We understand that there will be times when students may be unhappy with their room assignment. Our goal is to improve that situation. However, with nearly 2,800 beds in residence, and few (if any) vacancies, we are sometimes unable to accommodate requests to change rooms. It is unlikely that there will be any room switches before October. The only exception would be cases with extraordinary circumstances provided a suitable room is available. This would be done in consultation and co-ordination with the Residence Don, Head Resident and the Manager of Housing Admissions and Administration.
The option to request a room switch will be available the day after move-in weekend for residence.
Procedure
The following outlines the procedures that should be followed when a room switch is being requested:
To submit a request
- Go to my.brocku.ca. (It is essential that your browser is set to enable pop-ups/cookies).
- Login using your Brock username and password.
- Click the “Applicant and Student Self Serve” tab.
- Click “Apply for Residence” at the bottom right of the page.
- Select “Request a Room Switch.”
If you are having difficulties, please see our troubleshooting tips at the bottom of this page or contact Housing Admissions at housing@brocku.ca.
Requests may be made on the following grounds:
The Manager of Housing Admissions and Administration will contact the student after evaluating the provided medical documentation to find appropriate accommodation based on the rooms available. Students in this situation would be considered a high priority for a room switch.
The student should contact their Residence Don prior to submitting a room switch request. The Don will offer advice but if the student feels unable to resolve the problem alone, the Don will offer to mediate. If that fails, the Head Resident will be brought in to help. If the Head Resident feels the only successful resolution is for a student to switch rooms, a recommendation will be made to the Manager of Housing Admissions and Administration. The request will be prioritized high, medium or low depending on the circumstances.
These requests will automatically be ranked low priority. When there is a group of students who wish to swap rooms (i.e. change rooms between known people), they must first discuss the matter with their Residence Don. The Don will ensure that all parties are in agreement and that no one has been coerced into the move. The Don will submit the request to the Manager of Housing Admissions and Administration for approval and implementation.
If a student refuses to participate in mediation, they will be ranked low priority for changing rooms. Mediation will precede any move into a double room where one student is already living.
Please note: we will not do room switches within the same unit or floor if there is no compelling reason for the move (e.g. if a student just wants a different room).
Priority
Available rooms will be assigned based on request priority and date received. High priority cases will be assigned first in the order they are received. Issues of confidentiality dictate that the priority ranking of others will not be discussed with any student.
When moves may take place
Students granted permission to change rooms will be able to collect the keys to their new room from the appropriate Service Desk(s) any time after 2pm on Friday afternoon, and the student has until 6pm on Sunday to complete their move. The keys to their old room must be returned to the appropriate Service Desk no later than 6 pm on Sunday. If students complete their move in less time, they are encouraged to return their old keys as soon as they have finished with them. If a student fails to return keys by the Sunday deadline, a lock change will be initiated at the student’s expense.
There will be no room changes during the exam period in December except in very exceptional circumstances.
Room Swaps
We will also help students to facilitate room swaps with another student. Students who are swapping rooms with another student will be asked to go together to the Service Desk(s) during a specific time frame to swap keys. Students who swap rooms will forgo a room inspection at the time of the room swap.
Zippered mattress protector
Students switching rooms should take the zippered mattress protector from their old bed to the Service Desk when they check out of their old room. A fresh mattress protector will be on the bed in their new room. Students swapping rooms should take their old zippered mattress protector to the Service Desk when they exchange keys. They will be given a clean mattress protector to put onto the mattress in their new room.
Appeal process
It is only in exceptional circumstances that a student will be allowed to switch rooms during the week. Anyone who is unable to switch rooms over the weekend may appeal to Housing Admissions at housing@brocku.ca to explain their reasons for moving during the week.
Charges
Students will be charged according to the fees set out in the Residence Fees. When a student moves to a new room, the rate charged will be effective from the date they changed rooms; for example, a student moving from a double room to a single room will pay the single room rate after changing rooms.
Final date for changes
Changing rooms is not allowed after the Friday of Winter Reading Week, nor will anyone new move into residence after that day other than in exceptional circumstances.
Troubleshooting tips
Students must login using their campus ID, which is the six-digit letter and number combination (e.g. ab14cd)
You are on the wrong tab. At the top of the page, click on the “Applicant and Student Self Serve” tab to see the icon for the residence application.
Usually the residence channel is on the right side. It has a blue bar with Residence in white at the top and the “Apply to Residence” icon below. If you can’t see it on the right side, scroll down or check on the left side of the page. It’s possible the icon has been minimized so you will only see the blue bar with Residence and no picture. Click on the white arrow in the blue bar to open up the channel and see the icon. If you still can’t see the channel, go to the top right side of the page and click Add More on the menu bar. You will see any inactive channels that can be added to the page.
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