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In early October, President Christ appointed
a committee to follow up on some of the recommendations of last year’s
Task Force on Residential Living. The committee on theme-based living and
the room selection process was asked “to propose a system for students
to request theme-based living options” and to recommend changes that
would improve the room selection process. Earlier in the year, she had appointed
another implementation committee to make recommendations regarding dining.
The
committee includes Jeannine Belton, Associate Dean for Residential Life;
Natalie Basil, Assistant Director of Residential Life; Diane Benoit,
Manager of Building Services; Randy Shannon, Housing Coordinator; Lauren Barth-Cohen ’05;
Rachel Spain ’06; and Tom Riddell, Associate Dean of the College
and Dean of the First-Year Class, chair.
The committee met throughout
the fall semester and continues to meet this semester. This semester
we are working to develop a recommendation
for
a procedure for
theme-based living options in the residential system. In early November,
a message was sent to the campus announcing its charge and soliciting
ideas from
the community regarding theme-based living options and the room selection
process. A dozen replies were received, all focused on opinions, pro
and con, regarding
theme-based living options.
The May 2003 Residential Life Task Force
report found that many students complain that it is too hard (or risky) to
try to change houses in
the room selection
process and the default tends to encourage students to simply stay
in the house to which they were originally assigned. On the other
hand, the report
also
emphasized the importance of more movement and interaction across
houses and the Smith community. The report recommended that an implementation
committee assess the current room selection process and attempt to
create
a system
in
which students who wish to remain in their houses may do so and,
at
the same time, makes it possible for (encourages) those who wish
to move
to be able
to do so.
Throughout the fall, the committee has been examining
the organization of Smith’s
unique and complex room selection process. We are indebted to
one of our staff members, Randy Shannon, the college’s Housing Coordinator,
and to our two student members, Lauren Barth-Cohen ’05 and Rachel Spain ’06,
for helping us to understand how this complicated process works.
Clearly, the process works best for those who wish to remain in their houses.
At
the same
time, it discourages students who would like to move to another
house because it creates greater uncertainties: 1. that they may not be assigned
to their
most preferred house; and 2. that they may not get to select
a room. Some of that uncertainty is a consequence of limited spaces, due
to the
number
of enrolled
students choosing rooms and the number of rooms set aside for
entering first-year and transfer students. The committee was interested
in exploring ways to increase
the number of available rooms so that the opportunities for moving
would be enhanced.
The committee spent some time early in
its work examining the room selection process at comparable institutions. As
a result
of
this research, we
have developed a proposal which we think will accomplish the
task that was set
for us -- to
allow those who wish to remain in their houses to be able to
do so while giving greater encouragement to those who would
like to move and increase
their chances
at being able to do so.
Students who submit an application to
study away in the coming year (for the fall or for the entire year) would be
ineligible
to participate
in
the room
selection process for the coming year. (This procedure
is used at a number of comparable institutions, including Wesleyan,
Bowdoin, and
Bryn Mawr.)
This restriction would apply to students applying for Smith
Junior Year Abroad Programs,
approved study abroad programs, the Picker and Smithsonian
Programs as well as the Twelve College and other similar exchanges.
Advantages
This would prevent
students from hedging and selecting rooms in early April that they are later
removed from
after they
turn in
a leave
of absence
form on May 1. This current practice leaves a large
number of students without
rooms (150 to 200 in recent years) after the selection
process is completed. These
unhoused students are then placed in the “summer
lottery” process.
(In recent years, about 230 students have been on approved
study away programs for the fall or for the whole year.)
If study-away students do not participate in the
room selection process, it would open up more spaces in
the houses and
thereby have three
positive effects.
1) Fewer students would be left “unhoused” in
early April; 2) fewer students would be delegated to
the “summer lottery” (which
would leave fewer students uncertain about their housing
and would relieve the Housing
Coordinator from having to assign all these students
to housing over the summer); and 3) more rooms would
be available, thus enhancing the opportunities
for
students who were exploring the possibility of changing
houses.
Proposed Timeline
The committee
proposes an open campus meeting for comment and feedback on this proposal on
Monday, February
16, at 5 pm
in Seelye 106. The intention is
to proceed with the implementation of this policy
for this year, but we want
students to have an opportunity to register their
concerns or support for this change. Such feedback would allow
for any changes
or revisions
that
might make
this option work even better in improving the room
selection process this year and in the future.
1. February 2, 2004 – Deadline for applications
for Smith Junior Year Abroad Programs.
2. February
16, 2004 – Deadline for approved
study abroad programs.
3. Deadlines for other
study away programs are: Picker, November 1; Twelve College Exchange, February
2; Smithsonian,
February
26; Pomona and
Historically
Black
Colleges, March 1.
4. Late February – an
e-mail reminder from Randy Shannon, the Housing
Coordinator, Residence
Life, Office
of Student Affairs, that a JYA or approved
study abroad (or similar study away) application
removes the student from the room selection
process.
5. If a student changes her mind and
withdraws her application to study away, she must notify
Randy
Shannon, Housing
Coordinator, no
later
than March 12
if she wishes to participate in the room
selection process.
6. After the March 12 deadline, if a student
decides not study away, or is not accepted
by the non-Smith
(but approved)
program
to which
she has
applied,
or if there is a travel ban affecting the
country to which the student has applied
and been accepted,
then
that student’s housing request will
be placed in the “summer housing lottery.” |
