One of the last aspects of student life to return to pre-COVID policies is the housing selection process.
This spring, students will be selecting their housing for the 2024-25 school year, in-person, for the first time.
“We're not going to do the email back and forth, back and forth,” said Tracy Benner, Director of Residence Life. Instead, students applying for commons apartments will meet on March 26 in the Chapel and students applying for traditional and suite-style housing will meet in the Campus Center on April 2 to look at floor plans and choose their room in person.
Students applying for traditional and suite-style housing will be placed on a list based on their academic year and priority points. Students earn one point for every semester they live on campus, and one point for completing the residence life and campus life survey sent out by student affairs at the end of the fall 23 semester. The campus life survey is new this year and allows commuters to earn priority points. The priority point list will be available on the residence life O-Zone page soon.
“We'll say, you know, Fred Smith, number two, come on up, and Fred will come up and bring their three suitemates or they'll come up by themselves...and they'll look at a floor plan and they'll say that's where I want to live,” said Benner.
Students will see on paper which rooms are available and the names of students living in already chosen rooms before selecting their room.
Emails were sent to students Jan 29 detailing their options for housing next year, and students can start submitting their address information & housing request form now, they are due for all students March 15 at 5 p.m.
“February is a good month. Figure out who you're going to live with and at least plan A and plan B. And maybe plan C is not a bad idea either,” said Benner.
Those working in residence life are hopeful that moving away from virtual selection will make the process easier for students.
“It is a piece of cake if you follow all of the directions,” said Hannah Mohler, a senior business admin major and Mayne Hall director. “I would say that, especially this year, we've made all of the information readily available, and anything that you could possibly need to find out about housing is either on the Residence Life Ozone page, or we have little station set up in Student Affairs.”
The Student Affairs Office is located on the back side of Hanby Hall on Cochran Alley.
Other changes include upperclassmen students looking to live in traditional dorms can now select between Hanby, Clements and Dunlap-King Hall, and students can apply for a super-single suites which consist of a super-single in each room of a suite.
Questions can be answered by visiting the frequently asked questions document located on the residence life O-Zone page, contacting the Student Affairs Office, or talking to a residence assistant.
