Have a vacant bed in your room? Here is the important information to know:
Students with a vacant bed in their unit should assume that it can and will be filled at any time by housing.
Students with a vacant bed are encouraged to speak with friends and classmates to find a roommate to fill the vacancy.
If a student has someone who is willing to fill the vacancy, they should complete the Room Change Request Form.
Notification of New Roommate
Students will typically receive an email with at least a 24-hour notice that they will be receiving a new roommate. They will also be connected with the roommate via one of the emails they receive.
However, there may be circumstances where Residence Life is unable to provide a full 24-hour notice. In these cases, the students with the vacancy will still receive an email, and other attempts may be made to inform the student that someone is moving in without a 24-hour notice.
Students will not receive a separate notice that they are receiving a new roommate if that roommate is anticipated to move in at the start of:
- Fall Semester
- January Term
- Spring Semester
- Summer I Term
- Summer II Term
Students can check if they have been assigned a roommate by going to their Housing Portal and looking at the Assignments section. Students are able to toggle between the different terms and see if someone has been assigned. Occasionally, Residence Life may temporarily disable the toggle feature for a brief time while working on assignments. However, Residence Life will announce when students are able to check to see if they were assigned a roommate.
Once a student is assigned to a bed vacancy for the beginning of the term, that will be their assignment regardless if the person currently in the room finds another roommate option.
Students with vacancies are encouraged to try to fill their vacancy once one occurs in their unit if they have a preferred roommate.
Relevant Policies
“Occupy” or “occupied” in this section can mean either placing items in a vacant space or using/letting someone use furniture of that vacant bed space.
Fees for Occupying a Vacant Bed Space
Students who occupy a vacant side of the room for any reason or length of time will be charged a fee. Students in units that hold more than two individuals (triples and quads, for example) will all be charged if the vacant bed is occupied. Students in these units should speak with their Area Coordinator in advance if they realize a roommate is occupying a vacancy.
Expectations During Room Assignments
Students found to be discouraging other students from selecting their room to move into for reasons not related to not being a good fit (once that conversation has actively occurred) or taking actions once someone is slated to move in to discourage the move may go through the conduct process and may receive fines depending on the circumstances.
Students with a Vacancy in Their Unit Must:
- Keep that side of the unit clean
- Cannot occupy the vacant space in any capacity. The space for the vacancy includes any furniture that would reasonably belong to another roommate if there were one. For example:
- The bed
- Desk
- Half of the closet space is shared or full closet(s)
- Bookshelf
- Space in the bathroom cabinets or around the bathroom sink
- Wall space for decorations
- Do not let others, including guests, use those spaces
- Similarly, cannot “self-approve” someone to move in. All room changes must go through the Residence Life Professional Staff and be approved.
- Be welcoming to any assigned roommates or during any attempts to get into contact to discuss being roommates
- Residence Life will facilitate getting potential roommates connected via email, should the person moving wish to talk with potential roommates before selecting a room option