Room Selection Phase Overview

What is a Room Selection Phase?

A Room Selection Phase is a structured period during which students can choose their housing assignments. It allows administrators to define a specific time window for student room selection and apply conditions or filters based on student groups (e.g., class year, program participation). Without this phase, students cannot select their own rooms, and housing assignments must be managed manually by administrators.

Administrators can create multiple Room Selection Phases to organize the process for different groups of students. By applying tags, you can ensure a more structured and efficient room selection process.

 

Types of Room Selection Phases

In the room selection process, there are three distinct types of phases you can configure to manage how students choose their housing. Each phase offers flexibility in how room selection occurs, allowing you to tailor the process based on student groups, fairness, and efficiency. As an administrator, you can decide which method (or combination of methods) best suits your housing assignment goals.

 

All at Once Room Selection

In this phase style, all students within a defined group gain access to select rooms simultaneously. You can organize these groups by applying specific tags (e.g., honors students, athletes), allowing you to define different selection periods for different groups. For instance, honors students can have their own phase where they gain access to the room selection at the same time, followed by a separate phase for all other students. This method works well for ensuring that distinct groups can participate in room selection within controlled windows of time.

See here for information on configuring an all at once phase.

 

Housing Lottery: Randomized Timeslots Room Selection

This phase style randomly assigns students specific timeslots during which they can select their rooms. It spreads out room selection over staggered intervals, reducing system traffic and helping manage room availability more effectively. You can apply tag-based filters to ensure specific student groups (e.g., based on program, year, or special status) are included. This method introduces fairness by giving all eligible students an equal chance to secure their preferred housing through a randomized assignment.

 

Housing Lottery: Earliest Application Submission Room Selection

In this phase style, students are assigned timeslots based on the date and time they submit their completed housing application. The earlier a student submits their application, the earlier their timeslot will be. It's important to note that only formally submitted applications are considered—pending or unsubmitted applications will not be included. This method rewards timely submission and is particularly useful if you want to incentivize early applications.

See here for information on configuring a housing lottery.