Last week, the housing selection process began for the 2021-2022 academic year. Students had the ability to self-select roommates and room assignments through NSU’s housing portal in preparation for a return to campus in the fall.
Regarding NSU’s April 1 announcement to require all students to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and move instruction back on campus, the latter decision means that more students are expected to move into residential housing come the fall.
“I think [the decision to hold classes on campus] definitely impacts us positively in order for us to return to some form of normalcy,” said Justin Smith, the director of residential life and housing at NSU.
The vaccine requirement is anticipated to be in place in order to live on campus in the fall and will help to facilitate a return to normal. Smith looks forward to seeing a much more vibrant and active campus community this upcoming year.
Smith explained that, although the COVID-19 vaccine requirement is new, vaccine requirements, in general, are nothing new to students who have lived on campus before.
“What I will say is that we already require vaccination on campus, so this isn’t an anomaly if you have lived on campus before. You know you have to have the meningitis shot, measles, mumps and rubella. So, vaccinations, in general, are not uncommon to the university or uncommon, specifically, to students living on campus,” he said.
Smith encourages students to take advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated through NSU in order to protect themselves and their community. The Office of Residential Life and Housing is actively planning to ensure that, if students are expected to be vaccinated, this will be an added layer to the housing process.
Smith also addressed some of the concerns that students voiced with this year’s housing selection process. He explained that the limited housing options and availability for upperclassmen for the upcoming academic year is an unfortunate circumstance of NSU’s growth.
He said, “We’ve recruited so many new students to the university, and as that recruitment continues to occur, we also retain even more students every year, and so, with that retention, we’re unfortunately not in a position to support all students who want to live on campus.”
Despite not being able to offer on-campus housing options to all students at NSU, the Office of Residential Life and Housing remains committed to ensuring that they support students in finding other housing options. Their website contains a variety of resources that can help students find and secure off-campus housing. The website provides information about NSU’s off-campus housing partners, some of which provide special rates for NSU students. For more information about off-campus housing, visit www.nova.edu/off-campus-housing/index.html.
Smith encourages students to reach out and provide feedback about the housing process in order to improve it in the future.
“I love getting [student] feedback. I mean, our housing selection process right now was generated because of the voice of students, and particularly from our student government association… We want to continue to support you all,” said Smith.
To find more information about NSU’s on-campus and off-campus housing options, visit the residential life and housing page at www.nova.edu/housing/index.html.
