Want to change meal plans or rooms at semester’s end? Here’s what you need to do
Final exams are not the only thing occurring at the end of the semester. Those needing a room change or a meal plan switch can attempt to do both towards the end of the fall semester.
Students can tackle meal plan switches by themselves by logging in to their MyUSD portal. They then go to the campus tab and select dining. From there, students can go to the bottom of the meal plan page and select the meal change plan form.
Meal plans can be added at any point in the semester but the last day to change or cancel a meal plan for the spring of 2020 semester is Jan. 24 at 5 p.m.
However, changing roommates is not as quick and as simple as visiting a website.
To begin the room change process students have to meet with their Resident Assistant (RA) and discuss the situation. From there, a meeting is set up with the forms Residential Hall Director (RHD) and the students and RHD can discuss possible placement options.
When it comes to dealing with roommate struggles or wanting to move into a different dorm, students first have to contact their RA.
“I had been struggling to live with my roommates all semester, we just didn’t get along and I felt very isolated. Some of my friends suggested moving rooms so I asked my RA and I was able to move that same week,” Malaina Fragnito, first-year nursing major, said.
After meeting with the RA, the next step is to meet with the Residence Hall Director (RHD) of the dorm.
“After I met with Nathan (Stuessy, the Coyote Village RHD) we discussed my options as well as rooms with people who I would fit in well with,” Fragnito said.
Once a room has been decided on, a student is given 48 hours remove their belongings from the room room, go through a room check out and turn in their key. Then a student can go through the room check-in process and receive their new key for their new room.
“There tend to be a few more challenges with room changes at semester time, but if we work together they can be mitigated,” said North Complex RHD Cody Burggraff.
If a student ‘A’ wants to move in with student ‘B’, but student ‘B’ still has a roommate that is not returning for the spring, student ‘A’ cannot move in there officially until that roommate checks out.
According to Housing, students not returning for the spring semester need all the time they can get to pack up. However, students that are returning tend to be ready to leave for a break sooner. Therefore, they inadvertently put pressure on that roommate that is not returning to move in
“We usually have around 15-30 semester room change requests. The main reason is a student has made friends with a new student since arriving and they find out there is going to be a vacancy which makes them want to live together,” Burggraff said.
However, a roommate change isn’t always possible right away due to housing capacity limits.
“If a student wants to move rooms, student ‘A’ must get everything out of their current space and turn in their key before they go home for break, Burggraff said. “If they can get their things into a corner of student ‘B’s room, great, but they cannot force the student that is not returning out.”
Burggraff said, when capacity is full, housing does its best to honor all requests, but sometimes due to time or space, housing may not be able to honor the request until two weeks into the second semester.
