Just as the registrar was required to step in to fill the gap left by the student course guide, the housing department should fill the gap left by the student room guide by creating a centralized room evaluation system to provide more access to information about rooms. Before being permitted to fill out an application for room draw, students would first be directed to a page that asks them to complete a review of their current room. This review could include anything from rating specific factors (heat, lighting, size, etc.) to providing general comments about the quality of the dorm. While floor plans may provide some information about the features of particular rooms, they also leave out much, and the commentary of past occupants would surely be useful. Even if this process could provide more information about slanted roofs, creaking corridors, garbage trucks and bug infestations, it would help provide students with more direction in choosing a room.
As with the student course guide, this evaluation system should be opt-out, providing students with the opportunity to decline to complete a review; it is unlikely that students forced to complete one would provide especially reliable information. Moreover, there is no reason to think that, under an opt-out system, the majority of students will shirk from rating their own rooms. Significant numbers of students feel strongly enough about their courses to complete opt-out course evaluations; room reviews will likely generate a similar response. Students participating in room draw would substantially benefit from increased accessibility to reviews, and centralization would provide an efficient, official database of information to ultimately guide students in making the best decisions for room draw. Such a system would be easy for the housing department to implement, and it should do so.
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