No longer will students fill out tedious paper forms in order to be placed in the housing lottery. No longer will students fill out tedious paper forms in order to be placed in the housing lottery. The entire system has now moved online.

Amanda Turnley, housing operations coordinator, and Beth MacEachin, associate director of operations, demonstrated the new online housing process at an information session Wednesday in the multipurpose room. The housing application is the same as it was last year, Turnley said, the only difference is that everything has moved to the web.

Students will use their ECnet username and password to enter the application. The first step is to agree to all the housing process guidelines.

“This first step is really important,” MacEachin said. “By hitting agree, you are saying you will adhere to all the deadlines and the things that pertain to the process, particularly the March 14 deadline of applications and March 25 for students who receive an email regarding their status within the housing selection.”

Students can then begin the application by filling out a questionnaire and choosing their building preference. Floor plans will not be available online until the actual room selection process, which takes place from April 4 to 22.

For students wanting to live in a four, five, or six person suite, he/she needs to fill out the suite application specifying the residence hall and listing the ID numbers of the suite mates they want to live with. If students do not list ID numbers, the system will not make the match.

“If one person in the suite does not correctly input those ID numbers, then we don’t know for sure that person wants to live with you,” said Turnley.

The next pages allow students to specify if they want to participate in a learning community or live in gender neutral housing. Only if a student wants to be part of these options do they fill out the page.

Turnley and MacEachin said that just because a student applies to be in a suite, gender neutral housing, or live in a community learning environment does not mean they are guaranteed that placement.

Finally, the last page is the housing contract. By completing the application and clicking agree, students will be placed into the housing selection lottery. What is different about the contract, Turnley said, is that because the board of trustees has not determined the cost of room and board for next year, examples are given of what the rates were for this year. Turnley said the updated cost will be available on the website later in the spring.

“It should be in the same ball park as this year, but I can’t guarantee you what it will be,” Turnley said.

Turnley said students can edit their application up until March 14, which is the deadline for submission, and will be emailed by March 21 informing them of their appointment time. Learning community and suite selection will take place before actual open room selection