Returner Sign Up

The opportunity for current students to sign-up to live on-campus for the 2023-2024 Academic Year is called “Returner Sign-Up”. Students who decide to stay on campus next school year have the advantage of choosing exactly where they want to live – from the residence hall to the specific room! 

Returner Sign-Up for AY 23-24 begins on January 18. The first step in the returner sign-up process is to visit the Online Housing Portal to complete your housing contact for the next year.

If you want to live in the SAME bed space that you are currently in, please plan to go online and renew your bed between Tuesday, January 18 and Friday, January 27 by 5:00 p.m. to secure that exact spot for next year. If you know that you want to look for a new/different space, no action is required during that timeframe. 

If you DO NOT want to stay in the SAME bed space that you are currently in for next year DO NOT log-in to the housing portal and renew your bed space. Instead, check your Ball State email address for an email from Ball State Housing regarding Search/Swap. Prior to Tuesday, February 7, all students with renewed contracts will receive an email with a timeslot for them to begin Search/Swap and select their space in the halls for the next Academic Year. 

Your timeslot is based on whether you have signed a standard or a Premium Plan and the date that you paid your housing deposit (a part of completing the housing contract).

To look for an available bed during your timeslot day/time or during the time for any current resident, follow the prompts to select a residence hall you're interested in, then select a floor.

• If there are available rooms on that floor, they will be listed and you may select a room and bed.
• If there are no available rooms, then none will be listed.

Remember, the web works in real time and other students will be looking for (or room swapping) beds at the same time.

You will also be asked to sign an electronic contract by agreeing to the terms and conditions. If you do not agree, the information will not be saved, a contract will not be assigned, and you will not have a bed in the residence halls for the coming year.

If you have already renewed your same room, then you may use the room swap tool to request a different room.

If you did not request your same room, then you must use the search option as you essentially have nothing to "swap" or trade.

If you have at an earlier time requested a different room, then you can use the room swap tool.

Bottom line – The room swap online tool works for students who have already requested a space, either same room or different room.

You may change your mind after you have requested a bed space, but please plan to make your final online selection before Friday, July 21. No requests for change in hall or room assignment will be accepted after this date.

Please keep in mind, the housing portal opens to the incoming freshmen class for Self-Selection on May 1, 2023, potentially limiting the variety of living options after this date. Students who decide to change their initial room choice will receive an email confirmation of their new reservation.

See your request details online by viewing the Your Contract link.

If you currently are living in a double room as a single, you may have the option to keep the same room as a double as a single for next year.

This is only available to students living in:

• Woodworth
• Studebaker West

You must renew your double as a single during the renew-your-bed period. If you do not, it will convert back to a double room.

Students with a double as a single in all other halls may not renew their same accommodation as those will convert back to regular double rooms for next year.

If you have advanced notice of a situation that will prevent you from signing up during your time slot, then contact our office before your priority timeslot to request a different room.

We likely will not be able to remedy situations after the fact.

Students also may sign up at any time after the beginning of their time slot until the process ends.

Please go online and request a different meal plan before July 21.

If you do not select a meal plan, the 21-Plus plan will be assigned. You may change your meal plan until July 21 for the coming fall semester.

Yes, unless you are living in a room designated as a single room. Unfortunately we have a very limited number of single rooms.

Yes, you are welcome to request/confirm a roommate. If you do not have someone in mind to room with, you may use the Select Roommate tool to help identify potential students also looking for roommates. To save time, we encourage you to look for a roommate before requesting a space during your timeslot in the Room Sign-up web.

If your roommate is a Ball State student and currently enrolled, but doesn't live on campus and has not started a housing contract, you will not be able to request them as a roommate until they have completed a housing contract.

At that time you will be able to request/confirm each other.

New incoming students have until July 21 to request/confirm a roommate; however, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to keep you in the same room and hall that you selected during online sign-up.

The Ball State University Board of Trustees approves the room and board rates each year.

See our room and board rates.

• Current RAs returning to their positions next year should complete their new housing contract to have a contract on file. You do not need to request a specific room online.
• Prospective RAs should request a room during the sign up period if they would like to return to the residence halls next year if not hired as RAs.

• Make your roommate request and/or confirm before requesting a space or using Search and Swap. Making your roommate request before requesting a space will allow you to place your roommate in the other space when you search or swap.
• When you request a roommate, one roommate will make the request, while the other roommate will confirm the original request. (i.e., you will not both request.)
• Simply requesting/confirming a roommate does not automatically place you together. You must use the Search for a Bed/Room timeslot to find a room with two spaces available to place you together as roommates. You will assign a bed to yourself and then select your roommate's name from the drop-down box to assign this person to the second bed in the room. If you do not see their name in the drop-down then that student will have to go online and put themselves in the second bed.
• If you are requesting a new incoming student you will be able to do so if they have completed their contract online. Returning students should make the roommate request and the incoming student would confirm the request. The returning student will then be able to see the new student's name in the drop down box and place them in the room when they Search for a room. (Returning Honors students wishing to request a new incoming Honors student should contact our office for instructions.)
  
  

• Your day and time to go online is based on the day that you made your housing deposit. Our office will contact you via Ball State email to let you know when your timeslot will be.
• At the beginning of your timeslot, you will be able to go online to search for a bed or swap rooms. You may continue to go online anytime after your timeslot until the last day of online room sign-up.
  

• This tool allows you to look for an available space in the residence hall system by hall, floor, and room.
• Most rooms in the residence halls are double rooms, so you will see two beds in each room. This example shows there are two beds available. (example: Woody 801 -F - 2/2 (F=female)).
  • If one person is already in the room, and there is only one other bed available in the double room, then you will see Woody 801-F-1/2.
  • If the room is a single, you'll see one bed (example: Woody 803 - F - 1/1).
  • If the room is a triple, you'll see three beds (example: Woody 804 - F - 3/3).
• If you have a confirmed roommate, then you must look for a room with two beds available (2/2).
  
  

• The Room Swap tool essentially allows you to trade rooms if you have already reserved a room.
• For Room Swap to work, you must have reserved a room for next year so that you have a room to trade with. This means that you will have completed Renew Your Bed or already requested a bed during Different Room Sign-Up, and you wish to change rooms.
• Once you have swapped your room, the original room becomes available for a new student to take.
• You will have three minutes to swap rooms.
  
  

• If you properly renewed your same room during Step 1, you will not see the Search for a Bed option, but instead will use the Room Swap tool if you wish to change rooms.
• If you requested/confirmed a roommate during Step 5, then you and your confirmed roommate will have the same timeslot and either student may go online to Search for a room and reserve the spaces.
• If you did not confirm a roommate at any time and did not renew your same bed, then when you first go online during your timeslot, you will see the Search for a Bed tool. After you request a bed, should you come back to the online system to change rooms, then you will use Room Swap.
• If you did not confirm a roommate prior to your timeslot, but found a roommate after you have already searched and confirmed a room, you cannot pull that student into the room. The roommate will have to go online during their timeslot and place themselves in the other bed in the room if it is available. If it is not, you will have to look for a room with two beds available using the Room Swap tool.
• If you did not confirm a roommate at any time, but did renew your same bed during Renew Your Bed and want to change rooms, then you will use the Room Swap tool.
• Remember to print out Your Contract to have for your files.
  
  

• Make sure to agree to the contract's terms and conditions and save and continue to hold a space for next year.
• If you do not agree to the terms, then a bed will not be saved in your name for the residence halls next year.
• If you have a Premium Plan (two-year) contract and are finishing the first year of the contract, it will state that you have already signed your contract but you need to select a room and meal plan.
• As you review the details of your contract, if there are steps with a red X, then you must complete that step before your contract is complete.