Overview

Please carefully review the following information regarding the housing selection process for fall 2008-2009 as there have been a number of significant changes from previous years.

Following the completion of the March 3-6 housing deposit event it became clear that the demand for on-campus housing had surged to unprecedented levels. While it is gratifying to know that students want to live on campus, the demand has far exceeded the supply. Consequently, we do not anticipate being able to house every student who placed a housing deposit for next fall.

After careful consideration the Enrollment Planning Committee endorsed the following approach: Current freshmen would benefit the most from continuing their on campus experience for another year and would be least capable of making a successful transition to off-campus housing. This will result in fewer available on campus beds for juniors and seniors, leaving many without housing at the completion of the selection process.

Any student left without housing will be eligible for the housing waitlist. The waitlist will be used to offer vacancies to students as they become available.

What do I need to know to select a room for the 2008-2009 academic year?

Every student who has paid the housing deposit and is financially cleared will receive a lottery number on March 20, 2008. Lottery numbers are randomly generated numbers that determine the order in which students will select their room assignments for 2008-2009.

Lottery numbers are generated according to credits earned and class standing. This means taking the current number of credits earned and then adding the number of credits they are registered for during the spring 2008 semester. The KSC Catalog defines class standing according to the following:

0-29 credits: Freshmen
30-59 credits: Sophomore
60-89 credits: Junior
90+ credits: Senior

To accommodate the approach approved by the Enrollment Planning Committee noted above, the order of selection will be as follows:

1. Students with less than 60 credits will select first
2. Students with 60 or more credits will select second

Freshman and sophomore classes will select rooms in pre-defined areas before juniors and seniors select. The defined housing areas are:

Junior & Senior
Exclusive: Pondside II and Tisdale
Limited: Huntress & Fiske singles, One Butler Court suites

Returning Freshmen Students & Sophomore
Exclusive: Pondside I, Owl's Nests, Mini-houses, Bushnell, Fiske, Holloway and Carle singles
Limited: Huntress & Fiske singles, One Butler Court suites

How to Select a Room
All rooms larger than a double (triples, quads & apartments) must be completely filled when students sign up for those spaces.

Please note that holding your room is no longer an option.

Waiting Lists
Students will have the opportunity to submit room and meal change requests during housing selection. A waiting list will be available at Housing Selection for those who want a single room on campus but are not able to choose one on April 17 or 18.

Students who participate in the room selection process and are not able to secure a room will have the option of being placed on a waitlist or having the deposit refunded to your student account. Students who opt to be placed on the waitlist will be housed over the summer on a space availability basis – this is not a guarantee of housing.

Meal Plans
All students are required to have at least a 12 Meal Plan EXCEPT those living in Bushnell & Tisdale Apartments, and Pondside II.

How to Proceed Through Housing Selection
All students (and their roommates) should arrive at the beginning of the designated time on the Housing Selection Schedule. You will line up in lottery number order to select a room. You and your roommate(s) should arrive together.

Students who have a lottery number but do not select a room during Housing Selection, or who do not have a proxy select a room for them on the designated days for Housing Selection, will be removed from the Housing Selection process and will forfeit both the opportunity to choose a space for the 2008-2009 academic year and their housing deposit.

Proxy System (the authority to act for another)
If you cannot be present during the housing selection process, a friend/roommate can choose a room for you. Take care to select someone you trust to serve as your proxy, and remember to send Residential Life their name and contact information at reslifeadmin@keene.edu. Make sure your proxy is aware of the housing selection schedule posted on our Announcements page. If your proxy does not go through the process and choose a room for you, then you will not receive on-campus housing for 2007-2008. NOTE: Residential Life will serve as a proxy for residents who are unable to find someone to fill that role.

Double Rooms
If a student selects a double room and does not have a roommate then a roommate will be assigned to their room by the Residential Life Office. If a student would like to live with an incoming International or National Exchange student next Fall please notify a Residential Life staff person during the room selection process.

Triples/Quads/Lofts/Apartments
These rooms must be filled by the student group requesting the space. If a group requests a space that is no longer available they will be required to break down their group and select other available spaces according to their original lottery number (be it as an individual or reconstituted group).

Suites
1) Students seeking to live in One Butler Court, Pondside II and Owls Nests suites can either fill the entire suite or a room within a suite. If groups of students trying to fill a suite finds that the suite size they were looking for is unavailable, then they will be required to break down their group and fill rooms according to their original lottery number(s) as individuals or doubles. Please note that students selecting a ROOM within a suite must fill the next room in a partially-filled suite -- they will not be permitted to select vacant suites until partially filled suites are full.

2) Students seeking to live in Pondside I can sign up as either an entire suite or simply fill one room in the suite.

2008-2009 Proposed Room Rates
$2,628/semester Double/Multiple rooms
$2,891/semester Pondside I and Holloway triples
$3,022/semester Owl's Nest suites
$3,101/semester Traditional/Mini House singles
$3,153/semester Holloway and Fiske singles
$3,153/semester One Butler Court and Pondside III doubles
$3,232/semester One Butler Court and Pondside III singles
$3,285/semester Bushnell and Tisdale apartments
$3,416/semester Pondside II apartments

2008-2009 Proposed per-semester meal plan rates
NOTE: meal plans are contracted for the full academic year

12 meal plan: $1,225
12-Flex: $1,365
19 meal plan: $1,270
19-Flex: $1,405

Meal plans are required for all on-campus students except those living in the Bushnell & Tisdale Apartments and Pondside II. Students living in these areas also have the option of the 5 meal plan ($497) or the 5-Flex ($533).

DO NOT MISS CLASS TO SELECT YOUR ROOM;
PLEASE USE THE PROXY SYSTEM.