The housing lottery process at Whitworth has evolved many times to provide students with the best system for fulfilling their desired room assignments.

Alan Jacob, the associate director of housing at Whitworth, describes what the process looked like since he began. The process used to involve students gathering in the HUB and signing up at a dorm’s table to claim a room in that dorm. 

The problem he observed with that system was a lack of fairness because some students would intentionally or unintentionally cut in line, and rooms would run out quickly. Jacob said, “I saw right away the challenge was that, because the sign-up tables were so far apart from each other, students were intentionally or unintentionally beating students in the process when they should have been further back in line.”  

This resulted in the system functioning poorly and not serving students in the way it was intended. “The system kind of broke down as it played out,” said Jacob.  

The housing sign-up process was then moved to the main dining hall, where the distance between tables was much smaller and releasing only a few students at a time, which Jacob felt functioned better.  

The process then began to take place online as a result of COVID-19. Having the process online offered the benefit of being able to sign up in advance without scheduling a specific time, but resulted in students being far removed from the process and unsatisfied with their room assignment. Jacob said, “Students were just frustrated with the end result … it lost connection and understanding of why I didn’t get my first choice.” 

To re-engage students, the housing process was transitioned back to in-person so students could see the availability of rooms in real-time. This process is thought to better serve students because they could reconstruct housing plans to live close to friends and ultimately would leave students more satisfied with where they received housing.  

Adina Stover, a resident assistant (RA) in Duvall, expresses that the system does feel like a lottery for students, leaving them feeling unsure about whether they will receive their desired room, but that there still exists a level of ability for students in the process.  

Having worked the housing lottery last year, she feels that housing does a good job of communicating the process. She said, “It’s a confusing process, but when you get there, they explain it really well.”  

Resources provided by residence life have also been provided to students, such as emails, videos, pamphlets and an online website explaining the housing lottery process and FAQs.  

Madalyn Dotson, a first-year student learning more about how the process works, has found it to be challenging, but has been aided by the resources of information given to her. Dotson said, “I did get an email a couple [of] days back that was very helpful in explaining the process and the lottery number.” 

Stover’s job as an RA has also required her to answer questions students have about the process. She notes the importance for student leaders to be informed and wishes upcoming RAs who are working the housing lottery this year would receive training to be able to inform other students about the process.