Undergraduate Accommodation
Administration
Day-to-day oversight and upkeep of College rooms is the responsibility of the Housekeeper, Mrs Jackie Searle and her staff of bed makers (or "bedders", though their duties do not include making beds). The Housekeeper's office is in Memorial Court (N1). Mrs Searle can usually be contacted there in the mornings tel: (3)33256.The rooms Co-ordinator Mrs Maureen Dawson deals with day-to -day accommodation issues and can also be found in N1.
The Fellow responsible for undergraduate room allocation ( rather than day-to-day accommodation issues) is the Rooms Tutor, Dr Philip Faulkner. Inquiries concerning rooms allocation, e.g. requests to change room, should in the first instance be directed to your Tutor, who if necessary will then consult with the Rooms Tutor.
One of the conditions of living in College accommodation is that students allow their bedders access to their rooms at least once a week, for cleaning. At the start of the academic year, each student will be notified of their regular 'cleaning day', and is expected to allow the bedder access on that day. It is also an accepted convention that a student's bin placed outside the door means that the student asks not to be disturbed on that particular morning. However, this convention may not be used on the regular cleaning day.
Availability and Allocation
Clare aims to guarantee accommodation for all its undergraduate students for the first three residential years of their course, and the number of students we admit each year is closely linked to the number of students we can accommodate on this basis.The College can not guarantee accommodation to all fourth year undergraduates but aims to offer as many rooms as it can to fourth years given the competing demands on rooms. Financial assistance is availble to fourth years who can not be housed in College accommodation.
Undergraduate accommodation is provided on three sites:Old Court :Memorial, Thirkill,Ashby and Lerner Courts:and the Colony on Chesterton Lane.Room charges vary according to size and amenities.First year undergraduates live in Memorial Court,most second year undergraduates live at the Colony,and third year undergraduates may stay in the Colony or come back into one of the central College Courts. Accommodation after the first year is allocated by ballot.
Under certain conditions, and with the agreement of their Tutor, Director of Studies and the Senior Tutor, undergraduates after their first year may choose to find their own accommodation in town. Any student considering this option must collect a letter on living out from the Housekeeping department in the Michaelmas term of the year before they wish to live out.
Where possible, the College will attempt to make appropriate arrangements for students with disabilities.
The standard of accommodation is high,with a lot of choice in style:en-suite sets,converted attics and seventeen century rooms overlooking the river.Rents vary according to type of accommodfation,and first year rents for 2011/12 are likely to be in the range of £777-£1103 per term,with most being £900.
The en-suite rooms tend to be at the upper end of the price range and the majority contain at least a hand basin- there are one or two that do not have hand basins.
Students eat their main meals in the Hall and Buttery (in Old Court),but snacks and light meals can be prepared in the "gyp- rooms" adjacent to the bedrooms,one gyp-room serving four or five students.
Maintenance and repairs to all college buildings and graduate housing is controlled by the Buildings Office team in Old Court. All requests for maintenance repairs (for example broken windows, water leaks, electrical failures, heating problems etc) are made through a computerised reporting system. This can be accessed on-line via the College network http://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/maintenance/
The roles of Porters are many and diverse. They oversee safety and security, they are the College's first point of reception for visitors, they deal with incoming mail, issue keys, keep records of room bookings and events, and generally keep an eye on what is going on. The Head Porter, Mrs Jane Phelps is also the College's Safety Officer.
Any problems relating to rooms may be taken up with the UCS Food, Accommodation and Finance (FAF) Officer.
Heating and Energy Costs
Rooms in Clare fall into two categories in terms of heating: some are centrally heated and others have electric heaters. As rooms are refurbished the heating system is being updated. The attic rooms have all now been fitted with electric heaters which are movement sensitive, and keep the rooms at a fairly constant level.
You will be charged termly for utilities, (gas, electricity and water), with an adjustment made to the Easter Term bills to reflect the actual costs incurred by students as a whole over the whole year, and you should budget for around £350 for the year.