Student housing forms were emailed several weeks ago, allowing students to request on-campus housing and select their meal plan for next semester online for the first time.
The change sought to ease the process of collecting housing request forms rather than having students fill out the “blue sheets” and returning them to their house director or resident assistant, according to the deans’ office. But so far, only 600 students have submitted their requests, though the filing deadline, which wasn’t specified in the campus-wide email that included the link to the new online form, was Nov. 4.
“There was a very simple reason we chose to make the transition to online forms,” Rebekah Dell, assistant dean of women, said. “That’s the ease of use for students, who have busy lives and many commitments. This streamlines the process.”
Traditionally, students would pick up the blue housing form, fill it out, track down their future roommates for their signature, and return it to their housing director or RA to remain in their dorm room or move to another room for the next semester. Now, students can fill out the form themselves in minutes.
Not only does it simplify the process for students but for administrators, including Rita Conrad, aide to the dean of men, and Carolyn Milligan, executive secretary to the dean of women.
“Mrs. Milligan and Mrs. Conrad would put the information into Excel by hand,” Dell said. “Now, I can send them a spreadsheet with the information, and they can update it. This saves a lot of time and gives them more time to focus on helping students.”
And the house directors said they like not having to track down their students to get in their forms.
“It definitely streamlines the process a lot,” said senior Deborah Stevenson, Mauck Residence housing director who is living in Park Place this semester because of the dorm’s renovations. “It’s a really good idea. It makes my job easier.”
Stevenson did express concerns that the new submission process could cause miscommunication regarding roommates, since the online form doesn’t require roommates to sign each other’s forms.
And those who have not submitted their forms yet will receive an email from the dean’s office.
But overall, Stevenson said the system is much simpler now.
“It’s a quick and easy process online,” she said. “I did it myself online, and it took three minutes.”
