The Country Club Apartments, which are usually available in the office of Residential and Community Development's (ORCD) housing lottery for rising juniors and seniors, will not be part of the lottery this year because management is under review.
According to Ryan Farnkopf, manager of Housing Assignments, management of the Country Club Apartments, which are owned by the Trenton State College Corporation (TSCC) and managed by ORCD, is under review to verify that occupants are provided with the best services and programs possible.
Because management is under review, ORCD cannot include the apartments in the housing lottery. Both TSCC and ORCD agreed the apartments will be available to students as occupancy permits, starting primarily with those students who do not make the lottery cutoff and are unable to sign up for a space on campus, Farnkopf said.
Farnkopf said specifics on how this will work have not yet been determined. "When that decision is made, the information will be made available to all students still interested in living on campus," he said.
Other changes to the housing lottery process include removing the contract pickup step and allowing the housing deposit to be made online.
In previous years, students were required to go to Student Accounts and pay the deposit in person. This year, students can pay online outside of normal business hours.
Last year, students were required to pick up a copy of their housing contract after lottery numbers were posted. Students would have to read over the contract, sign it and return it when they selected their room. This year, students can pick up their housing contract on the day of room selection. A copy of the contract has been placed online with the housing packet.
"Removing the entire contract pickup process saves students an additional three steps, hopefully making the lottery process much easier to follow," Farnkopf said. "In addition, it allows Residence Assignments to complete the room selection process earlier than in years past."
Farnkopf said the changes were prompted by comparing the College's housing lottery to other schools. "In comparing our lottery processes to other schools, we found that ours was more verbose and less automated," he said. "Student reliance on technology and the demand for 24-hour access is increasing, and a lot of collegiate administrative processes are changing to reflect this new trend."
