The Office of Residence Life has modified the selection process for the upcoming academic year. These changes include shifting priority in the lottery housing system, meal plan requirements, and the proposal for gender neutral housing.
The online 2017-2018 housing application prompts students to enter personal information and rank housing preferences for the next academic year. The online application was released February 3rd, 2017. Any students who wishes to participate in the housing lottery at Stevens, for both on and off-campus housing, are required to complete this application. Students who cannot complete this form will be prohibited from taking a part in the 2017-2018 housing process, including room retention and roommate pull-in. The online housing application and contract is a commitment for the entire upcoming academic year. The form will be closed Wednesday, March 1st, 2017 at midnight.
The following day, Thursday, March 2nd 2017, the online portal for room retention and the roommate pull-in process will be open from 11 am until midnight. On Friday, March 3rd, 2017, lottery numbers will be assigned to students. Lottery number notifications will be sent to each student’s Stevens email.
The selection lottery is separated into two components; On Campus Housing Selection and Stevens Leased Housing Selection (SLH).  Students who apply for housing are given one lottery number, but have a different order or day to select based on the process they choose – on campus selection process or leased housing selection process.
The Office of Resident Life is ready to adopt a policy — one which is already implemented in institutes nationwide — to assign priority to sophomore lottery numbers over upperclassmen students for on-campus housing. “Similar to first year students, sophomores are still adjusting to the institution and making initial connections to campus resources,” explains Dr, Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs.  “They are just beginning to take advantage of all that the campus offers, and just starting to take on leadership roles in student organizations.  For that reason, most colleges take steps to ensure that first year and second year students stay closer to the heart of the campus.”
Trina Ballantyne, Dean of Resident Life, echoes Dr. Klein’s sentiments. The change is a part of a plan to transition students from leased housing to living on-campus and to help them become more interconnected with the campus community when the new residence halls are completed. It was something that had been an internal discussion for some time, but only recently determined to go into effect for the fall 2017 semester.
We were making other housing and dining changes, so we felt it would be better to implement changes all together, as opposed to students feeling like we were constantly making changes to the housing selection process and meal plan options.
Process #1, which is for On Campus Housing, will take place from Tuesday, March 7th to Friday, March 10th. Process #2, which is for SLH and any remaining rooms from Process #1, will take place from Tuesday, March 21st to Thursday, March 23rd.
Despite the disadvantage for upperclassmen in obtaining on-campus housing, senior lottery numbers are assigned priority over other returning students for SLH. Unlike sophomores, seniors and juniors are beginning to transition to life outside of what is offered by Stevens. Upperclassmen, who are already familiar with campus and the surrounding Hoboken area, are given opportunity to exercise independence as young adults to an emerging new world.
To review the updated Room Selection Process, select the housing icon in the myStevens portal. For more information, the remaining Room Selection Information session is this Friday, February 24th, 2017 at 3:30 on the 3rd floor of Howe Center, Fielding Room. For questions or clarifications, it is encouraged to contact the Office of Residence Life by email, [ reslife@stevens.edu ], telephone [ 201-216-5128 ], or making a trip to seventh floor of Howe Center.
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