Students can now pay extra to buy out a room and not have a roommate this semester, Housing and Residence Life (HRL) announced on Sept. 14.
The Single Room Buy-Out Pilot Program is available for students who currently don’t have a roommate and those who have a roommate but want to move into an unoccupied room.
The cost of buying out a double room is an additional $2,340, which will be added to the student’s account, according to an email from HRL.
Jessica Proano, Interim Director of Housing and Residence Life, said 35% of the beds on campus are vacant. This statistic includes the beds in Serra Hall, Neumann Hall and Ora Manor, she said, which are closed.
Proano also said these vacancies are what gave HRL the opportunity to try this program.
“This is a common program at other institutions,” Proano said. “HRL has been considering this for quite some time. Due to our current vacancies, we can now provide this opportunity.”
Students who opt to do the Single Room Buy-Out Pilot Program may still have suitemates, Proano said.
Students interested in the Single Room Buy-Out Program must fill out an application linked in the original email. The applications are due Sept. 25. Only students who fill out this application will be put in the program.
“We have received a lot of questions from students without a roommate,” Proano said. “Only students who want a true single and fill out the application will be able to participate in this pilot program. Students who do not have a roommate and choose not to participate cannot be guaranteed a single room for the entire semester.”
According to Proano, HRL has already received “several inquiries and applications” about the new pilot program.
The email from HRL also says that as of right now the program will only be available for the Fall 2020 semester.
“This opportunity is only being offered for the Fall 2020 semester and will not carry over into the Spring 2021 semester,” the email read. “If possible, Housing & Residence Life will revisit this program in the Spring Semester after the Add/Drop period.”
Genevieve Krupcheck can be reached at genevieve.krupcheck@student.shu.edu.
