Memo of Transmittal

To: Tracy Merrick

Cc: Morgan Livingston
From: Margaret Kennedy
Date: March 07, 2016
Subject: Recommendation Report Investigating the Roommate Assignment Process at Cal Poly
Attached is the requested recommendation report concerning possible solutions to enhance Cal
Polys roommate assignment process. The purpose of this report is to provide Cal Poly Housing
Services with the information necessary to make an informed decision on how they should
restructure the roommate assignment process.
Recommendations
The report looks at two possible solutions. Each were judged based on how effective they would
be and are explained as follows:
1. A survey be filled out with housing preferences by all incoming students that helps
describe what type of roommate they will be and what qualities they wish to see in a
future roommate
2. Roommate contracts will be required and, if broken, there would be consequences that
ensue
Methods
In order to gain more information and knowledge to make a reasonable argument for how to go
about solving Cal Polys housing issue, I used the following research methods:
o Interview with Tracy Merrick, First Year Room Assignment Supervisor
o Survey of University Students
o Roommate Effects on Grades: Evidence for First-Year Housing Assignments (journal
article)
o From Matchmaker to Mediator: Shifting Trends in Roommate Relationships in an Era of
Individualism, Diversity, Conflict, and Social Media(journal article)
o Cal Poly Housing Website
Findings
The overall findings gathered from the methods above can be located in the Results section of
this report. The analysis and applications of each of them can be found in the Conclusion
section.
Final Recommendation
My final recommendation is that Cal Poly implement a compatibility survey to provide students
with roommates matched by compatibility. The arguments that prove this and the most effective
method can be found in the Conclusion section of this report.

If there are any questions or concerns regarding the following report please contact me at
mkenne06@calpoly.edu.

Recommendation Report
Investigating the Roommate Assignment
Process at Cal Poly

Prepared For: Tracy Merrick,

First Year Room Assignment Supervisor
Prepared By: Margaret Kennedy
Second Year Aerospace Student
Date Submitted: March 7, 2016

Table of contents

Table of Figures

Introduction
Getting a roommate as a first year college student is a very important step in beginning a college
career. The experiences one will have and the way roommates will interact shapes who a person
is and how they will handle future communication with others.
Currently, when applying for housing at Cal Poly a student gets to choose where they would like
to live on campus. The student is then paired with roommates who had similar housing
preferences. While at Cal Poly, first and second year students are guaranteed housing on campus
if requested [5]. For many second years, roommate selection is an easily determined process.
Most have been through a year at Cal Poly and have made friends and have decided to live
together in the Poly Canyon Village or Cerro Vista apartments on campus [1]. For them, all that
must be done is to enter their desired roommates housing code that is provided to each person
who applies for on-campus housing.
However, for the few second years and incoming freshmen this roommate determination process
can be less helpful in the long term. As students are effected by who they room with in some way
or another [3]. There is also no way of enforcing roommate behavior as roommate contracts are
not taken seriously and can students dont have to fill them out.
This process of assigning roommates at random is no longer a viable method of placement for
Cal Poly and needs to be reviewed and changed. It is for these reasons that Cal Poly Housing
needs to revise and change their roommate assignment process.
I looked into the following recommendations for Cal Polys roommate issue:
1. A survey be filled out with housing preferences by all incoming students that helps
describe what type of roommate and what qualities they wish to see in a future roommate
2. Roommate contracts will be required and, if broken, there would be consequences, such
as roommate relocation, that ensue
Something must be done to provide Cal Poly students with a better SLOme (SLO Home) life and
college experience.
Methods
To obtain a greater knowledge of the roommate process and roommate importance I used several
different sources to help with the research process. I used primary research methods including a
survey of student from both Cal Poly and other universities and an interview with the First Year
Room Assignment Supervisor, Tracy Merrick. Several scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles
were also used as secondary sources. A more in-depth description of the methods I used can be
found below.
Primary Sources
Interview with Tracy Merrick
I wanted to get a more in-depth understanding of how University Housing places students into
the dorms. To do this, I interviewed Tracy Merrick. She is the First Year Room Assignment
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Supervisor at Cal Poly. A full list of questions that helped me gain information on the housing
process can be found in Appendix A: Interview Questions for Tracy Merrick.[1]
Survey of University Students
To gain a better understanding of how students feel about the current roommate assignment
process I conducted a survey of Cal Poly and other university students. The survey was created
using Survey Monkey and sent to friends and members of several of the clubs I am involved in.
Appendix B [2] has the full list of questions that the participants of the survey were asked.
I surveyed anyone from Cal Poly who has lived on campus within the last five years. Cal Poly
students were surveyed on how much information they know about housing arrangements at Cal
Poly. They were also asked how they might change housing arrangements.
To get a good idea of how other schools conduct housing assignments, I additionally sent the
survey to my brother, who attends Utah State University, to distribute on amongst his college
friends. It was also sent the survey to my friends from home. I am from Colorado and a majority
of them attend University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University.
Lastly, the survey has been sent to my roommates friends who attend other California state
universities.
Secondary Sources
Databases
Going through my portal to get to the library website, I used Cal Polys many online database
resources. The main database I used was the Academic Search Premier. These resources helped
give more information about how roommate can affect a students college experiences.
o Roommate Effects on Grades: Evidence for First-Year Housing Assignments by
Patrick McEwan was written in 2006.

Peers can have a large impact on how people act. This journal looked
specifically at roommate peer relationships and how they might effect
a students grades.

o From Matchmaker to Mediator: Shifting Trends in Roommate Relationships in

an Era of Individualism, Diversity, Conflict, and Social Media from the Journal
of College and University Student Housing

The Journal of College and University Student Housing has a lot of

great resources and studies on how roommates and student interact
with one another. The Journal is a great source for housing services
with plenty of ideas and resources.

Cal Poly Housing Website

Another online secondary source I used was the Cal Poly housing website. It is a great source for
gaining a better understanding of Cal Polys Housing process. It has a great question and answer
section with lots of information and its open to the public for perspective and current students.
Since it is run and maintained by University Housing the information is up to date and reliable.
Results
After finding credible sources and investing the roommate process further, the following results
were obtained from both the primary and secondary sources.
Primary Sources
Interview with Tracy Merrick
The interview with Tracy Merrick, the First Year Room Assignment Supervisor, proved to be
very useful because she had information on what happens after a first year student applies for
housing. She explained that room assignments dont start until the first week in May. Tracy
stated that a computer system sorts students on a first-come-first-serve basis. She then goes
through and hand sorts students to give as many of them one of their priority housing choices. If
a student has requested a roommate, whoever registered first will get their housing preferences.
Tracy says she goes through and tries to give as many students one of their requested buildings
[1].
Tracy also explained the process for switching rooms. When the school year starts housing is
100% full. At this point, all thats possible in an un-ideal roommate situation are swaps between
rooms. Swaps simply are two roommates switching or trading places with one another. As the
school year progresses and students settle in, some students find that they can no longer remain
at Cal Poly due to different circumstances such as grades, family issues, or simply not feeling
that Cal Poly is right for them. As this happens, Tracy can begin moving students into different
rooms. Tracy made it clear that if a student needed to switch rooms right away it is possible but it
might not be what the student is looking for [1].
When asked how Cal Poly might improve the process, Tracy stated that the process has gotten
better the past six years she has be the roommate assignment supervisor. However, she wishes
students simply knew more about the housing process stating that the information is out there
students just have to look for it [1].
Survey of University Students
The survey was open for several days and was sent to friends and Cal Poly students. It was taken
by a total of 35 people. The survey went to both Cal Poly students and other university students.
The students ranged in year from first years to grad students with the majority being second year
students. Of the students surveyed fifteen lived on campus for a year, nineteen for two years, one
for three years, and none for four or more years [2].
When asked how they would like to see the housing process improved, the current college
students living both on Cal Polys campus and other university campuses wished for better
3

compatibility between them and their roommates. As shown in figure 1 [6], 91.43% stated that a
roommate compatibility survey would help improve roommate relations and housing
assignments [2].

Figure 1: Survey Question #7

Do you think a room/roommate compatibility survey would/has helped make room/roommate assignments better/easier?

8.75

Yes

No

91.43

Secondary Sources
Databases
o Roommate Effects on Grades: Evidence for First-Year Housing Assignments by
Patrick McEwan
This article looked at if different types of roommate assignments
effected students grades. The groups served were set up in different
roommate situations. The first group being completely randomly
assigned to roommates. The second group filled out a housing
preference form and were then placed. The study turned out to be
inconclusive for effects on grades but did determine that students are
effected by how they room with in some way or another [3].
o

From Matchmaker to Mediator: Shifting Trends in Roommate Relationships in

an Era of Individualism, Diversity, Conflict, and Social Media from the Journal
of College and University Student Housing
The journal looks at different aspects of student housing and ways to
improve it. It concluded that no matter how a university pairs its
students there will always be a few students who are unhappy with
their roommates. That being said they suggest that to improve and
lessen the number of unhappy roommate relationship the housing
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services should take into account the diverse values, social identities,
and interpersonal skills that each student has [4].
Cal Poly Housing Website
When looking at schools, many perspective students and their parents look at the schools
website. It is the best place to find the most amount of information provided by the university
about the school. Cal Polys housing tab has a lot of great information about how to apply, the
rules of living on campus, and general questions and answers about Cal Poly housing. The
frequently asked question and answer tab had the best information on how housing works. It has
a section dedicated to roommate questions, one of them being about roommate compatibility. It
states that if a student is unhappy with their roommate situation they can switch, however it
depends on the priority and availability of the room or hall the student would like [5]. It then
gives a link to the University Housing Resident handbook for more information.
Conclusion
One of the very first things a student does after accepting and committing to a university is apply
for housing. It is a very big step and so important in a college career that colleges need to take
more time to pair students with similar interests together. Cal Poly assigns rooms based on where
the students would like to live on campus. This does not account for how each student lives and
has led to many students requesting to change rooms.
Currently, there are between two to ten students a week coming to Tracy Merrick, and asking to
change rooms/roommates [1]. That is 22 to 110 students per quarter asking to change rooms.
While Cal Poly provides housing for 7,000 [5] students, mainly first and second years, only a
handful of room vacancies occur for the 22 to 110 students trying to switch each quarter[1].
Tracy said that if a student need to switch right away it is always possible, but it might not be the
best move. After looking at Cal Polys assignment process there are two possible solutions:
1. A survey be filled out with housing preferences by all incoming students that helps
describe what type of roommate they will be and what qualities they wish to see in a
future roommate
2. Roommate contracts will be required and if broken there would be consequences that
ensue
Solution 1: Compatibility Survey
A compatibility survey is a quick and easy way to learn more about the students that will be
living on campus. As shown in the survey I conducted for this report, 32 out of 35 students think
a compatibility survey of some type would help with roommate selections [2]. Also, other
universities already use this as a method of assigning roommates so it would be easy to use their
surveys as a templet [7]. The survey could take into account the diverse values, social identities,
and interpersonal skills that each student has [4]. The survey would also be there to help enforce
that students respect one another. Similar to a roommate contract, the survey would be a way of
agreeing that both roommates like a clean room, therefore if one of them becomes messy the
other can hold them accountable for their actions.

Cal Poly would have to be careful about the kinds of questions they ask on the survey. The
survey would also take time to read through and thus, housing services would have a bit more
work to do before they could start placing students with others like them. Housing services
would also need to make some changes to the computer system they use to do the first round of
housing placements.
Solution 2: Enforced Roommate Contracts
Roommate contracts are currently a form students fill out at the beginning of the year with their
roommates [5] that never gets looked at again even when their might be a problem [1]. To
change this and help improve the Cal Poly roommate assignment process, the contracts should
become a mandatory document that the roommates fill out and can reference if something does
go wrong during the year. Having a way to hold roommates accountable will help with roommate
communication. It is a way of making sure all roommates are on the same page and agree to live
by a standard set of rules.
This, however, does not truly solve the roommate problem at Cal Poly. It will help roommates
who may otherwise switch rooms to try and work out their problem first but other than that it is
still a piece of paper. The contract would hold a roommate accountable, but if roommates are not
compatible in the first place then there is not much the contract will solve in terms of roommate
assignments.
Result
Overall, the best way to help improve Cal Polys roommate assignment process and to make
roommates more compatible is to create a survey. It provides a way for housing to better assess
the diverse values, social identities, and interpersonal skills that each student has [4]. A survey is
welcomed by students as way to improve the housing process [2]. The survey is a quick and easy
way for students and the housing services staff to get to know how potential roommates will live
and interact with each other.
Recommendation
I recommend that Cal Poly adopts a compatibility survey to better assess the types of students
that will be living in the on-campus housing units. To do this, Cal Poly should look into the
surveys other schools to give to their incoming housing students. Wesleyan College has a good
application that can be found in Appendix C: Roommate Survey Examples [7]. After
compiling and creating the survey, all that must be done is to post it for students to fill out when
they apply for housing.

Appendix A: Interview Questions for Tracy Merrick

The following is a list of questions asked during the interview with Tracy Merrick. Tracy is the
First Year Room Assignment Supervisor at Cal Poly.
1. How did you come to work at Cal Poly?
2. How long have you worked at Cal Poly
3. Could you describe the housing process?
a. From a students perspective?
b. From your perspective?
4. How often do students ask to change rooms/ roommates?
5. How hard is it to change rooms/ roommates?
6. How would you make assigning room/roommates easier?
a. What would help you assign room/roommates easier?

Appendix B: Survey Questions

The questions bellow were given to both Cal Poly and other university students about their
experiences with room/roommate assignments.

1. What College do you attend?

2. What year are you?
3. How many years have you lived on campus?
4. On a scale from 1 (never heard of) to 5(extremely familiar) how familiar would you say
you are with the room/roommate assignment process at your school?
5. How were your room/roommates assigned your first year on campus?
6. Did you fill out a compatibility test for your room/roommate assignment?
7. Do you think a room/roommate compatibility survey would/has helped make
room/roommate assignments better/easier?
8. How would you change/improve your room/roommate assignment process?
9. Did you change room/roommate?
10. How would you improve the process to change room/roommates?

Appendix C: Roommate Survey Example

Below is an example from Wesleyan College of a possible roommate survey that Cal Poly could
use to create their own.

References
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[1] T. Merrick, "Tracy Merrick Housing Interview", 2016.

[2] M. Kennedy, Roommate Assignment Survey. Survey. 6 March 2016.

[3] P. McEwan and K. Soderberg, "Roommate Effects on Grades: Evidence from First-Year
Housing Assignments", Research in Higher Education, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 347-370, 2006.

[4] D. Molina, A. Heiselt and C. Justice, "From Matchmaker to Mediator: Shifting Trends in
Roommate Relationships in an Era of Individualism, Diversity, Conflict, and Social
Media.", Journal of College & University Student Housing, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 104-117,
2015.

[5] "University Housing for On-Campus Students - University Housing - Cal Poly, San Luis
Obispo", Housing.calpoly.edu, 2016. [Online]. Available:
http://www.housing.calpoly.edu/. [Accessed: 01- Mar- 2016].

[6] Figure 1. M. Kennedy, Survey Results Microsoft Word. 6 March 2016.

[7] http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/studentlife/residencelife/upload/housingapplicationf12.pdf.
[Accessed: 11- Mar- 2016].

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