Office of Residential Life | Univerity of Hartford

The processes involved in assigning over 3,500 students to the University of Hartford's residence halls are understandably complex and varied. While the Office of Residential Life strives to treat each individual with flexibility, fairness and consistency are the guiding principles of all assignments processes.

Basically, the cycle of assignments lasts about a year and a half, starting with the room selection process in the spring, and ending with the closing of the residence halls at the end of the following academic year. The two major processes in assignments are room selection (for returning students) and the incoming new student assignments process.

In order to secure a housing assignment on the University's campus, students must submit a $150 housing deposit and a housing application. New students receive information about the deposit, along with the necessary forms, with their "Welcome Packet," which is mailed to them from the Admissions Office shortly after their acceptance to the University. Students who have not received this information may e-mail Admissions, and they will send the appropriate materials.

The housing application must be filled out completely and accurately in order to be processed effectively. Incomplete or inaccurate applications almost always result in assignments problems later.

New students should note that the Welcome Packet requests a "deposit" of $500. This deposit includes your housing deposit, tuition deposit and orientation fee. More information may be found by visiting the Admissions Office.

Although the actual systems involved in making assignments for incoming students are quite complex, the simplest explanation is that assignments are made through a computerized matching process which matches as many "habit variables" as possible, according to the information students provide on the housing applications. "Habit variables" are items on the applications such as smoker/non-smoker, quiet/not quiet, early or late bedtime, and music preferences. Items that are not--and will not be--taken into account are such variables as ethnicity, race, religion, or socioeconomic background.

Assignments are made in first-come, first-served fashion according to the date on which the University received the housing deposit. Although there are never any guarantees in the assignments process (except that you will receive an assignment if your deposit is received by May 1), the rule of thumb is that the earlier your deposit is received, the better your chances of being assigned to a double room instead of a tripled room.

If you require medical consideration please contact the Assistant Vice President of Student Health and Wellness in the Office of Student Affairs.

The processes involved in assigning incoming students begins after the end of the academic year--usually in mid-June. It is then that information is fed into a computer and the matching process begins. Adjustments are made, any errors are corrected, and assignments are finalized. This process takes about one and one-half months. After this is completed, incoming students are mailed an assignments letter which contains, their housing assignments, complete with the name and address of their roommate, their campus mailing address, their phone number, their e-mail address, and the cost of their assigned room and meal plan. Traditionally, incoming students receive this information during the first week of August.

The Office of Residential Life will try to honor specific roommate requests if complete information is received by June 15, 2008. Roommate requests may not be guaranteed and will not be accepted after June 15, 2008. Such requests must be mutual in order for us to make the attempt to assign students together. Our success rate varies with regard to matching roommates (currently we are successful approximately 65% of the time). It is important to note that there are some reasons to consider carefully whether or not making such a request is a good idea:

Frequently, students who wish to live together submit their housing deposits at different times. In order to meet roommate requests, the matching process will wait until the later of the two deposits is handled. This may decrease the chances of meeting other requests. Additionally, if there is no open double room available at the time, the matching process will not be able to meet the roommate request, anyway.
At least two studies of roommate requests in the past five years have shown that students who have been granted roommate requests have no higher rate of retention, nor do they have a lower rate of room changes after the start of the academic year.
An important part of the first year experience at college is making connections with a new environment. As intimidating as this may seem to some students, it may not be a good idea to surround themselves with people with whom they are familiar. Some of the best college roommate experiences are those which are shared with new and different individuals.

If, after considering the information above, a student wishes to make a roommate request, s/he can do so by June 15, 2008. There are two ways to request a roommate. Your first option is to complete the "roommate request" portion of the housing application, including the student ID number of the desired roommate. Your second option is to email Residential Life at reslife@hartford.edu with both your and your requested roommate's student name, ID number.

Students with special needs due to disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the Assistant Vice President of Student Health and Wellness in the Office of Student Affairs to discuss what accommodations might be possible. In order to meet any special housing needs, timely notification is essential. Students with such needs should contact the Office of Student Affairs as soon as possible.