I wanted to share an update on where we are with Spring housing assignments.

Roommate Pairs:

We are happy (and honestly, a bit surprised!) to say that the graduate student release opened up a lot of opportunities for undergraduate roommate pairs to be placed together.  Right now, we think the majority of pairs who applied will be placed together.

Pretty much every opportunity for a pair to be placed together is on Central Campus - all apartment sizes are possibilities (studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 2-bedroom suite, and 3-bedroom).

About half of the available opportunities are in 3-bedroom (4-person) apartments.  These apartments have two small single rooms that share a bathroom and one larger double room that has its own bathroom.  Floor plans are available on our website.

Instead of just randomly placing pairs together in these apartments, we are looking for sets of roommate pairs who want to live together (think of it as a block of four in one apartment).   If you are interested, please have one person from each roommate pair email Housing Accommodations with the names of the four students who want to be placed together.  We will hold off on assigning these apartments for a week so that you have a chance to get in touch with your friends and pair up. If you have friends who originally wanted a single or weren’t in a pair, they can also join you in these apartments - they should email us with the names of the four people who are trying to live together.  You need four people to fill these apartments.

We will use these requests to make assignments in conjunction with the applications you previously submitted.

Singles:

Demand for singles is, as is usually the case, higher than supply.  Right now, fewer than half of the students requesting singles will likely get them.  We recommend that students seeking singles consider using the roommate finder to see if there is someone who has a vacancy in their room with whom you’d wish to live.  If there isn’t a single available for you when we are doing placement, we will use your listed preferences to place you as best we can with a roommate.  You may also want to try to get together with three other students in a 3-bedroom (4-person) apartment – details above.

Assignment Timeline:

We will be sending out the results of reassignments around Thanksgiving.  This information comes out early so students who are moving may be prepared to do so in December.

Assignments for students returning from abroad or leave of absence will go out in early-to-mid December.  Experience has shown that the longer we wait, the greater the chance we will be able to meet your preferences as more students cancel their housing.  We appreciate your patience!

Please let us know if you have any questions!
Jen

The results of the off-campus lottery were emailed to students yesterday (10/13) at 5pm.  At that time, 258 students were released (exactly half male, half female).  Just under 10% of the released students currently live on-campus; the remainder are abroad for Fall 2009.  The only students not released were those who were ineligible for the lottery.

If you were released and later decide you want to be on-campus, you will be placed at the end of the assignment process.  We will still guarantee you a space on-campus, but it is very unlikely that your preferences will be met.

We will continue to review late requests from eligible students on a case-by-case basis. If you are still interested in release, submit your application on the lottery form. (You can ignore the dates on the form.)  We will respond to applications on a rolling basis.

Projected Availability for Spring:

Reviewing the current projected demand for housing for Spring and the projected cancellations, we anticipate having enough space for students seeking housing.  Please keep in mind that the available beds may not allow for roommate pairs to be placed together or for students to receive their preferred room size or location.

Four-Person Apartments: As you may be aware, we offered graduate students the opportunity to cancel their Spring licenses in order to make more space available for undergraduate roommate pairs.  As a result, we have a few three-bedroom (four-person) apartments available.  We originally did not anticipate having any of these available.

Roommate pairs: The options for roommate pairs are somewhat improved, but still scarce.  To give you some perspective, we currently project approximately two-dozen roommate pairs being placed together in empty apartments or rooms (which is about double what we expected before we did the graduate student release).  We expect approximately 260 housing applications.  We can’t really predict how many of those applications will be from roommate pairs, since that varies widely from year to year, but it is likely that only 1/4 to 1/3 of preferred roommate pairs will be placed together.

If you are filling a confirmed vacancy in a room with a preferred roommate, we guarantee placement together.  The above projections are specifically for roommate pairs looking to move together or be placed together in an empty room or apartment.

Singles: We are getting a lot of questions about singles.  Every year, singles open up as seniors graduate early or juniors go abroad.  Yes, there will be singles available, but no, we really can’t predict your chances of getting one.

Indicating Preferences on the Application: Another common question is “What should I indicate as my preferences if I want to live with my friend but I would prefer a single if we can’t live together?” (or vice versa).  The application has ten spaces to list your preferences, in order, as well as an “other information” box.  Believe it or not, we read through all of the applications before we begin placement, so make use of the “other information” box.  Be true to your preferences and list them in order. Use the box to make it clear if your priority is to get a single or if your priority is to live with a friend.  Just keep in mind that we can’t guarantee your preferences will be met, but it is much more likely they will be if you explain them clearly than if you assume we know what you want!

Hopefully some of you found that helpful - please contact us if you have questions about the process, and remember that applications are due October 31.

Good Luck!

Jen

While we understand the concerns that have been shared, we want to emphasize that no building is more or less safe than another.  We take the safety of all of our residents very seriously, and we don’t assign students to a space that we don’t consider to be safe.  If you have specific concerns about safety, we recommend contacting Duke Police.  Members of our team are also happy to speak with concerned students and parents.

We have some exciting progress updates about Central Campus.  As you may know, RLHS and other University offices have been working to enhance the facilities on Central Campus.  Projects that are currently in the works include:

• The tennis court is being repurposed and resurfaced with turf for use by intramural teams and other students.
• The basketball court is being resurfaced.
• The laundry room at 208 Alexander is being renovated and expanded to include a study room and new e-print station.  The building will also be used to sample new finishes for the exteriors of the rest of Central Campus.
• Uncle Harry’s is moving to the “mill village” area.  The mill village is the series of buildings on Anderson between the bus stop and the intersection with Yearby.
• The original Uncle Harry’s building is being renovated into a pub/food service venue.
• A recreation space is being installed in the mill village.  It will have a few machines (ellipticals, treadmills, and a universal machine) and a space for stretching, etc.

Progress is already being made on many of these projects.  We hope to have some of them done by opening and during the Fall semester.  We appreciate your patience!

Telephone Service in Student Rooms and Apartments

Duke’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) has informed RLHS that normal telephone services (ability to call the room or make outgoing calls) will not be available in university residences.

You can, however, plug your own phone into the phone jack in your room/apartment to dial “911″ and connect directly to the Duke University Police Department (DUPD).

Cell Phone Coverage in University Residences

All campus residences have cell phone coverage, however, the university only assures coverage for cell phones with services provided by Verizon or AT&T. Students with other cell phone plans may wish to consider getting a plan through one of these two companies.

Data Connectivity in Duke Residences

Students have increasingly utilized wireless connections to access the university’s computing system. In fact, less than 5% of students are connecting to the system using the data ports in their rooms.

All university residences have wireless coverage.

To make better use of the equipment required to support data connections across campus, there will be only one wired port in your room/apartment this coming year. If you and your roommate find that you need more than one wired port, the university’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) will activate a second port. Second ports not used for a 30-day period will be deactivated.

Please go to the OIT website for additional information regarding these services:  http://www.oit.duke.edu/

We have just completed housing assignments for the incoming first-year class. This process takes a few weeks - we do a lot of data checking both before and after the assignments are made. Assignment information will be posted online for students on June 24th. We appreciate your patience!

We understand that parents often have concerns about their student’s college experience. We encourage you to discuss your concerns with your son/daughter, and let them evaluate if it is a concern for them, as well. This is a great time to encourage them to handle their own issues - we’re happy to hear from them and will do what we can to resolve any issue they bring to our attention.

If you have a concern, but your student doesn’t share it, we’re happy to work with you and try to answer your questions. Ultimately though, we will make decisions based on the information that your son/daughter shares with us. We hope that parents will respect the decisions their student is making at this transition period.

Feel free to contact us at 919/684-4304 or housing@studentaffairs.duke.edu. ]]> http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/for-the-parents-of-the-class-of-2013/feed/ http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/class-of-2013-assignments/ http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/class-of-2013-assignments/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:44:42 +0000 Jen Class of 2013 Assignments http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/class-of-2013-assignments/ Hey Everyone!

We’re done data-checking and ready to upload assignments into DukePass. They’ll be available, as planned, on June 24th. Just log into DukePass, and you’ll be able to view your assignment. You’ll see your neighborhood, building, and room number, as well as your roommate’s name and email, where applicable. We will add your move-in information to this site on July 15 - be sure to check back and get your move-in parking pass!

Please check our First-Year FAQ blog entries before contacting us with questions. If you don’t see an answer to your question in the FAQ, then please contact us.

If there is a problem with your assignment (you were placed in the Wellness Community but did not ask for it, etc.), please let us know by July 5th. We will review any submitted concerns and post updated assignments on July 15th.

Thanks for your cooperation! ]]> http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/class-of-2013-assignments/feed/ http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/requesting-reassignment-2/ http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/requesting-reassignment-2/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:40:25 +0000 Jen First-Year FAQ Class of 2013 Assignments http://blogs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/rlhs/2009/06/18/requesting-reassignment-2/ Update July 8, 2009: Please note that reassignment requests were due July 5th.  Because many other University offices depend on assignment information from our office, we will not be accepting further reassignment requests.  We will re-open the reassignment process in mid-September.  Thank you for your cooperation! 

Before applying for a reassignment, we ask that you take the time to consider the pros and cons of the assignment that you have received. Have you taken the time to get to know your roommate? Is your concern about air-conditioning vs non-air-conditioning? About being in or wanting a single room? About being in a triple room? About being in or not being in the Wellness or Performing Arts communities?

If, after reviewing your pro-con list and the rest of the information on this website you are still convinced that you want to be reassigned to a different space, you may submit a request for reassignment. Requests must be submitted no later than July 5, 2009. We will review requests make changes as space permits. Please note that it is rare for reassignments to occur at this time. Space is very limited. Results will be available on July 15.

Female:

• Alspaugh 3
• Blackwell 1
• Giles 1
• Jarvis 3
• Southgate 3
• Wilson 1

Male:

• Alspaugh 1
• Bassett 1
• Jarvis 1
• Randolph 1
• Southgate 2
• Wilson 3