Residence life

Colleges confront swapping schemes in housing and course registration.

While Duke showcased its new platinum-rated residence hall at an annual meeting of college housing officers, other campus reps talked getting certified on a budget.

This fall, freshmen at George Washington University will have a little work to do that their predecessors did not: cleaning their own bathrooms. The university announced last month that it will eliminate its maid-like housekeeping services (which included vacuuming the rooms and cleaning private bathrooms) in freshman residence halls.

As a result of the change, housing rates will not increase in many of the freshman residence halls for the 2010-11 academic year.