Though many students complain about Brown's housing application process at some point during their undergraduate career, the process can be particularly complicated for students who have left the University for the fall semester and apply for off-campus permission in the spring.
Students who try to get off-campus housing mid-year tend to have a "fairly unique experience," said Brendan Hargreaves '06, chair of Residential Council, a student advisory group to the Office of Residential Life.
The off-campus housing application states that "off-campus permission is granted for one academic year at a time." However, some exceptions are made for students with unique circumstances, including financial hardships or medical issues, according to Richard Bova, senior associate dean of Residential Life.
ResLife "can't effectively plan the residence hall population if permission is offered two times a year," Bova said. In an attempt to attain "100 percent occupancy," Bova said ResLife tries to make use of all housing that becomes available in the spring.
Edward McCarthy '07, who studied abroad in Copenhagen last semester, applied for off-campus permission for the spring but did not receive it. After he had a friend submit his application in early November, he e-mailed ResLife several times about his chances of getting off-campus housing in the spring. McCarthy claimed he received no response to his first e-mail and only a vague response to his second.
Finally, on Dec. 5, McCarthy received an e-mail from Housing Officer Chad Mank, granting him off-campus permission for Fall 2006 but saying nothing about his request for the spring semester. In another e-mail exchange, McCarthy learned from Mank that he would probably not get off-campus permission for Spring 2006.
One of McCarthy's major qualms about the situation was that he did not receive a concrete answer regarding his chances of getting off-campus permission for the spring soon enough. A friend of McCarthy's had offered to sublet a room to him, but he could not commit to taking the room because his chances of being granted off-campus permission were unclear.
McCarthy also took issue with ResLife's policy of only e-mailing students who receive off-campus permission and not e-mailing those whose requests are denied. The off-campus housing application states, "Students will only be contacted if their applications are approved."
Bova said the policy is in place to prevent complicated scenarios, such as ResLife notifying students that they were not granted off-campus permission and later reversing the decision.
If students "don't hear from us, they have to assume that they don't have off-campus permission," Bova said. "If students have questions, they can write to us."
Kate Whalen '07 spent her fall semester studying in Barcelona. She had applied for and received off-campus permission for her junior year, but her permission was revoked when she decided to study abroad during the fall.
The off-campus housing app-lication states, "Students who take a leave of absence or study abroad for the Fall 2006 semester, after receiving off campus permission, will have their permission cancelled. Students who re-enroll for Spring 2007 must reapply for off-campus permission during the Fall 2006 semester. Note: We cannot guarantee that off-campus permission will be available for the spring semester."
Whalen also applied for off-campus permission for the spring semester and was eventually granted permission after a great deal of persistence. She went through the entire application process and, like McCarthy, did not receive a concrete answer regarding whether she would be granted off-campus permis-sion after e-mailing ResLife in December.
Whalen received an e-mail from ResLife in late January assigning her to a room in Minden Hall. She was troubled to receive this e-mail because she knew of others who had been granted off-campus housing for the spring semester.
According to Whalen, some of her peers were calling family friends who had connections with ResLife. "Strings were being pulled," she said.
Whalen eventually received off-campus permission after her mother called ResLife and explained her daughter's situation to the staff.
Whalen echoed McCarthy's sentiments regarding ResLife's policies for contacting students and also complained about the vagueness surrounding her app-lication's status. However, she did have some sympathy for ResLife.
"I did regain faith in the system after my experience because I saw that ResLife was willing to listen," Whalen said.
Bova said ResLife has thought about banning students from applying for off-campus permission mid-year, but acknowledged that different situations arise in students' lives that can justify a move off campus.
Students who have returned from studying abroad and are living on campus in the spring have also experienced hardships. Whalen said friends who were in this situation did not receive their on-campus housing assignments until a few days before they had to move back on campus.
Bova said, "By waiting until the last possible minute, we can give the best match for students who are returning to campus in the spring. Sometimes, you can get a better room by waiting. ... It may appear that we are slow, but we're actually pretty methodical."
Bova said about 15 off-campus spaces opened up within a 14-day span in January.
"Students keep dropping out of housing continually. They change their mind all the time. It is a very difficult process to manage at times," he said.
