Room Selection

This policy that first-year and second-year students are required to live in a community environment is enforced by the Department of Residence Life at UW-Platteville. 

Students who are involved in a university sponsored program (co-op, education abroad, internship, student teaching) or are called for military service, must request a release from the spring semester through the Department of Residence Life.

Once a contract is signed (box checked), it is legally binding. Make your decision to sign (check box) a Residence Life Contract carefully. No student may cancel their Residence Life Contract for any reason unless they are no longer attending the university. Your contract is a legally binding contract, and you will be held to the terms therein.

By checking the box on the student’s contract via online services, a student acknowledges that they have read, understand, and accept the terms of the Residence Hall Contract, including documents incorporated by reference as part of the contract for the Department of Residence Life, offered by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Residence Hall Rental Contract Terms

Application for exemption form

Release from Residence Life Contract Form

There are six tiers of residential living to choose from. Please see our amenities chart for a detailed overview or visit residence halls to learn more about the offerings in each hall. Make your decision on where to live considering your comfort level, as well as your ability to connect with others.

Traditional Halls

We recommend first-year students begin their live-on experience in one of our traditional halls (Dobson Hall, Melcher Hall, Morrow Hall, Porter Hall, or Wilgus Hall). The experience of living in a traditional hall affords the opportunity to meet many new people, learn how to get involved, and gain access to campus resources provided by the traditional hall experience. The traditional halls are sorted into three tiers: traditional, renewed, and elevated. 

The traditional tier is the most cost-effective option for college students. The layout is a “traditional” double occupancy bedroom and community bathroom. The traditional tier includes Morrow Hall and Wilgus Hall.* 

The renewed tier is the traditional layout with updated fixtures and community spaces and includes Melcher Hall and Porter Hall.

The elevated tier is the traditional layout with updated fixtures to rooms and community spaces, refreshed restrooms, an elevator, and air cooling in the hallways and basement. The elevated tier includes Dobson Hall.

* Please note that the first floor of Wilgus Hall is single rooms.

Semi-suite Style

UW-Platteville also offers semi-suite style living in Bridgeway Commons and Rountree Commons for our first-year students. These halls offer four person suites with double occupancy bedrooms and shared bathroom. Community engagement is focused on developing connections to each other and to the university, all while accessing resources provided by other community and university collaborative entities. Our returning students also request these two buildings at a high rate. If you are interested in living in Bridgeway Commons or Rountree Commons, we encourage you to complete your residence hall contract early.

Suite Style and Single Rooms

For transfer students and students out of high school for at least one year, McGregor Hall, the first floor of Wilgus Hall, and Southwest Hall are great options to select, but are not required. Returning students have the option to sign-up during room reservations to live in this environment. First-year residents are not able to request single rooms.

McGregor Hall and the first floor of Wilgus Hall offer single rooms in a traditional hall environment.

Southwest Hall offers four person suites with single bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchenette, and living room area. Southwest Hall is also home to our all-gender housing, which means any gender may live in any of the four bedrooms within the suite. Returning students have the option to sign-up during room reservations to live in this environment.

Contributing to the academic mission of the university, UW-Platteville offers the option for students to live in living learning communities as well as interest communities. Some of the programs are connected to an academic program, while others are built on common interests and experiences, or personal affinity characteristics. These programs enhance the academic and social opportunities that the live-on campus experience provides.

Learn more about our themed communities.

Students must choose the living option that is the best fit for their budget. Look at your budget from an analytical perspective. Make sure you have enough money for tuition, housing, dining plan, and any incidentals. Much of this could be covered by scholarships, grants, or financial aid; however, you want to make sure all costs are accounted for when making a housing decision.

It’s important to note that by filling out all four preference slots on your contract, you are communicating with us what you would prefer, not what you are selecting. There are several reasons that students may not be assigned to their top preference. 

1. Continuing students can contract for residence hall spaces prior to first-year students. If you select a residence hall that is popular with our continuing students, you may not receive your first choice.
2. Contract completion dates matter.  We assign students based on the date that their contract is completed. We recommend that you fill out your residence hall contract early (September to November). 
3. Your selected roommate may not have chosen the same hall preferences that you did. Make sure to connect over the residence hall preferences you list on both of your applications.

We have options for students regarding their roommate selection:

1. If you want to room with someone you know, you can request the student as a roommate while filling out your housing contract. As part of the online Housing Contract, there is a section in the application called 'Roommate Duo.' This will provide additional information on how to search for, select, and successfully complete a Roommate Duo.  We have provided a written explanation and linked YouTube videos on how to successfully complete a Roommate Duo in the 'Roommate Duo' section of the online Housing Contract. Both students must agree to be roommates before placement, and both students must have the same hall preferences (the system will use the leaders hall preferences in the assignment process) and themed community selections (i.e. LLCs).
2. If you would like to be randomly assigned to a roommate, you are able to complete a questionnaire at the time of contracting that will assist the computer algorithm in matching students.

There is the possibility where you may meet someone during the year prior to attending the university that you would like to select as your roommate. Should this be the case, simply log back into your housing contract and request this person as your roommate. Please note that the deadline for requesting your roommate is May 24, 2025.

When you receive your room placement in the end of June/beginning of July, you will also receive your roommate’s name and email address. We encourage you to get in touch before moving in so you can make plans and get to know each other. This will help make the transition to college easier for both of you.

Please keep in mind:

1. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be best friends! In fact, most of our residence hall students would say that their roommate was satisfactory, average, nice, ok, and fun. They could live with each other just fine for one year by being flexible and having open communication. Over 85% of our students stated that they were satisfied with their roommate in respect to privacy, property, sleep time, and study time. 
2. What we have seen working in Residence Life is that the media teaches you about two extremes: the roommate you hate and can-absolutely-not live with, and the roommate that you do everything with and finish each other’s sentences. The reality is that most roommate pairings fall someplace in the middle and end up being great in the grey. 
3. Some students who have selected their friend from high school to live with, end up not being compatible as roommates. We encourage requested roommate pairings to have conversations about cleaning habits, room chores, daily routines, and more, prior to living together.

There is no evidence of higher satisfaction living with a requested roommate vs. one that has been randomly assigned for college students. The key to having any great relationship is communication. The Department of Residence Life staff is always available to assist, but we want you to put your best effort into being flexible and compromising and learning how to have difficult conversations that lead to resolution.

How to sign up for your residence hall:

1. Log into your UW-Platteville PASS account and click on “Housing/Meals” found on the left side.
2. You will select your choice of meal plan first and then move into the housing contract.
3. Make sure to read through each section carefully as there may be sections you must complete before moving on to the next. There are also options that are not required.
4. If you have someone you would like to room with, the person must be admitted to UW-Platteville.  You can put the person down as a preference. Remember roommate requests must be mutual and if either of you is signed up for a themed community, you must both select this community. If requests are not identical, you will not be assigned as roommates. The contract receipt date of the student who initiates the request of their roommate will be used for hall assignments. Please be aware of who may have submitted their contract earlier.
5. Please visit the Disability Access Center - Residence Life Accommodations for medical accommodations.

Continuing students can log into their PASS account and click on “Housing/Meals” to reserve a residence hall space. Please be aware that a contract for your housing, as well as meal plan, are started when you click “Apply”. If you do not plan to be in the halls or on a meal plan, do not click the Housing/Meals tile. If you are unable to access the tile, please change to another browser as Firefox or Chrome is preferred. Remember there are only a certain number of people that can be on at any given time, so if you get an error message, wait a minute or two and try to log-in again.

If you are curious to know if a space is available in a certain hall without submitting a contract, you can contact the Area Director or Resident Director of that building to get that info.

If you wish to change your location for any reason, you may do so by entering the room change process via the Residence Life Room Change Inquiry Form. Changes will be allowed contingent upon available space. Room changes will begin 10 business days after the start of each semester. 

Students assigned to Cooper Living Learning Center, Bridgeway Commons, Rountree Commons, or Southwest Hall may not transfer to the traditional halls without prior approval.