Fifty-seven of 140 rising juniors were released from their housing contracts Wednesday in Residence Life and Housing Services’ first pre-lottery for off-campus housing.
RLHS will run an additional off-campus lottery in November, Linda Moiseenko, manager for Duke community housing, wrote in an email Saturday. She noted that RLHS is unsure how many students may receive exemptions in this subsequent lottery.
“One of the challenging things for RLHS is to try to determine anticipated vacancies so far out in advance,” Moiseenko said, adding that the supply and demand for on-campus housing for the Spring semester determines the number of exemptions granted.
The rising juniors, who applied to live off campus earlier this Spring, were randomly selected from a pool of 140 students, Moiseenko said. These exemptions release students from the University’s three-year housing contract.
RLHS used an early estimate of the number of available beds on campus next Spring in order to grant the exemptions, she added. This number was an increase from previous years, as 150 beds will be added to campus with the opening of Keohane Quadrangle 4E in Spring 2012.
“The only real impact of K4 is that we would have more available beds than usual,” said Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residence life. “That’s going to impact the number of students who are ultimately [housed on campus].”
University policy requires undergraduates to live on campus for their first three years, though historically, some juniors have been exempted from their housing contracts based on the availability of beds on campus. RLHS must fill all on-campus space before granting exemptions.
Under the old off-campus lottery system, rising juniors would not receive notice of exemption until the Fall of their junior years.
Last year, 165 of 220 juniors who applied for off-campus housing were released from their housing contracts for Spring 2011. RLHS exempted students in two waves—releasing 66 students in October and an additional 99 students in November. This posed significant inconveniences for some students trying to sort out their living situations from abroad.
The pre-lottery was a result of students’ frustration and a subsequent recommendation from Campus Council Nov. 4. RLHS confirmed it would honor this recommendation in early April.
Moiseenko said that because this is the first year RLHS has used a pre-lottery process, she could not comment as to whether or not it has been a success.
Students, however, were generally happy to have more information about their housing options before leaving Duke to study abroad.
“I was extremely relieved to hear that there would be a pre-lottery this year,” sophomore Michelle Bard, who received an exemption, wrote in an email Sunday.
Bard also noted that it is easier to finalize living plans for the Spring semester while she is still in Durham.
“Last year, I know that many of my friends who were abroad during the lottery had to scramble to figure out their living situations,” she said. “In contrast, I can sign my apartment lease right now and rest assured that I’ll have a place to live off campus when I return next year.”
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