ODR Approved Accommodations
Students who have approved housing accommodations through the Office of Disability Services will have an opportunity to select their room or be manually assigned by Residence Life and Housing. Students with accommodations that may limit physical placement will select or be assigned prior to general Housing Selection.
Since accommodations are often very individual in nature, Residence Life and Housing will communicate with each student that has an approved accommodation regarding their housing for 2024-2025. In order to receive an assignment during the designated ODR period, students must have their accommodation re-approved and their Housing Application completed by March 8. Students with accommodations that are approved after March 8 will still have their accommodations met but may not be able to select their own space and will have a space assigned to them.
Students approved for accommodations that are not limited by physical placement (Emotional Support Animals, bed shakers, etc.) will participate in their chosen housing selection process. Any questions regarding the housing selection process should be directed to the Office of Residence Life and Housing
Flexible Housing
Flexible Housing is an option in which any students, regardless of gender, may choose to share the same room, suite, or apartment. Flexible Housing provides a range of options that respond to students’ diverse backgrounds, interests, preferences, and needs with the goal of improving retention and student success.
Flexible Housing is a fully opt-in housing option for upper-class students. A unit (room, suite, apartment) must be filled with students who are willing to live together. All students must not only opt into Flexible Housing, but they all must approve their roommates. Students are not placed randomly with other students in Flexible Housing. No student will be assigned to a gender-neutral living situation without their express consent. UMW discourages students who are in a romantic relationship from living together.
Students are eligible for Flexible Housing if they:
- Are a current UMW student applying for housing for the upcoming academic year
- Have submitted a complete Housing and Dining Application for the upcoming academic year and have answered “yes” to the Flexible Housing opt-in question.
- Have identified and confirmed enough roommates to fill a full unit (traditional room- 2, suite- 4, apartment- 2, 3 or 4 based on layout)
All applicants must agree to live with each other and agree to follow all policies/procedures.
- Students participating in Flexible Housing will be manually assigned by the Residence Life & Housing staff or be able to select from available rooms after the office confirms all students’ opt-in status, full approval of all roommates, and the ability to fill a unit. Residence Life & Housing staff will communicate directly with each Flexible Housing group on the process moving forward.
- Should an opening occur within the Flexible Housing unit, the space will be filled by one of the following methods:
- Students in the unit will have two business days to notify Residence Life & Housing of another roommate to fill the vacancy. This person must either be currently living on campus or eligible for on-campus housing and agree to a Flexible Housing arrangement. All roommates must approve the proposed occupant and vice versa.
- Students within the group may all agree to a roommate who also applied for Flexible Housing, but not yet assigned to a Flexible Housing unit.
- If the students in the group do not select another roommate or agree to have an approved applicant placed to fill the vacancy, the unit will move from Flexible Housing to gender-specific housing. This could result in students being reassigned or moved to different spaces. The Residence Life & Housing staff will work with students to facilitate any necessary moves.
- Requests for room changes will be handled in the same manner regardless of the type of housing in which a student resides; however, students will have the option to move within Flexible and single-sex housing, as long as all criteria are met.
It is the students’ choice to tell their parent or guardian about their decision to live in Flexible housing. We encourage students to maintain an open dialogue with their families so that they can be supportive of their housing decision.
Same Building Sign-Up
Current residents living on campus in designated upper-class halls/apartments have the option to select their same (current) building for next year by participating in the Same Building Sign-Up selection process. This allows for students to go in ahead of the general selection and choose their space and pull in roommates. Students wishing to sign up for their same building will need to have a completed Housing application and will need to indicate their interest for Same Building Sign-Up on that application. Students who participate in Same Building Sign-Up must fill all of the spaces in the room/apartment/suite. Please note your current room is not guaranteed within Same Building Sign-Up. Students residing in first-year buildings are not eligible for same-building sign-up.
Roommate Groups
Residents who are participating in the Housing Selection process have the ability to manage their own spaces and assignments. Students are able to go into the Housing Portal and find a vacancy and assign themselves and their roommates. Each roommate group must fill the space they are signing up for. Roommate groups can be as small as two participants (a group leader and a resident) and as large as four (a group leader and three others). Only the group leader is able to assign others to spaces in the system. Per the Housing Agreement, any student assigned to a room space by a group leader is considered to have selected that space and will be obligated to the same terms and conditions as if they selected the space themselves. All participants of a roommate group must have a completed Housing Application in order to receive an assignment through this process. It is important that students check their UMW email and the Housing Portal messages throughout the Selection process for information.
Roommate groups should be formed with the desired housing in mind. You should have enough members to fill the room, apartment, or suite you would like to select during the Housing Selection process. It is also important to be realistic about the housing inventory. For example, we have limited three-person apartments available, but many students desire these accommodations. It is important to be thoughtful as to where you will be in the process and subsequent availability of desired spaces.
4-3-2-1 Process for Housing Selection
Students who have filled out a Housing Application and have not participated in selection for Flexible Housing, Same Building Sign-Up, ODR, or have not been pulled into an assignment, will go through the 4-3-2-1 process to select their room for next year. They will be allowed to assign roommates if they have a roommate group and must fill the space based on the number of members in the roommate group. The 4-3-2-1 process is based on the size of the roommate group and student classification. 4 person groups will select first starting with seniors, then juniors, and then sophomores. After that 3 person groups will select, starting with seniors, juniors, etc. Each student will receive a time slot that will let them know when they can log in to the Housing Portal and select a room space. The time slots will be given out in a lottery fashion to make the process as fair as possible. Time slots will be delivered to student’s UMW email address.
When the date and time on a student’s time slot arrives, that student will be able to log into the Housing Portal and search for rooms based on building, floor, room number, and their roommate group size. A 4 person group will only see 4 person apartments and suites, a 3 person group will only see 3 person apartments in the UMW Apartments, a 2 person group will see double rooms available, and a 1 person group will see available standalone single rooms and vacant spaces. When the student finds the room they want, they can select it and assign themselves to the space. It is important to check the room to ensure it has the desired number of vacancies BEFORE assigning anyone to the room. If they have a roommate group and are the group leader, they should also then assign the roommates to the other vacancies in the room if there are any. Please remember to keep your roommate group to the same size as the room you want to select. It is recommended that the members of a roommate group discuss their time slots and the person with the highest classification and earliest time slot be made the group leader.
Once a room has been selected and roommates assigned (if applicable) an email will be sent to the student’s UMW email address letting them know they have completed the Housing Selection process.
Meal Plan Information
Students living on campus will select their meal plans after they have selected a room assignment. This allows the system to populate meal plans based on your location and credit hours. Anyone with less than 90 credits and not living in Eagle Landing or the UMW Apartments can choose from the 150, 225, or Eagle meal plans. Seniors with 90 credits or more, and students choosing to live in Eagle Landing or the UMW Apartments have the additional option of choosing lower meal plans such as the 85 meal block plans.