Lottery Process and Room Selection

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Document Number: RESLIFE--001
Revision #: 2.0
Document Owner: Dean of Students
Date Last Updated: 05/01/2018
Primary Author: Director of Residence Life and Greek Affairs
Status: Approved
Date Originally Created: 02/17/2012
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General Description

Description:
Information about the lottery and room selection process relative to Residence Life policy.

Purpose:
Delineation of policy and process.

Scope:
Students

Responsibility:
Residence Life
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Requirements

Relevant Knowledge:
Current University policy

Terms and Definitions:
Additional training
Corrective Action
Loss of privilege, general
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Policy Provisions

1. Lottery

In an effort to provide a fair distribution of rooms to returning students, Residence Life has developed a multiple lottery type system that will account for social class standing. Within the lottery process for each building, students will be assigned a point value:

Paying Graduate Students 3 points
Rising Seniors 3 points
Rising Juniors 2 points
Rising Sophomores 1 point

For the purposes of the lottery, Residence Life will use a persons attempted hours to determine their point value. Graduate Assistants who receive housing as part of compensation will be assigned their housing by Residence Life and cannot be part of the Room Selection Process.

The Office of Residence Life will hold sessions to introduce our students to the lottery and room selection process. A power point presentation will outline every step of the room selection lottery and process for room selection. The schedule will have a wide variety of times and days to provide every student with at least two opportunities to attend.

1.1 Pre-Lottery

Find a roommate(s) and suitemates. All students who want to select a suite must do so with roommates/suitemates. Suites and unit forms will only be accepted if completely full. Students who need help finding a roommate should utilize the roommate matching list located outside of the Residence Life Office. Students who need a roommate and are unsuccessful at finding one will be randomly assigned.
Complete the Suitemate Assignment Form for your group. This is the form where individuals state who they are living with and what meal plan they want for the upcoming semester.

1.2 Lottery Numbers

When a group has been formed, a Suitemate Assignment Form needs to be turned into the Residence Life Office.
Residence Life will have a master list and remove names from that list once a form has been turned in – MAKE SURE YOU ARE ONLY ON ONE LIST!
Residence Life will confirm each person’s point value and determine the group's total point value. The total point value will be used to determine the order groups are assigned housing.
Groups are broken up into point values based upon the possible make-up of individuals living in the units/suites.
Everyone in the room/suite will pick a number. If you want someone else in your group to draw your number for you, please e-mail reslife@cumberland.edu. The Office of Residence Life reserves the right to randomly assign residents numbers instead of drawing numbers.

1.3 Lottery Order Assigned

Once everyone in the group has a number, Residence Life will take the lowest number from any member of the group to determine what order the group selects its room.
Example – Your group has 5, 43, 12, 78, 123, 150. Your group will use 5 as its number for room selection
Once all groups have numbers, Residence Life will take the group’s lowest number to determine their place in room selection.
You cannot switch numbers with anyone – in other words, if your group gets 2, 3, 41, 95, 150, and 280 – you can’t let another group have your #3.

2. Room Selection

Starting with the highest point total (18 for Howell Jackson Hall and Horace Lurton Hall, 12 for South Hall), groups will select their room.
Beginning with the group who had the lowest number drawn for that jar, the process will continue until all groups in that jar have selected their rooms.
Once all groups in the highest point total jar have selected rooms, we will proceed to the next point total jar and so on until all rooms are filled or everyone is housed.
Once you and your group have selected a room, you are done.
If you or your group cannot be in attendance at selection, email reslife@cumberland.edu to grant permission to your suitemate and/or Residence Life to draw your lottery number and/or select your room. This must be done at least 24 hours prior to the start of the lottery or the room selection itself.
If you or your group are not at selection and have not e-mailed Residence Life to select your room for you, your group will not get a selection and we will move to the next group.
Residence Life reserves the right to select rooms for groups if it deems it necessary. At this point, rooms will be assigned based on group preferences as indicated on the Suitemate Assignment Forms and in order of lottery numbers.

3. Other Information

Make sure if you cannot be attendance that you are okay with whatever your group picks for you – changes cannot be made after the fact.
Suites or people within the suites may not be changed for purposes of “playing the system.”
Roommate/suitemate changes will not be granted until after the fourth week of the fall semester and the room change process must be followed.
There are a few spaces in each building held open for exchange students – if you would like to room/share a suite with this group of students you may go through the process – however once those spaces are filled you will not be allowed to select the room/suite without finding a roommate.
No students will be housed until they have signed their housing occupancy agreement for the next school year. Students will have until July 1st to cancel their housing for the following fall semester without penalty. After July 1st until the last registration day, students can cancel their housing assignment but will forfeit their security deposit. Students will be subject to our cancellation policy after the last registration day prior to the fall term.
Housing assignments can be changed prior to the school year to meet the needs of the Office of Residence Life. If a change is made, the students will be notified immediately of their new assignment via their school email.

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Performance Evaluation

Performance Metrics:
Compliance with standard policy and procedure

Consequences:
Further training
Loss of privileges
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Subject Experts
The following may be consulted for additional information.
Director of Residence Life and Greek Affairs