At various times during the academic year, a student may find themselves in an under-assigned room. In brief, an under-assigned room is a double room in which only one person is living.
The Residence Hall Contract
If a student finds they are in an under-assigned room, it's important to review what the residence hall contract states. In summary:
- That a student may be assigned to a two-person room or efficiency apartment without a roommate and that if this occurs, the student will be charged the two-person room or efficiency apartment rate.
- The Housing and Residence Life Office reserves the right to assign a second student to those rooms that are under-assigned rooms or apartments until such time that they are changed to single occupancy at the request of the student and approval of the Housing and Residence Life Office.
- Students in under-assigned rooms or efficiency apartments will be expected to properly clean and make one-half of their room or apartment available for a second person with reasonable notice (usually 24 hours) or at the end of the semester.
- If a student does not do this and/or refuses to accept an assigned roommate to include making the assigned roommate feel welcome, the University may, at its discretion, require the student to move to another room or efficiency apartment or to reimburse the University for room rent payments lost as a result of their actions or inaction. (As an alternative, the Housing and Residence Life Office may choose to charge the student with an Improper Room Readiness Fee of $250 plus the premium room rate for a single room.)
The Process
Once it's been determined that an individual is living in an under-assigned room, that person will receive an email from staff in the Housing and Residence Life Office that outlines their options. Residence Life staff (the Resident Adviser or Resident Director) in that person's hall then contacts the individual to discuss what the person would like to do. After meeting with their RD and reviewing the Under-Assigned Room Option Form, the person in an under-assigned room typically has five (5) days to indicate which option they have chosen.
Options
The student living in an under-assigned room now has four options from which to choose:
Option 1
The student in an under-assigned room can find a friend or acquaintence to move into his or her room.
Option 2
The student in an under-assigned room can move to a different room to be with a roommate of his or her choice.
Option 3
The student in an under-assigned room can request, through the residence life staff in his or her building, that they guarantee their room as a single and pay the prorated amount to keep the room as a single. The resident director in the students residence hall will help the student determine how much it will cost to keep the room as a single for the rest of the semester.
Option 4
Remain in the under-assigned room and continue to pay the two-person rate with the understanding that the University may move another student into his or her room at any time (with sufficient notice).
Once a student finds him or herself in an under-assigned room, the residence life staff in his or her building will contact the student and outline the options noted above. The student will also receive an email from the Housing and Residence Life Office. Once this happens, the student has five (5) business days to decide on which option they choose and the staff will help the student fill out (and sign) the Under-Assigned Room Option Form. The staff then files the Under Assigned Room Option Form with the Housing and Residence Life Office.
Questions
Questions regarding the under-assigned room process should be referred to the Resident Director in the hall in which the student lives. Questions may also be addressed to Housing and Residence Life at (906) 227-2620 or housing@nmu.edu.