By Olivia Walters, Staff Writer
In order to simplify the housing lottery process, a software system created by outside company Adirondack Solutions called “The Housing Director” is bringing an updated interface to Furman students next fall. The process appears to be an interactive experience and will no longer be completed through MyFurman.
One of Furman’s features is its four-year residential requirement. The new system is expected to “allow students to see others living around them, pick their suitemates and change their living arrangements with ease if they decide they no longer like theirs,” said Payton Isner, ‘19, a residential assistant in South Housing. Isner had been chosen to try out the software before its launch to the rest of the student body.
Director of Housing and Residence Life Ron Thompson expects the new software to limit timing conflict with final exams, since housing lotteries in the past have coincided with a stressful time in the semester for students.
Recently, the housing lottery offered eight windows from April 16 to 24, a more efficient number compared to the 18 different windows students had to work through in 2013. Thompson is pleased with the new single living option that grants those wanting to live individually equal priority to group housing situations.
Isner explained that the forthcoming housing software could parallel the way that the class registration process works, in which time slots are assigned to students based on class year status. However, the anticipated benefits give students precedence in their living situation. Isner is also mindful that, like most new systems, some glitches may need to be handled.
For those who have been waitlisted because of the multiple-window approach, Thompson ensures that this is the “main motivator for our work” in the office of Housing and Residence Life. The summer months are especially devoted to accommodating the students who have been waitlisted, but Thompson encourages them to send the housing office an email so that the staff can review the situation in its entirety, and from there respond to an inquiry or concern.
