UW Housing & Food Services (HFS) is an integral partner in the University of Washington's drive to provide vibrant student life and educational opportunities. HFS provides students with housing that meets their needs, promotes community, supports their academic success, leadership development and social connections, and facilitates campus engagement.
Our Passion
We are here to foster holistic learning. This is our passion. This drives everything we do individually, in teams and as an organization. Everything we do is with the intent of creating opportunities for our students to grow in all aspects of their lives. To be successful at this, we must be willing to be learners ourselves and have an innovative mindset.
Our Convictions
Stewardship
We believe in being sensible stewards. We must continually earn the respect of those we serve. Our clients place great trust in us—trust with their funds, their well-being and their growth. Our responsible leadership will contribute to earning and maintaining that trust. We cannot be stagnant or cling to legacy. We must continually evolve and apply incremental improvements. This means we will work within a continuously transformational environment. We believe the best way to be highly trusted stewards is to:
- Consider every decision from a perspective of sustainability
- Act responsibly with financial resources
- Operate and communicate with transparency
- Ensure our decisions are proactive, thoughtful and deliberate
- Use assessment to enhance our professional insights through the use of data
- Act with and expect complete accountability
- Be a learning organization that is continually seeking new ways to improve
Customer Service
We stand for delivering engaging customer service. For us, customer service is an overall orientation for how we engage those we serve. This means having a positive attitude, acting with respect, and being positive and personable. We believe the best way to deliver engaging customer service is to:
- Make it as easy to do business with us as possible. (While maintaining the integrity of our other convictions, we strive to be accommodating and dedicated to delivering an appreciated customer experience.)
- Remain flexible and open to new ideas
- Value the importance of teamwork in creating a seamless customer experience
- Be collaborative to incorporate a diversity of perspectives and ideas
- Be genuinely welcoming of those we serve
- Be responsive to our customers. (We proceed confidently and enthusiastically; however, we are open to new information, ideas and concepts. This does not mean we are reactive. Our decisions are thoughtful and purposeful.)
- Be fair, consistent and equitable with everyone in our actions and decisions
- Be cognizant that our staff are subject-matter experts, and entrust and empower their perspectives and contributions
Welcoming Community
We stand for creating a welcoming community for our students. We know this means more than people simply living together. For us, this means creating environments that nurture individual growth and connections with others. We believe the best way to create a community is to:
- Promote inclusiveness in thought and practice, and make inclusiveness a foundation for how we engage each other
- Be vigilant and thoughtful to ensure our experiences are created with safety and security (physical and emotional) in mind
- Foster a sense of belonging
- Have fun
- Celebrate, support and encourage our staff, who are central and instrumental to the development of this community
Student Development
We stand for promoting student development. We believe the best way to optimize our environment to facilitate student development is to:
- Seek ways to create opportunities and experiences for our students to learn and grow
- Be mindful that most experiences are opportunities for student learning
- Be steadfastly dedicated to student success
- Champion student growth
- Craft experiences that assist students in negotiating a diverse world
Advancing the UW Mission
We stand for proactively advancing the UW mission, UW values and the UW experience. We will uphold the current iterations and perspectives, remaining focused on the timeless nature of what the UW stands for. We believe the best way to advance the UW mission is to:
- Think and act with an attitude of access toward all aspects of student life, including physical, emotional and financial. (This is more than just providing housing and meals. This reflects our dedication to creating an environment suitable for holistic learning with the intent of creating possibilities.)
- Align with the core tenets of the UW mission while remaining open to current discussions and articulations of the UW mission.
- Continue to view our roles as educators. (While we deliver specific services, we are a major contributor to our students’ life learning and long-term growth.)
HFS is a self-sustaining department
HFS is a self-sustaining department, meaning we get no funding from the UW but instead generate funding through billing for our services. HFS operates without outside financial assistance, including UW or state funds. As a result, the services we provide are paid for by those who directly benefit from them (i.e., our residents, customers and guests). HFS does not make a profit for owners or shareholders, like the private sector.
The prices and fees HFS charges directly relate to:
- The amount of money it takes to provide food, rooms, amenities and residential programming
- Meeting all financial obligations
- Collecting enough money to pay for its capital and operating expenses
- Maintaining a responsible reserve fund for emergencies and future capital costs
While the cost-of-living in Seattle is very high compared to most parts of the country, HFS finds ways to mitigate those costs to keep your rent and dining costs comparable to, or less than, other universities in the state. HFS does things like operating sustainably to cut down on utility costs, exploring other revenue streams during the summer months to offset academic year expenses, and getting the best food supply costs to keep food prices as affordable as they can be in Seattle.
As an integral part of the UW, HFS proudly provides you with the most affordable on-campus living experience possible, while still delivering the quality and range of services you expect.
Housing and dining bills
Why are housing and dining bills separate from tuition bills? Doesn’t the University use the same money to provide on-campus housing and food as it does to offer classes and other things on campus?
While you might think the UW pools all the money it collects through bills and fees together to fund everything, it instead has several departments and units to handle specific responsibilities. The UW utilizes auxiliary departments to handle some of these. Auxiliary departments are part of the UW, but they have separate funding sources, usually generated from the service they provide.
For more information about your housing and dining bills, watch our video, How to Understand Your Billing Statement.
HFS’ support for student success
- Offers six Living Learning Communities housing 1,680 students
- Provides 150 study spaces in HFS facilities
- Employs over 1,000 students
- Provides student-leadership opportunities, including 200 residential student staff members responsible for building community, and over 200 leader volunteer roles
- Advises student programming boards, which coordinate over 100 events for residents each year
Residence halls and apartments
Amenities
Discover all the amenities for residents.
What our residents said
From the Autumn Resident Survey, 2021
- 89% residents agree that living on campus had enhanced their ability to live independently
- 80% residents agree that living on campus had enhanced their ability to work toward what they want to accomplish while at UW
- 76% residents were overall satisfied with living with Housing & Food Services this year
- 86% of residents living in LLCs say their community enhanced their ability to build new relationships
- 91% of residents were satisfied with peers’ respect for each other’s individual differences
- 84% of residents were satisfied with the precautions taken by HFS to mitigate the spread of COVID-19
- 95% of residents feel safe in their room
PARTNERSHIPS
HFS partners with a number of UW academic departments and programs, supporting class space needs, enhancements to course offerings, co-curricular activities and research.
Read more Facts and Figures about our student's success.
Who we are
We believe that care is the most essential ingredient of our business. It makes us work as people, for other people. It helps us create experiences that are meaningful for our students. Care adds value to the lives of the people we serve.
A great outcome or experience for a student is a great source of pride for us. We have gathered a short collection of student stories about their lives and Husky Home experiences that make us very proud to say we’re UW HFS.