When Tom Magner's roommate decided to move out last February, Magner was angered to find he had to pay $90 to remain in his room.

Magner (sophomore-international politics) said he did not know about the University's room-consolidation policy, which gives a dorm resident whose roommate leaves before the semester's end three options. The resident can pay a fee to retain the room as a single, move to another room or have a friend move in to replace the outgoing roommate -- if the friend lives in the same dorm and has a roommate willing to retain the room as a single.

Lynn DuBois, manager of the assignment office for campus residences, said students who choose to stay in their rooms after their roommates move out are charged the difference between the double-room rate and the single-room rate, divided by the percentage of the semester remaining.

"Some people call and they don't understand why they have to pay or move, because they haven't read the terms and conditions of the contract that they signed," DuBois said.

The policy is outlined on page 10 of the Terms Conditions Regulations booklet handed out each year.

The fee students must pay to keep a double room as a single compensates the University for the extra space the student would be using, DuBois said.

"It wouldn't be fair if a person living in a single room paid the same amount as two people next door living in a double," DuBois said.

Jeff Powers (freshman-chemical engineering) had to pay $115 to keep his room when his roommate decided to leave.

"I think it sucks. Just because my roommate moved I had to pay," Powers said.

Michelle Curtis (freshman-premedicine) was aware of the policy, but was surprised at how much she was required to pay to keep her room.

"I knew I had to pay some extra, but I was surprised that I had to pay $113," Curtis said.

The University's policy is not unique. Other Big Ten schools, such as Indiana University, Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin, have similar rules. But costs are higher at these universities.

For example, a student wishing to keep a room as a single at Penn State for the final two months of the semester would have to pay $67. At Michigan State University, students would pay $120, Indiana University students would pay $204 and at the University of Wisconsin the cost would be $215 for the same time period.

DuBois said the policy is not one that "everyone loves," but many people are satisfied with it.

"A lot of people are glad that they have a choice between moving and being able to keep their rooms," DuBois said.

Chuong Pham (sophomore-premedicine) was aware of the policy because several friends were affected by it.

"I think it's fair," Pham said.