Staff News and Events
Room Selection: One Process in a 19,000-Piece Puzzle
If you have worked in any capacity with our Residential Services & Housing Allocations team you’ve most likely heard of the Room Selection process. But what exactly is it? Stacy Travis took time out of her busy schedule to give us the 411 on this very important annual event on the housing calendar.
Room Selection is for current residents with a future housing guarantee- even though they are already a campus resident, the student must let us know they plan to live with us again by filling out an application, signing a contract and paying a fee. Then, they self-select from available space for the next academic year. They can also apply for Living Learning Communities or choose to participate in Gender Inclusive Housing. The process spans roughly four months from start to finish.
Stacy Travis at Triton Day
The Housing team must plan for this allocation of space by anticipating the number of returning students all while forecasting the incoming fall housing population AND managing the undergraduate waitlist process. Wow!
One of the largest challenges is anticipating needed spaces with ongoing campus fluctuations. The team relies on Admission numbers, leadership directives, and student housing interest to put together a 19,000-piece puzzle. Once the Room Selection process ends, the process for contracting incoming students and launching the undergraduate waitlist begins.
The work doesn't end with fall move-in. All year, RSHA works to create online processes for students, delivers training and updates for residential and housing staff, and works with RRSS Marketing on videos, room layouts, and other communications. The team also works on summer housing, move-in and move-out, daily processes for Graduate & Family Housing, and more.
Comprised of UC San Diego alumni, former residential, graduate, and IT staff, the RSHA team strives to make innovative improvements each year based on feedback from students and staff. One of the biggest myths about Room Selection is that students are guaranteed a specific room type or location (i.e. a single room with an ocean view). While we are lucky enough to offer a variety of housing layouts and options across campus, in the end the job is to make sure every student participating in the Room Selection process has a place to live.