which would be 29th June), but this year it has been pushed up to Thursday 27th June.
This will not affect the schedules of first years as College has planned the end of term for first year undergraduates to be 26th June. College has ensured that first year exams have ended by this date and that there is minimal teaching during this time. However, for non-first year students whose end of term date is 28th June; these students living in halls have been contacted by Campus Services and Student Services and will provide them assistance if this presents complications for them.
The 27th June move-out date was stated in all accommodation contracts, so residents were well aware of the date, although first year students may be unaware of the deviation from past convention and reasons behind it.
When approached for comment, a College spokesperson said the following: "We have taken steps to make sure disruption to students in halls is kept to a minimum. We have communicated this consistently throughout the year including with a ‘Are You Ready?’ publicity campaign across all campuses, so that residents can ensure plans are in place with plenty of notice. We understand that a very small number of students who are not first years but are living in halls may be affected by the change. Should students have any queries, we encourage them to get in touch”.
The change of Move Out Day to Thursday is in parallel to a change in organisation of this year’s Imperial Festival, which will be collaborative in nature for the first time, with 19 other cultural institutions taking part. The partnership with other institutions imposes constraints on schedule flexibility and, as a result, the Imperial Festival, usually held in April/May, will be on 28th - 30th June this year (and will be named The Great Exhibition Road Festival to reflect the collaborations).
Plans for the Festival include Exhibition Road being closed off, blocking vehicular access. Thus, to avoid potential logistical difficulties for students vacating the halls and for the Festival, College moved forward the date at which hall residents are required to move out. Though this logistical conflict would only affect accommodation halls in South Kensington, the accommodation contracts for the nine first year halls are affiliated, so the same Move Out Day applies to all first year halls.
Furthermore, these halls will open for commercial bookings (offering bed-and-breakfast accommodation) on Saturday June 29th (in past years they open on the first Monday after term ends), possibly to accommodate for an influx of visitors during the Festival weekend.
