Room Selection

General Information

Room Selection is the process by which current Augustana College students obtain campus housing for the upcoming year. There are many different housing options available to students at Augustana, so the best advice we can offer is to take your time to research your options and follow the guidelines. The more knowledge you have about the process, specific application procedures, and overall time lines, the better informed you will be when making decisions about your housing options.

Standing within the Room Selection process is determined by a student's high school graduation date. The process is designed to give next year’s senior class first priority, junior class second priority, and the sophomore class final priority. By using the high school graduation date, we are able to determine which students have lived in college owned housing the longest and should, therefore, be given preference.

Room Selection for 2009-2010

Please review the information under each tab below to learn more about the Room Selection process for the upcoming school year. Also, see Frequently Asked Questions about Room Selection for more specific answers to some of your questions.

Also, please visit Available Theme Houses for a list of all available Theme Houses for the 2009-2010 Academic Year.

  • Glossary of Terms
  • Process Overviews
  • Housing Options
  • Important Dates

As we've made a few changes to our Room Selection process, you may want to review the list below to make sure you are familiar with the terms we use.

Contract - The Housing Contract is an official contract with the College which is binding for one full academic year. A student may choose to break the contract prior to June 1st of the contract year without penalty. However, any student who breaks the Contract after June 1st of the contract year will pay a $400 cancellation fee and will forfeit the $100 Housing Deposit. All students living on campus will be required to sign a new Contract each year.

Homesteading - Homesteading refers to the process of keeping the room a student is currently living in for another year. In other words, students living in Apartments or Residence Halls are given first priority to remain in their current space. By homesteading, they are guaranteed that Residence Hall space before anyone else has an opportunity to sign up.  Homesteading in Theme Houses is possible, but groups must reapply and the houses are not automatically awarded as in Apartments and Residence Halls.

Room Selection Day - This is the day on which current students will select their rooms for the coming year. Current students will be able to go to the designated sign-up location, select their space in an Apartment or Residence Hall, and complete all necessary Housing paperwork. Please note that the Theme House selection process and the Costello Hall processes are not included in Room Selection Day. Contact the Housing Office with any questions about Theme Houses or Costello Hall processes.

Room Selection Number - The Room Selection Number is the number assigned to each student that indicates when that student will be allowed to go through Room Selection Day. These numbers are assigned randomly, based upon a student's high school gradation date. Each student on campus will receive a number, though not all will need to use them.

Proxy - A Proxy is a person who is given permission to sign up another student for a space. If a student is unable to attend Room Selection Day themselves for whatever reason, they may fill out a Contract and a Proxy Form and the chosen Proxy then has the ability to attend Room Selection Day in the student's place.

Proxy Form - The form a student must fill out if they wish to designate a Proxy for Room Selection. This form must accompany the Proxy on Room Selection Day.

Please see below for information about how to sign up for the many different Housing Options.

Theme Houses

The Theme House Selection Process will begin when applications are made available.  In the application, students are asked to submit a three-page proposal detailing their chosen theme, the projects they plan to complete throughout the year that relate to that theme, an alcohol policy for their house, and information regarding their chosen advisor for the year.

Applications are typically due to the Housing Office prior to the week before Spring Break.  Once turned in, applications will be stripped of anything that could identify the applicants and will then be reviewed and scored by an objective group of staff and faculty.  Once scores have been assigned, the Dean of Students and Housing Offices will work to pair houses with the best themes.  All will be notified of results via campus mail on the Friday before Spring Break.

For specific Theme House Application dates, please visit the Important Dates tab above.

The Global Education House

Each student wishing to live in the Global Education House will apply as an individual. After submitting an application, each resident will be interviewed by Residence Life and/or International Programs staff. Following interviews, students will be notified of their status and either offered a space in the house, or placed on a waiting list pending further application review.

Roommate pairings and room assignments within the house will be made once residents for the house have been chosen. Please note that this large house allows for both male and female students to live in the house on separate floors, sharing common living, study, and dining spaces.

For more information regarding dates specific to the Global Education House, please visit the Important Dates tab above. For questions related to the selection process or the house itself, please contact the Dean of Students Office at 274-4124 or sservice@augie.edu.

Apartments

The process of signing up for Apartments will occur during Room Selection Day.

Residence Halls

The process of signing up for Residence Halls will occur during Room Selection Day.

Homesteading

Homesteading occurs a little differently for each of our three main housing options. 

Theme Houses - For Theme Houses, there is a re-application process that requires each house to complete a self-evaluation, a new and improved project proposal for the upcoming year, as well as undergo a thorough evaluation of their performance throughout the current year.  Additionally, to be eligible, each house must have a majority house members returning the following year.  Homesteading applications are reviewed by the Dean of Students and Housing Offices and determinations are made, based on the above criteria, at the end of February or in early March.  If a house is not awarded to a group for a second year, they will have the ability to revise or completely revamp their theme proposal and submit a new application into the pool of first-time applicants, where they will be reviewed and scored as all other first-time applications.

Apartments - For Apartments, the Homesteading process is fairly simple.  Students need only to inform the Housing Office by the specified deadline that they would like to keep the apartment for the coming year and it will be granted.  The only stipulation placed upon Homesteading an Apartment is that a majority of the apartment residents return for the coming year.  In the Summit Avenue and Schoeneman Apartments, at least 3 of the 4 residents will need to return for the coming year.  In the Norse Inn and Duluth Place Apartments, at least 1 of the 2 residents in each apartment will need to return for the coming year.  If not all of the residents plan to return, students will be expected to identify a replacement at the time they indicate that they will Homestead.

Residence Halls - In Residence Halls, students simply need to inform the Housing Office, at the specified time, that they would like to keep their room for the coming year.  In the event that a student Homesteads a room in either Stavig or Granskou Halls and, as a result, displaces their current roommate, we do have a process in place that allows those displaced students to sign up for rooms ahead of anyone else in the Room Selection Process.  As Bergsaker and Solberg Halls are reserved for first-year students, students will not be allowed to Homestead spaces in those buildings.

For specific information regardign Homesteading dates, please visit the Important Dates tab above.

Room Selection Day

Room Selection Day will look very similar this year to years past in terms of how you will sign up for rooms in Residence Halls.  The big difference this year will be that we will include Apartment openings in that process as well.  So, when you and your roommate(s) arrive to sign up for a space at your predetermined time, you will be able to choose from all available spaces in Apartments and Residence Halls.

Essentially, the process will progress as follows:

Step 1:  You will receive a letter in your campus mailbox from the Housing Office that tells you (a) what your Room Selection Number is and (b) when you will be able to go through the process on Room Selection Day.  You will likely receive this information several weeks in advance of Room Selection Day.

Step 2:  On Room Selection Day, you will arrive about 10-15 minutes before your designated time, check-in, and wait to be allowed in.

Step 3:  Once you are allowed in, you will be able to visit any of the available tables that correspond to Apartments and Residence Halls, based on what you are looking to choose.

Step 4:  After choosing a space, you will be directed to another location where you will fill out a Housing Contract and/or any additional paperwork we need from you at that time.  Please note that your room selection will not be valid until you have signed a Housing Contract for that space.

For more information about dates related to Room Selection Day, please visit the Important Dates tab above.

There are a number of Housing Options located throughout campus. Visit any of the links below to find out more!

Housing Options for Upperclassmen:

Housing Options for First-Year Students:

Housing Options for Adult Learners, Married Students, or Students with Families:

Here is a list of dates that will be important to know for the Room Selection process. Any application due dates have been bolded, but be sure to look at the whole list, as there is lots of helpful information here!

Please note that meeting locations and plans for notification may change, so check back regularly to get up-to-date information!

  • March 31-April 3, 2009
    • 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM - Information Table (Lower Commons - Outside Siverson Lounge)
  • March 31, 2009
    • 5:00 PM - Single Room Applications Due (Housing Office)
    • 5:00 PM - Off-Campus Approval Applications Due (Housing Office)
  • April 1, 2009
    • Noon - Single Room Notification (Your E-Mail)
  • April 2, 2009
    • Noon - Off-Campus Approval Notification (Your E-Mail)
    • 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM - Residence Hall Homesteading (Your Hall)
  • April 7, 2009
    • 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM - Displaced Student Room Selection (Housing Office)
  • April 16, 2009
    • 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM - Room Selection Day (Student Street)