Elon University's Residence Life is developing a new housing policy for juniors and seniors in an effort to fill spaces in The Station at Mill Point, according to Elaine Turner, director of Residence Life. To encourage juniors and seniors to move to the new complex, current residents in the Crest and Oaks will not have the option to stay in their current housing assignments.
"We want to make sure that all spaces are filled, especially in The Station," Turner said.
As of now, the policy and housing selection timeline have not been finalized. The revised housing process will mirror the timelines associated with off-campus apartment complexes, according to Turner.
"We don't want the apartments to have an advantage over us," she said. "We're trying to mirror the timeline that is out there in the apartment communities, so we can fill the beds, in a nutshell."
Current residents in the Oaks and the Crest received an email from Residence Life informing them they cannot participate in phase one of the housing selection process in order to accommodate freshmen and sophomore students that must comply with the university's two-year residency requirement. Phase one of the housing selection process provides students with the option to stay in their current housing assignment, thus students will not be able to squat and live in their same room next year.
Currently, eligibility for living in the Oaks and the Crest for the 2012- 2013 academic school year has not been determined. Turner said that no building will be completely off limits to a classification of students, but students received information contrary to Turner's statement.
According to Chris Jamison, Residence Life director for expanded housing, Crest housing will be restricted to sophomores while juniors and seniors can live in the Oaks and The Station at Mill Point.
"The biggest thing I got word of is that Crest will no longer have seniors, and that is the biggest shocker to me because they are trying to push juniors and seniors off to live in The Station," said junior Hannah Cohan, a current resident at the Crest.
Cohan attended an information session conducted by Jamison, regarding housing options.
While Cohan said she is interested in living at The Station at Mill Station at Mill Point, the price has not yet been revealed, which may impact housing decisions.
"What is the price?" Cohan said. "That is what we all wanted to know."
The projected price is similar to that of the Oaks, which costs $7,320 total for fall, winter and spring housing, according to Turner.
She encourages students to be patient until the housing process is complete. "People seem to be talking about a,b,c and until we come up with a process that can be x,y,z, people are just speculating," Turner said.
In the coming weeks, students will receive emails with links about the housing process and publications and brochures in their campus boxes. Information sessions will be available to students so they can better understand the revised housing process.