ResLife will be launching a new feature in online housing registration this spring.
Using this feature, rising sophomores, juniors and seniors will be able to select their housing assignments, roommates and meal plans for the 2009-2010 academic year.
"This system will be known as 'My Housing Management' to students," Sean Stallings, director of Residential Education and Housing (ResEd), said.
My Housing Management will be used by both students and ResEd staff in housing plans. According to Stallings, a "student portal" will be used during the housing selection process.
The ResEd staff will also be able to use the program to deliver reports and communicate with the students through the communications tool.
Stallings said that compared to the old management system, this new online software offers sophisticated management tools for the professional staff. The system is set to replace the old management system - Student Information Systems (SIS).
"It will allow the housing office to manage campus beds using a Windows interface, which means we are advancing the technology available to the staff," Stallings said.
In the past, each student wishing to live on campus was put into a "housing lottery" and was assigned a number based on sex and graduating class.
Students whose numbers were included in the pre-determined "cut-off" then selected their room, roommate and meal plan on paper. The students also completed and signed housing contracts. Students with the lowest numbers were first to make their selections.
The College is scheduled to discontinue use of SIS and begin use of PeopleSoft, a student administration system, in March. Since PeopleSoft does not offer its own housing module, Stallings said it was important to adopt a separate system for ResEd.
"To continue the business function of housing, it became necessary for us to upgrade to a compatible system," Stallings said.
Stallings said the ResEd staff is currently working to get the system to "go live."
Students had mixed reactions to the new process.
"It will be easier, but there probably wouldn't be as much help if you had a problem," Alex Rass, junior biology major, said.
Ashley Toms, junior Spanish and secondary education major, said, "This will be a great way to modernize (the College)."
