Tuesday, February 25, 2014

The Time is NOW!

This Sunday, March 2nd, not only marks the special occasion of the day I was born, but it is the deadline for submitting your housing contracts to make sure you get the perfect room on campus next year! As I mentioned in my last blog, returner self-assignment is a special time where current residents can come pick out exactly where throughout University Housing you will live for the next chapter of your career at UWM.

The actual process of self-assignment will be taking place March 4th and 5th in Sandburg. A letter went out to your campus mailbox February 21st explaining the details of the self-assignment process. Make sure to check your mailbox for this letter which will indicate your scheduled self-assignment appointment. If you want to live in the same room you are currently in, select that option when you fill out your 2014-2015 contract and you will not need to take any further action! That is only applicable if you complete your contract before March 2nd!

Part of self-assignment includes picking your roommates and suite mates. When you come to pick out your room you can pencil in the names of your desired living mates to reserve their spot in your room. However, in order for them to be placed in the same room or suite they must also attend their assigned self-assignment appointment and confirm the room selection! If they do not confirm their reservation their names will be erased and anyone will be able to claim that space so make sure you are communicating with each other!

"Eric, I really want to live in housing again next year, but I have class during my scheduled self-assignment appointment! Does that mean I won't be able to participate?!"

Of course not! You will still get the same priority as everyone else! You can have a proxy come and reserve your space for you. All you have to do is fill out a proxy card, which you received as an email attachment on February 26th. If you need another they are available at the service desk.

In addition, if you lived in and loved your LLC or didn't live in one this year and want to next year you will be able to self-assign into an LLC! Take a look at all of the options and pay special attention to HH2, S'MORE, and Future Fraternity and Sorority Leaders. Those three are all geared towards returning students!

Now it's up to you! Get those contracts filled out by 11:59PM March 2nd and show up to your appointment for the most hassle free living selection process you will ever have!

Happy Self-Assigning, Panthers!

Eric

I'm admitted! What's next?

Congratulations to all of you that have been recently admitted to UW-Milwaukee! Now some of you maybe asking "Haley, what do I do now?!" Fear not future panthers for I have the answers you are seeking!

After you are admitted as a first year student, you should receive an email about 2-3 weeks from University Housing! This email will give you information on how to access and fill out your University Housing contract! Once you receive the access email, you can log onto uwm.edu/housing/myhousing to fill out your contract. Your contract is where you will fill out information regarding roommate requests and room type preferences. It is also the place you will choose your meal plan level for the contract period. Approximately 3-5 business days after you submit your contract, a 100$ housing contract deposit will be placed on your PAWS account and needs to be paid within two weeks.

In addition to co-ed floors, university housing also has inclusive housing and single gender  community options available to residents!

All first time, full time students under the age of 21 as of September 1st, 2014 are required to live in University Housing! Certain exemptions to this requirement and information on how to file for exemption can be found here. If you are an incoming first time full time student over the age of 21 as of September 1st, 2014 will need to file for exemption but can still have contract access if you would like to live in University Housing!

We look forward to seeing you all in the fall,
Haley

Monday, February 3, 2014

Live Laugh Love-Live Learn Lead

As you starting thinking about where you want to live next year while filling out your housing contract, you will find a lot of options available to you.  Do you want a single or a double?  Cambridge or Sandburg?  Kitchen or not?  You should also be thinking about LLCs!  What is an LLC you ask, well I am so glad you did.  LLC stands for living learning communities.  They are an opportunity for first year students to live with people who they share a common interest or major with.  All LLC students will take a class together that will put them one step closer to graduating, and their resident assistant (who also has life experience with the shared interest or major) will plan fun events around the selected interest or major.  What options are there??  LOTS!
Last year I was a resident assistant in our beloved RiverView residence hall, and the resident assistant for the Dance Foundations LLC.  Some of our events including watching Milwaukee Ballet and local Wildspace company perform.  The neat thing about Wildspace's performance is the company is sight spcific; meaning their dances are created for a specific area and can only be performed there.  The show we saw was performed in a parking structure.  The students recieve this and much more all at no extra cost to them.
In addition to the Dance Foundation LLC next year we will also offer, Social Welfare, Health Professions, Education and Leadership, and many more.  The best way to learn more about these LLCs is to visit our LLC website.  It will describe the Living Learning Community to you, tell you what class goes with the LLC, and where the LLC is located.  If you are curious about how past LLCs have worked and what events they have done, you can visit UWM's LLC Blog.
Overall LLCs are a great opportunity to make new friends and connect with other students they will most likely later on have classes with.  Even if you don't select an LLC on your contract, you can still add an LLC at any point, as long as it doesn't fill up!  Last of all if you are unsure about what major you want, joining an LLC is a great way to get a taste of something to see if you like it.  And of course Living Learning Communities help you to Live, Learn, Lead!