Fairfield University’s Office of Residence Life unveiled its annual housing guide for the upcoming academic year on Monday, with no significant changes to housing accommodations for university students.
According to the 20-page document, the housing application is expected to open today at 9 a.m. and remain open through March 4, when students must submit their application and have a verified group of roommates for the randomized housing lottery.
This year, senior and junior students will be able to pick together on March 18, followed by sophomore students on March 19 and 20. The process is expected to conclude in mid-April.
However, this year’s lottery will allow students in unverified or incomplete groups to apply and secure housing in the first two rounds, rather than being automatically placed on the last set of housing assignments.
“If you are open to living with anyone or unable to complete your group or find roommates, the Office of Residence Life will be offering an opportunity to allow students who are participating in the lottery as an individual or as unverified (incomplete) groups, will have the opportunity to select from a limited pool of housing in the first two rounds of the room selection process,” the document reads.
ResLife is deeming the new process a “fairer opportunity” for residents and appears to be a new strategy that prioritizes a student’s random lottery number over the full group size.
The Housing Lottery Resource Guide also confirmed The Mirror’s previous reporting on the reclassification of Meditz Hall as senior and junior housing. The building, which opened originally in 2011 as an apartment-style residence hall for upperclassmen, was later turned into a sophomore go-to as part of the university’s Build-A-House community.
In addition, the university officially announced that the new Conference Center residence hall will house sophomores in three-person suite-style rooms, as The Mirror had reported before construction broke ground.
To orient students on the process, ResLife held an informational session yesterday at Faber Hall, and an online webinar is scheduled today at noon.
