Radcliffe College has decided to keep one dormitory open during Christmas vacation to accommodate students who cannot go home or stay with friends, Mrs. Wilma A. Kerby-Miller, Dean of Instruction, announced yesterday.

The decision reversed a previous college announcement which indicated that all dormitories would be closed and the Administration would supply girls with suggestions of places to stay in the Cambridge area, when necessary.

Unlike Harvard, the Annex does not permit students to remain in their own rooms during the recess, and in former years has kept open one building where girls could stay at a daily rate.

The Administration has not yet determined which dorm or off-campus house will be made available. A $20 fee will be charged for residence during the holiday period or any fraction of it, and meals will not be served. Students who want a room must notify their dormitory head resident and see one of the deans before Dec. 10.

The Administration would give no reason for the change in the ruling. However, the original instructions, which provided for total shut-down of the dorms, had evoked considerable protest from the student body.

In last week's editorial, the Radcliffe newspaper Percussion criticized the shutdown order.