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Housing Assignment Services staff creates homes away from home for UD students

Ever wonder what keeps UD running smoothly? Up Close & Personnel, a weekly feature, profiles the employees who keep UD ticking around the clock throughout the year. This week, the focus is on Housing Assignment Services.

Linda Carey, Ruthie Riale and Jessica Matson
3:55 p.m., Feb. 1, 2005--With a staff of seven and more than 7,200 students living on campus, Housing Assignment Services has a challenging job. All freshmen must live on campus unless they live with their parents or guardians, and all undergraduates who apply and meet application deadlines must be accommodated each year, according to director Linda Carey.

“We have a small, close-knit staff, and we all work together to try to accommodate students’ housing needs,” she said.

Housing Assignment Services has changed and expanded over the years, reflecting the ways the University itself has evolved, Carey said. There are different housing programs and opportunities for freshmen and undergraduates, such as LIFE (Learning Integrated Freshman Experience) clusters and special interest housing units, which are initiated by students, she said. (For more information, visit [www.ugs.udel.edu/gened/FYE_links.htm]).

“With modern technology, students also have different expectations and needs in their housing, and we work with Facilities and Residence Life to integrate what students require and want in housing and their residence halls,” she said. Because they know what students want and need, the staff was asked for their input on the new residence halls that are being built now on the Laird Campus.

“We work closely with residence life, which occupies the second floor of our building, in helping students resolve any housing or roommate problems they may have,” Carey said.

“We also see that housing regulations are enforced, such as no pets, except for service dogs and small fish aquariums,” she said.

Computers have enhanced and streamlined Housing Assignment Services, according to Kirsten Brown who coordinates room assignments and has worked in housing for 15 years.

“We used to ask three questions of students and then go through all the applications one by one to match students with similar interests. Now we can ask 11 questions, ranging from neatness to night and day personalities, and the computer compiles the information and links the likes and needs of students to help pair compatible roommates. Since we handle such large numbers, this is invaluable,” Brown said. (For more student housing information and/or to arrange a campus tour, visit [www.udel.edu/has/].)

Martha Bailey, Jolene Moores and Kirsten Brown
Jessica Matson, who has been at UD for nine months, is the meeter and greeter at the office—the first person a student or parent sees upon entering the office. She said she enjoys her job even when it gets busy.

Also on the front line is senior secretary Ruthie Riale, who has been on the job for three years. She handles administrative matters such as housing contracts and fields telephone calls from parents and students. “Many students go online to sign up for housing, and computerization makes it easier to accommodate them. The second week of the semester is a busy time during open room change for students who wish to change room assignments,” she said.

Jolene Moores, room assignment adviser, helps students with current housing problems and guides them in the right direction when making decisions about future housing arrangements. She also helps organize different housing options, such as the Friends Together program in Christiana Towers, where friends can live in adjoining apartments.

“I get all kinds of questions from students and parents,” Moores said, “from where is Gore Hall to operating the washing machines in the dorms.”

Moores, who’s been working in Housing Assignment Services for more than five years, handles it all with a smile, trying to make sure that the needs of homesick freshmen and quarreling roommates are met.

“We’re not miracle workers, but we do try our hardest to accommodate each and every student,” Moores said.

Martha Bailey, records analyst and coordinator, works on graduate student housing and also with sororities, such as Alpha Phi, whose building is owned and regulated by UD. There are 48 units for graduate students and their families at the Conover Apartments, she said, and Graduate Student Housing at 183 West Main St. “I enjoy my job, and the graduate students are grateful and pleased with the facilities UD provides,” Bailey said.

Janette Humphrey
Janette Humphrey is responsible for marketing and publications with housing information. From special housing events to brochures to e-mails and letters to parents, Humphrey uses all resources to get the word out about housing options.

“Housing assignments are a major concern for many students,” Humphrey said. “In order to make the assignment process as convenient and accommodating as possible, we offer extensive information and instructions for current, prospective and transfer students and their parents. The more educated students are about their housing options, the better their chances of receiving their preferred housing location.” (To view a sign-up guide for current students that details on-campus housing assignment processes, visit [www.udel.edu/has/on_campus.html].)

Currently, Humphrey is preparing for this spring’s Housing Fair, an annual event that kicks off the housing application period when students can send in their requests for the next year. This year the fair will be held from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 22 in Multipupose Rooms A, B and C in the Trabant University Center.

The fair gives students an opportunity to ask questions, get one-on-one assistance with housing applications and view a presentation of campus residence halls, while enjoying refreshments and prizes. There also are information tables from other departments that are involved in campus life.

Prizes include the grand prize of a year of free housing and dining, other housing and dining awards, free University trips and UD apparel and merchandise.

“We try to make the fair entertaining and appealing to students,” Humphrey said. “There are many benefits to attending the fair, and we want as many students as possible to take advantage of them.”

Article by Alexis Carroll, AS ’05
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson

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