The Office of Housing and Residence Life announced the 2,400 student capacity for the housing application had been reached last week.
Students have been in a panic since March after learning of the limitations placed upon the application process. The panic started after the housing portal crashed on March 12.
the housing app opened at 12 and crashed at 12. #ncat
— T (@NiaCheyenne20) March 12, 2019
Countdown: 3, 2, 1
*Housing opens….then crashes*
Me: pic.twitter.com/9YMswSmPlW
— Jay Harden 🚀 (@_GetRightJayy) March 12, 2019
The purpose of the housing application is to reserve housing beds for the students, who pay the application fee.
Many students crowded the housing office located in Richmond Hall to receive help; the housing office offered a few students the option to pay the application fee in person while instructing the remaining students to sign their name stating they would have the option to access the portal at a later date.
“I tried to pay in person and they told me to wait until the portal reopens and apply. I can’t afford an apartment on my own, so I have to do housing through the school,” said Jonasha Greene, a junior accounting student.
On March 14, Housing and Residence Life released an email explaining to students the failure of the housing portal, as well as reassuring students that another email would be sent to provide further instructions after the portal was fixed.
“Due to high demand for students to complete applications to live on campus fall 2019, the RMS system server which supports our continuing student housing application experienced a system failure on yesterday,” the email from Jermaine Foye, assistant director for assignments, stated.
“We are currently reviewing all the data submitted to verify the status of the all students that attempted to access the Housing Portal. We will send emails to your NCAT email addresses for updates and further instructions.”
Due to high demand, the server which supports our continuing student housing application experienced a system failure. All students will receive an email notification once the issue has been rectified and the portal is once again available.
— NCAT Housing (@ncathousing) March 12, 2019
Two weeks later, students who were able to apply received their roommate group pins for the next year. However, students on the list to be notified were still waiting for the portal to open and did not receive an email notification with further instructions from the housing office as it was stated.
The following statement was included in an email on April 2, from the Office of Housing and Residence Life.
“We have now reviewed all records regarding the 2019-2020 Continuing Student Application process and have reached the limit of 2400 applications. The application process is now closed.”
The portal was never re-opened for the students who did not receive a chance to apply.
Now students who had the plan to stay on campus are frustrated and worried about where they will live next semester.
https://twitter.com/jtknowsbest_/status/1113091190101082113
The office realizes there is a high demand for housing. Therefore, they are “exploring the possible additional apartment beds for Fall 2019,” as stated in the recent email.
The housing portal will re-open May 20 and July 31, depending on the opening of any newly available spaces. Available openings occur when students are placed on academic suspension, made the decision to not return, or purchased an apartment on their own.
As of now, there has been no announcement or directions provided to students who were placed on the “will be notified” list.
For more information, contact the Office of Housing and Residence Life via email at housing.ncat.edu or phone (336)334-7708 or Foye by email at [email protected].
