Office of Residence Life to Introduce Housing Lottery

Current Dorm Program Ends in May

By Jocelyn Jones

The Office of Residence Life will institute new rules governing on campus housing beginning in May. The office will drop its current room registration procedures and replace it with online registration.

The new room selection process does not guarantee housing for all who wish to live on campus for fall 2009 semester, officials said. The only students who will have the opportunity to be guaranteed housing will be students on a full scholarship in the BSU Honors Program. For remaining students, rooms will be assigned by lottery. 

The lottery system is data for all students living on campus that meet eligibility requirements. This will then be downloaded into the HM computer (Housing Management) program. Based on the space available and the number of students that have met the requirements will be randomly selected to receive a lottery number.

If you have received a number then you will be able to select a room for the academic year of 2009-2010. Once you have received the lottery number then you must pay the $100.00 room deposit at the Office of Student Accounts in the Henry Administration building. If you do not pay your room deposit then you will be automatically be remove from the room selection process with no hesitation.  If you do not have a lottery number then you will not be eligible for the lottery or the residence halls and would have to make living arrangements for next year. You may want to give notice to the person who is responsible for your housing arrangements and always check your BSU for frequent updates.

As for eligibility requirements for qualification a few basic things need to be put into place:

• You will have to be in academic standing just to be considered of housing accommodations.
• Students that have lived on campus with less than eight semesters will be considered.
• Students may not have any judicial sanction which prohibits you from residing on campus.
• Students must be in good financial standing with the University, and if you do owe money then you will not be considered.

This means that if you have a 2.0 cumulative GPA. then you will not be able to live on campus. If you have lived on campus eight semesters or more (four academic years) then you will not be able to live in the traditional residence halls. If you have a balance that is due to the University, then you will not be able to participate in the lottery.

For the returning students, the rooming assignments will not be the same. The room

selection process is changing due to an increase in size of the students that are living on campus. The ORL is trying to accommodate everyone such as the new incoming and returning students. As a reminder there at the end of the spring 2009 semester the ORL will check grades to make sure that the students meet the following requirements that were listed. Any vacancies that may occur due to contract terminations, rooms will be up for grabs for the transfer or current commuter students.

There will be three phases and the students will have to select a room during one of these three phases. There will not be a waiting list for the students who have missed their room sign-up process. If they do not choose to select a room when the time is given then they will not have a room for the upcoming year in the traditional residence halls. Lottery-Priority Groupings and phases are located at the Office of Residence Life in Alex Haley Hall, room 160. For any additional questions or things you are unsure about you can email questions at the housing@bowiestate.edu, go to the BSU website or pick up a newsletter at the ORL in Haley Hall.