Wednesday, June 29, 2011

NTU Hall Allocation System

As expected, SAO is giving standard official replies to our complaint emails about hall allocation. Now, there are several points we should think about:

i) In the case when the no of applicants exceed the no of places in a certain hall, how should the selection be done? Randomly allocated (like now) or depends of cut-off point? What if the cut-off point is the same? Should ECA points be favoured over distance point/extra points with roomate? The reason of awarding extra points and distance points is to help juniors, international students and locals who live far away to get a place in hall (any hall) easier. Where as students who have high ECA points by working their asses off throughout the year should definitely be given priority to choose the hall they want.

ii) Is the quota allocated to JCRC and freshmen too high? I understand the importance of having a vibrant hall life in NTU. But more often than not, alot of freshmen give up their place after a while when they realise that hall life is not suitable for them. These places will then be randomly allocated to students on waiting list - places that are highly sought after by the students who made the cut-off point

iii) Is the computerized system glitched? Despite the reason of over-demand given by SAO, I have heard cases where students who didnt get their 1st and 2nd choices are allocated to halls which are supposedly "full".

It is evident that our Hall Allocation System and its implementation by SAO is flawed. How can we improve?