UCLA Housing has decided that on-campus room sign-up dates will
be moved up at least a month to the end of winter quarter,
eliciting a litany of concerns about the change from student
representatives.
Housing Assignments Manager Robert Smith said the new sign-up
date will be between February and April, but a specific date has
not yet been determined. In recent years, room sign-ups have
occurred in April.
Smith said there were several reasons for changing the sign-up
dates, including demands by students and parents and so that
Housing can determine the number of doubles and triples that would
be available to incoming first-year students earlier.
Housing was originally looking to move sign-up dates to
February, but alternative dates are now being considered due to
concerns expressed by the Policy Review Board, a student board that
represents residents’ concerns in the decision-making process
for policies and procedures on the Hill.
The move to offer sign-up dates earlier in the academic year has
some concerned that the change may not be in the best interest of
students.
Danielle Malvini, chair of the review board and the On Campus
Housing Council, said an earlier decision date leaves residents
with less time to decide on housing arrangements.
“Having sign-ups in February doesn’t give people
enough time to decide who they want to live with,” Malvini
said. “Deciding where to live for the year is a really
important decision.”
On Tuesday, the board supplied alternative dates for sign-ups
during a meeting with Housing, suggesting the second week of March
as its first choice and the last week of February as its second
choice, Smith said.
The review board chose these dates to prevent conflict with 10th
and finals weeks.
Malvini said there are other reasons not to make the sign-up
date earlier.
She said students would not know what type of financial aid they
will be receiving if the date is moved up, leaving them unable to
decide which type of housing they can afford.
First-year students are also still somewhat new to campus, and
asking them to decide on housing arrangements during their second
quarter is hard on them, Malvini said.
Some students are still determining when they will be graduating
and choose their housing based on decisions that cannot be made so
early in the year, Malvini said.
On Tuesday, the Undergraduate Students Association Council
passed a resolution supporting OCHC and the review board in their
decision to oppose the date change.
Joe Vardner, facilities commissioner for USAC, said the proposed
sign-up dates take place prior to class selection for spring and
fall quarter, which can affect students’ decisions on whether
to study abroad. Vardner said the matter was first brought to
USAC’s attention a week and a half ago.
He said the problem with the process is that Housing is not
taking into consideration the concerns of students before any
decisions are made.
OCHC is still investigating the reason this policy is being
implemented, Vardner said. He added that as soon as those facts are
determined, USAC will begin to educate students about its position
on the matter.
OCHC and the review board have also questioned the motives
behind the change.
Malvini said complaints by University Apartments were an
important factor in Housing’s decision to make sign-up dates
earlier.
“From what we were told in PRB, University Apartments
expressed some displeasure with the date last year because it
conflicted with finals, so this move was partially due to their
complaining,” Malvini said.
Smith said he was unaware of the University Apartments’
role in the decision and that the change was driven mainly by
student demand.
The review board has submitted its recommended dates to
Associate Director of Housing Geri Sena and is waiting for her
response, Malvini said.
There has also been conflicting information about when the
sign-up change was proposed.
Smith said the board was notified about a year ago, according to
notes from John Burn, the board’s Housing representative last
year. But Malvini said the board only learned of the change within
the past month.