MCR Room Ballot Regulations 2013

Eligibility
All current and returning MCR members accepted to the College for a graduate degree in the upcoming academic year are eligible to enter the MCR Room Ballot. The MCR Room Ballot comprises Ballots 1, 2, 3 and the Reserve Ballot. No student may enter any of Ballots 1, 2 and 3 more than once, but a student may enter the Reserve Ballot more than once. It is typical for students to save their Ballot 1 entry for the nal year of their course, though it is possible to use it at any time. It should be noted that nalists get priority on Ballot 1 over non-nalists. Any MCR member wishing to enter the MCR Room Ballot must complete and submit all necessary forms to the MCR Vice President when called upon to do so. If inaccurate information is provided OR information is provided late, the Vice President has the power to demote or remove the applicant from the ranking list. Please note that to enter a ballot means to obtain a room in the ballot, regardless of whether the student actually goes on to live in the room.

Ballots and Ranks

Ballot 1 takes place rst, so entrants have rst choice of the available rooms. It is followed by Ballots 2, 3 and the Reserve Ballot, in that order. The President and Vice President are given the rst and second place respectively on Ballot 1, the Treasurer is placed on Ballot 1 below all nalists, and the Social Secretaries are placed below the Treasurer (ranked according to the average of their room scores, from lowest to highest). This will not count as a ballot entry by these students in later years ballots.
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For Ballot 1, entrants are ranked as follows: 1. Students entering the nal year of any course are ranked above those who are not entering the nal year of any course. 2. Entrants are ranked according to the average of their room scores, from lowest to highest. Information about this calculation is provided below. 3. In the event of a tie, students starting the nal year of a doctorate are ranked above those starting the nal year of a masters degree. For Ballots 2-3, entrants are ranked as follows: 1. Entrants are ranked according to the average of their room scores, from lowest to highest. Information about this calculation is provided below. 2. In the event of a tie, students starting a relatively higher year-in-course are ranked higher. For the Reserve Ballot, entrants are ranked as follows: 1. Entrants within the nominal duration of their course are ranked above those who have exceeded the nominal duration of their course. 2. Entrants within the nominal duration of their course will be ranked from highest to lowest relative year-in-course. 3. Entrants who have exceeded the nominal duration of their course by the longest time will be ranked lowest. 4. Entrants with equal rank after steps 1-3 are ranked according to the average of their room scores, from lowest to highest.

Note that for Ballot 1, students can only enter as a nalist if they are in the last year of their course, and furthermore they can only be considered a nalist once. In the event of a tie in the ranking for any ballot after the administration of the following rules, the Vice President will randomly order such entrants.

Room Scores
Rooms are given a score out of 200 based on a number of dierent criteria. The Committee measured several objective criteria and calculated the room score of each room. Details of the room score formula and current room scores will be published at the time of the room ballot, but it considers: Room size (a score out of 100). Ensuite facilities (a score out of 50) Storage (a score out of 25) Kitchen (a score out of 25) In addition, changes to a room score may be made due to specic advantages or disadvantages such as an individual kitchen or very poor lighting.

Calculating Your Ballot Score

Your room score is calculated based on the following criteria. 1. Each year spent in college accommodation will be given a score, and an average will be calculated.

2. In the event that you have occupied more than one room in a single year, the highest room score will be used as that years value. 3. Couples accommodation has a score of 200 (the maximum). 4. If inaccurate information is provided in the registration form in an attempt to attain a better ballot position, the MCR President reserves the right to move the entrant to a lower ballot. 5. Individuals who have had ballot privileges in the past (e.g President), retain that ballot entry, but the room score will still be included in the calculation of their average. Years spent out of college do not contribute a zero to the room scores, rather the average is taken across the years spent in college accommodation. When this was historically the case, this was also when room scores ranged from 0-5. Now that the scoring system ranges from 0-200, such a system would provide a massive advantage to people who choose to live out of college, over those who dont have the opportunity to do so. It also raises issues with students who spend a considerable amount of time out of accommodation in a year. To easily resolve this situation, years spent out of accommodation are simply not included when calculating the room score. In the case were more than one room has been occupied in a single year, the highest room score counts. This is primarily because it is infeasible for the MCR Vice President to calculate a weighted average across multiple rooms occupied within a single year, as well as that students who spend time away on eldwork may also claim that they too deserve a downwardsweighted room score. The exception to this rule is if the move in rooms was
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necessitated (e.g on grounds of refurbishment, health concerns).