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Photo by Hannah Whelchel
Kaylynn O’Vell (so), chaplain for the female lodges next year, almost didn’t live there, due to a blunder in the housing process. Her first reaction was mild panic.
“My job is literally just to pour into the residents and into staff,” O’Vell said. “I was afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to have some of those conversations that would just kind of spontaneously occur” while passing people’s rooms at night.
Fortunately for O’Vell, a community coordinator had an extra spot in the lodge and invited her in. O’Vell’s former roommates went to Scripture Hall.
Not all students are so fortunate when it comes to housing problems. Housing time rolls around once per year and often causes havoc among the student body — whether it be roommate issues or sign-up problems.
The housing office has implemented several methods to try to improve the process, which is unique from many other universities.
Director of Housing Melissa Sprock said one reason housing can be so stressful is there are so many choices, and in those choices are misconceptions about “what students want versus what their credits will get them into.”
One of the most common problems, Sprock said, is when students cannot find the final person to fill their suite.
“A lot of times students aren’t finding the connections that they need in the time frame,” she said.
For O’Vell, the housing problems were due to a miscommunication rather than a roommate issue.
According to Sprock, the Office of the Dean of the Chapel changed the position from area chaplain to hall chaplain for next year. This means each hall will have its own chaplain rather than share with another. The decision for this switch came after the deadline for priority housing.
Other students in similar situations are not as fortunate, and roommates often split up, causing conflict.
Sprock said she wishes all housing units had four person spaces so groups of students would not have to separate upon choosing their second-choice dorm.
This a problem unique to Indiana Wesleyan University. Most colleges do not offer suite-style rooms; therefore, students only have to sign up in groups of two, rather than four, six or eight.
Another concern is the lack of upper-division housing for juniors and seniors.
Shelbi Favre (so) and three friends anticipated on rooming in a four-person suite at Scripture next fall. They received a text from the housing department notifying them the dorm had already filled to capacity two minutes before their sign-up time.
Now, the four upperclassmen are staying in Evans, a comprehensive dorm for freshmen through seniors. One of Favre’s suitemates is a senior, who has reluctantly lived in underclassmen or comprehensive dorms her entire IWU career.
“It’s kind of ridiculous that even a senior and three juniors can’t get into Scripture,” Favre said. “There’s not enough upperclassmen housing, and the system’s really skewed.”
Many of the residents who filled up Scripture were planning on living in townhouses or lodges, Favre said, but those options filled up too soon. Scripture was their second choice.
In late 2013, Student Development announced the North Townhouses, formerly the male townhouses, would be closed to undergraduate students in the 2014-2015 school year. The back row of female townhouses, therefore, housed male students starting this year.
This change caused the capacity of female townhouses to drop from 276 spaces to 204 spaces, and male townhouses from 108 spaces to 72 spaces. Therefore, the townhouses house fewer students — and specifically, fewer juniors — than before.
According to Sprock, 552 students applied for apartment housing for next year; 295 were placed, not including resident assistants, community coordinators, assistant resident directors and their roommates.
Sprock said she hears from many disappointed juniors who didn’t get into upper-division housing. There are some preemptive ways to deal with this situation, she said.
One way is to change students’ expectations for upper division housing. Many juniors believe they have a clear shot at getting a townhouse or lodge since they have enough credits, Sprock said, but that’s not always the case.
Sprock said it is very difficult for a group of juniors to get upper division housing if their average credit score is below 90, even though they only need an average of 60 to qualify. Only 100 juniors get into upper division housing versus 300 seniors, Sprock said.
“We did have some tears coming in of people that were really disappointed,” Sprock said. She sympathizes with the students and tries to help them reconfigure. “Some of it is that we can’t fix it, and it’s really hard. … I can’t build more townhouses.”
Sprock and her department are developing new methods and software to help ease the housing process. Some of the changes, including a text update function and the removal of a 24-hour delay in housing deposit, were implemented this year.
Sprock said she looks at other schools’ housing processes too, but it’s difficult to find ideas since many of them don’t offer suites. Some schools, she said, still use paper-only processes.
“I think housing’s difficult, and I pity the housing people. It’s a hard job there,” O’Vell said. “Three thousand people with their own opinions and their own plans, so kudos to them for doing their best.”
Sprock said regardless of a person’s situation, the housing office is always open for consultation.
“It’s better to be proactive than reactive,” Sprock said. “We’d love to hear from you. … I want our office to be approachable.”
NEW THIS YEAR
The following changes were implemented this year as a way to improve the housing process:
— Text update system — the night the housing sign-up times went live, students received texts telling them what dorms were full and what spaces were left
— This way, students were not surprised when they signed in and saw their primary housing option was no longer available
— Email communication system — the housing office emailed students once everyone in their suite had completed the steps leading to housing (e.g. registration for classes, housing deposit, holds taken care of)
— Removal of the registration hold
— In the past, students paid housing deposits and registered for classes in separate offices. The housing department received the information a day apart, explaining the 24-hour deposit fee delay. Now, students can register and pay the housing deposit on the same day.
COMING SOON?
Sprock and the housing office have discussed the following changes for the future:
— An online credit card system for students to pay housing deposit
— A Groups Function software allowing students to see if their roommates/suitemates have filled out the proper criteria before housing sign-up time
— Students will have check boxes by their names for the different steps leading up to housing (e.g. registered for classes, housing deposit paid, etc.). Sprock will update the information regularly so students can monitor their roommates/suitemates
— Possible online chat function where a student can talk to a live representative from the housing office
— Floor plans so students can see where the rooms are located, rather than just a list (expected spring 2016)
Navar Watson 