Room Selection Process
Current Undergraduate On Campus Residents

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Change Processes After the Halls Open
Cancellation of Fall 2009 Assignment

Change Processes After the Halls Open for Fall 2009*

*The processes listed in this section are for in-semester room changes ONLY.  Students seeking a change of assignment for the next semester, spring 2010, should scroll down to the information for spring 2010 processes.

In-Hall Swaps:

Beginning Friday, September 11th, in-hall swap forms are available at the Cluster Offices. Students may use the In-Hall Swap Process only within their hall, NOT their cluster (all of North is considered ONE hall- i.e. students may complete an In-Hall Swap from North A to North C). Students who wish to swap between single assignments may only use the In-Hall Swap process.

Preference Applications:

Application Periods for Fall 2009

The Housing Assignment Office will be offering eight preference applications throughout the semester for students who wish to request a change of their assignment. The preference application can be accessed through SPIRE. Students may request halls, areas, specific rooms, floors, and room types including single rooms. All assignments will be made based on Priority.

Please note: Only students who are serious about requesting a change of assignment should use these processing periods. Only apply for buildings or rooms that you would want to live in. If you apply in any of the preference periods you will be expected to move to the new assignment or face penalties. (See below)*

The schedule for the preference periods is as follows:

• Friday 9/11 - Tuesday 9/15:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Friday 9/18*.
• Friday 9/18 - Tuesday 9/22:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Friday 9/25*.
• Friday 9/25 - Tuesday 9/29:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Friday 10/2*.
• Friday 10/2 - Tuesday 10/6:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Thursday 10/8*.
• Friday 10/16 - Tuesday 10/20:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Friday 10/23*.
• Friday 10/23 - Tuesday 10/27:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Friday 10/30*.
• Friday 10/30 - Tuesday 11/3:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Friday 11/6*.
• Friday 11/6 - Tuesday 11/10:
Results must be picked up at the HAO by 5:00pm on Friday 11/13*.

On Thursday, students will receive an email to their student email address letting them know whether they have been re-assigned to a new space. Re-assigned students will have 48 hours to move to the new assignment, and will have card access for both buildings within those 48 hours.

*If you are reassigned through one of the above mentioned preference periods and you do not pick up your assignment or move into your new assignment, you will be charged a $150.00 blocked room fee and you will not be allowed to participate in any further room change procedures for the fall semester.

Pull-ins:

Students with a confirmed vacant space in their room/apartment may pull in an on-campus student that they want to live with. All students must come to the office together and complete the pull-in paperwork. Pull-ins only take place on Mondays and Tuesdays from September 14th through November 17th.

Across-Campus Swaps:

Beginning Monday September 14th, students wishing to swap can post swap slips on the Swap Board outside the Housing Assignment Office. Students should monitor the board themselves, and contact the students with whom they wish to swap. If a mutual swap is arranged, then both students that are swapping must come into the HAO together to complete the swap form.

Please note:
• ONLY Freshmen can swap into First Year halls.
• Across-campus swaps may only take place between shared rooms.

Current On Campus Residents* Seeking a Change of Assignment for Spring 2010

*Students assigned to temporary housing should view the "Temporary Housing" page for detailed information on how to obtain a permanent assignment for spring 2010.

Current residents can choose one of two processes to obtain a new assignment for spring 2010.  Students who submitted an eligibility form prior to leaving for exchange, co-op or internship should see the additional information below under "Students on Exchange, Co-op or Internship".

1. Participate in Spring Online Room Selection on SPIRE

Go to SPIRE/Housing/Room Selection Home Page from Monday, November 16th
through Monday, December 7th 2009 and request an appointment for the Spring 2010
Room Selection process (see schedule below). For step-by-step instructions on how to use online room selection, please visit the housing website and view the online video tutorials.

Request Appointment*: November 16 - December 7
Appointments Posted: December 8
Initial Group Formation: December 8
Online Room Selection: December 28 - January 6

*See information below if you are a student on exchange who submitted an eligibility form for spring 2010 housing prior to leaving campus.

2. Participate in a Roommate/Apartment Mate Pull-In

Residents with a confirmed vacancy* in their room/apartment for spring semester may
pull-in another fall resident** as their roommate/apartment mate for the spring. All students must come together to the Housing Assignment Office at 235 Whitmore from December 7th through December 18th. The student changing their assignment will move to their spring assignment during spring opening check-in.

*A confirmed vacancy exists if you have a vacancy in your room/apartment at the end of fall semester, your fall roommate has cancelled for spring 2010 or your fall roommate has been pulled into another person’s room for spring 2010. 

**See information below if you are a student on exchange who submitted an eligibility form for spring 2010 housing prior to leaving campus.

IMPORTANT: Students who do not have a confirmed vacancy in their room for spring 2010 should request an appointment for spring online room selection if you are attempting to live with a different roommate.  For step-by-step instructions on how to use online room selection and form a group, please visit the housing website www.housing.umass.edu and view the online video tutorials.

Don’t Forget! If you request an appointment for online room selection or are pulled
into a new assignment, you must remove all of your belongings and check out of
your fall assignment before leaving for winter session break. A check out includes
removing all of your belongings, completing a room inventory with a staff member and returning your key to the Residence Hall staff. You must retain your room inventory and key form for your records. You will be re-assigned to your fall 2009 room if you fail to check out properly.

Students on Exchange, Co-op or Internship
If you are a student on exchange who submitted an eligibility form for spring 2010 housing prior to leaving campus you are guaranteed on-campus housing as long as you participate in one of the two processes outlined for spring 2010 room selection.  If you did not submit an eligibility form, please see the information for “Current Off Campus Residents” under the Housing Assignment Home page.

Spring 2010 Online Room Selection
You will automatically be given an appointment for the process with other current on-campus residents according to your priority.  Your appointment will be posted on SPIRE on December 8th.  In order to secure an assignment for spring 2010, you must select an assignment between December 28 through January 6th based on your posted appointment.

Roommate/Apartment Mate Pull-In
You are eligible to be pulled in as a current resident’s roommate or apartment mate as long as there is a confirmed vacancy in the room or apartment.  You will be required to submit an email request to be pulled in to that space to hao@gw.housing.umass.edu between December 7th and December 18th.  The current residents involved in the pull-in must come to the Housing Assignment Office to complete the appropriate form during the dates above.

Cancellation of Spring 2010 Assignment

Students who hold an on-campus assignment or students required to live on campus who have submitted an application have entered a year-long legally binding agreement with the University. This agreement secures housing with the expectation that once this housing is not needed, the Housing Assignment Office will be notified in a timely manner.

For non-required students who have either submitted an application or selected an assignment for on-campus housing, you have also entered a legally binding agreement with the University. You are expected to notify the Housing Assignment Office directly in person or by phone, 413.545.2100, if you are planning to cancel that application or an assignment and you are subject to the cancellation fee schedule. Students are required under the Residence Hall Contract to cancel their housing directly with the Housing Assignment Office within the appropriate times to avoid receiving a cancellation fee.

Any student who plans on canceling their assignment or application is expected to cancel their housing directly with the Housing Assignment Office by either calling 413.545.2100 or visiting the Housing Assignment Office at 235 Whitmore. Parents and guardians are not eligible to cancel a housing assignment for a student.

Please note: Submitting withdrawal paperwork with another office on campus does NOT constitute a cancellation of an on-campus housing assignment, application, or contract. You must contact the Housing Assignment Office to cancel.

Cancellation Fee Schedule

All students who are assigned to a space or select an assignment using online room selection are subject to the cancellation fee schedule as follows:

Free Cancellation Period
Begins November 2, 2009. Ends 5:00 p.m., Friday, December 4, 2009.

$250 Housing Cancellation Period
Begins 5:00 p.m., Friday, December 4, 2009. Ends 5:00 p.m., Thursday, December 31, 2009.

$350 Housing Cancellation Period
Begins 5:00 p.m., Thursday, December 31, 2009. Ends 5:00 p.m., Friday, January 8, 2010.

$450 Housing Cancellation Period
Begins 5:00 p.m., Friday, January 8, 2010. Ends after the 5th week of the spring 2010 semester.