Room Selection Information Sessions were held the week before spring break (February 27 through February 29) and the week following spring break (March 11 through March 15). These informational sessions were held to guide Elizabethtown College students on the room selection process for the 2024-2025 school year. These sessions were led by Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students Nichole Gonzalez, who is filling in for Tara Hoover—the Director of Residence Life at Elizabethtown College— while she is on leave.
The Room Selection Information Sessions followed a PowerPoint presentation which allowed students to complete their application during the session. The Housing Info Session PowerPoint was sent via email by Gonzalez on Tuesday, March 5 to all students. The PowerPoint also clearly lays out how lottery numbers will work. Lottery numbers are the order in which students can select their housing for next year. The lottery system is random and based on cohort years. It is not solely based on how many credit hours a student has.
“The housing process is similar from year to year, but the new StarRez software (a software company not affiliated with the College software) has made it easier for students to fill out the housing application,” Gonzalez expressed. “The application is now all online and students have found the StarRez software to be easy to understand.”
Another exceptional feature about StarRez is the ability to match with roommates. There is a matching section in the StarRez application that students can fill out and see other students with common interests. This matching functionality is one route to take if students still need to find a roommate. Students must have a roommate, or group, preselected before they can select their room/ILU.
Students had to fill out an application form for housing selection on the StarRez portal by March 15. They will then receive instructions on when to log back onto the StarRez portal and select their room. Independent Living Unit (ILU) house selection will take place on March 21. Regular ILU selection will take place on March 25. Traditional room selection will be April 4, 15, and 16.
While this new software has made housing selection simpler, there is still the issue of students getting the housing they want. Many upper-class students will not be able to live in an ILU due to their high demand. Most third-year and fourth-year students at the College apply to live in an ILU. As class sizes have increased in the past few years, the number of students in each cohort has increased, causing a growing demand for students wishing to reside in an ILU.
As Gonzalez pointed out, “There are more upper-level students this year because class sizes have steadily increased in the past few years.”
To combat this, four ILUs were added for housing selection. Two houses were added to the ILU housing units: one across the street from the Leffler Chapel entrance and one next to the Brown parking lot entrance. In addition, one ILU unit was added in Myer, and one was added in Royer. While some upper-class students will not be selected to choose an ILU to live in, the addition of four ILU spaces shows that the College is taking the necessary steps to account for growing class sizes.
Housing challenges at the College will increase as class sizes continue to grow and the school comes closer to capacity. Room changes may become more difficult and a single person living in a double room will become scarcer. Creative measures will have to be taken to ensure students have proper living accommodations. But the question is raised, how will the College handle housing with its continuously growing class sizes?
