Consolidation
Residence Life performs consolidation in order to offer residence hall room choices for all students. Consolidation takes place because:
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Completely empty rooms are often used for emergencies providing safety, options, and relief for students in crisis or when displaced due to facility or natural disasters.
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Empty rooms provide students with options should two roommates want to move together into another building.
- Empty rooms allow two students who are not roommates to become roommates.
- Empty rooms may be assigned due to College-approved disability accommodation requests.
What is consolidation?
Consolidation is a process in which students living in doubles, triples, and quads that have an empty bed are assigned a new room or have a new roommate assigned to the empty bed. Once consolidation occurs, new empty rooms can be offered to students who are looking for living options in other buildings. A certain percentage of empty rooms will always be retained for emergencies.
When does consolidation take place?
Once a bed becomes empty (i.e. a roommate leaves, a roommate never arrived), Residence Life notifies the student that the empty bed could be filled at any time and that consolidation will eventually occur. At the conclusion of each Block, Residence Life will notify all students who may qualify for consolidation they must seek a roommate to fill the space within the following Block. Therefore, students will have the following Block, after they lose a roommate, to seek a new roommate of their own choosing when participating in the consolidation process*.
The deadline to select a roommate of one’s choosing is Monday, 12:00PM (noon) of Week 3 of the Block that consolidation will occur. Therefore, students will not be consolidated during the same Block that they gain an empty bed*.
Should a bed still be empty after the deadline has passed, the room will be consolidated.
Examples:
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Your roommate did not come back to Cornell for the fall or spring. During Block Break of Block 2 (fall) or Block 6 (spring), that room will be consolidated.
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Your roommate leaves in the middle of Block 1. During Block 2 Block Break, that room will be consolidated.
What happens when a room is consolidated?
When a bed has remained empty for at least 1 Block, a student has not found their own match, and the deadline for consolidation has passed, their room will be consolidated.
Residence Life will notify students Week 3 of the consolidation Block of their new roommate’s information. Residents will either be moved or will receive a new roommate. When determining who will physically move, the person will be chosen at random. Alternatively, a student may request to be the one to move, for example, when they prefer the other building or are being gracious to the other roommate who requests the flip.
The students receive the following information:
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Your new room, and new roommate, starting during the upcoming Block Break will be: name of the new resident
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Your new roommate, joining you, starting during the upcoming Block Break will be: name of the new resident
Residents should contact Residence Life immediately if the new pairing would violate any current policies. In the event, a new pairing will be considered and new options may be available for the student to review. The deadline to request a change of a Res Life-assigned pairing is Friday of Week 3.
The moving roommate will pick up their new key from the Res Life office, 1st floor of Old Sem, starting Monday or week 4 and must do so no later than Friday at noon of week 4. The old room key must be returned to Res Life by Monday of the following Block, week 1 by noon. Failure to return the key in time will result in the lock being changed for the old room. Please avoid this as a lock changes can be very pricey. Contact our office for specific costs as it varies by building.
How can I help find my new roommate and avoid consolidation?
Residents are highly encouraged to seek their own pairings based on their preferences and choice. Blockly mixers and pairing events will be hosted by Residence Life. All students who may qualify for consolidation will be invited via email to attend the event. Publicity for the events will also be posted on bulletin boards on campus.
In addition, students may visit Residence Life on the first floor of Old Sem or contact their housing area's assistant director to request a list of possible new folks in the same situation. With this list, you may independently seek a match even outside of our formal matching mixers.
Finally, students can list their name on the Need a Roommate forum web page. They can both announce they are seeking a roommate and browse others who are doing the same across campus.
What if I have an exception?
There are a few reasons someone may not need to participate in consolidation. The Dean of Student's office may request an exemption under extreme circumstances. Additionally, for students with a disability that creates a barrier to access, an accommodation may be coordinated by Disability Services.
* This timeline may be accelerated if rooms are needed during emergencies, and during winter break due to the arrival of new transfer students. See 'Relocation and Room Changes' on our Residence Life policies page.