Self-operated houses, or self-ops, are undergraduate houses in which student residents (and non-resident eating associates), manage the operation of the house's meal service and hire a house cook. The members jointly establish a board plan and coordinate house jobs and the budgeting of finances. Like co-ops, self-ops offer residents the opportunity to develop skills in management and self-sufficiency. Unlike co-ops, where students cook for themselves and clean the house, house cooks prepare all required meals in self-ops and University custodial service is provided. The kitchen is generally open to students outside mealtimes and students may be required to hash.

Self-ops establish a kitchen schedule which requires that each resident volunteer for a daily, weekly, or quarterly shift. In some houses, the residents choose to use house funds to pay residents for house jobs. Each student contributes toward the order of the house, whether he pays a fellow resident for the work or does the work himself. The structure of the self-op also forces residents to interact more frequently and cooperatively with one another; jobs are rarely done individually.

Mail is delivered to students’ Post Office boxes, assigned in early September.  Please note that the Post Office does not deliver student mail to the residences, only to the Post Office.  The Housing Front Desk cannot accept mail or packages for students. 

Here is a sample P.O. Box address.  Insert your unique P.O. Box number.

Jane Student
P.O. Box  12345
Stanford, CA 94309-2345

If you are having something shipped which requires a street address, please ship it to yourself, at your residence.

Student residents, and non-resident eating associates, manage the operation of the house's meal service and hire a house cook. International meals are often featured at: La Casa Italiana, Haus Mitteleuropa, La Maison Francaise, and EAST House. For students interested in becoming eating associates, please see the house kitchen manager.

Each house has a kitchen, dining room, lounge, computer cluster, and study area.

Configuration:
Co-ed type:

Resident Staff:

Upperclass house
Co-ed on each floor.
Exception: Roth House is all-female
Student staff for Non-Theme Houses; Resident Fellows/Faculty Affiliates for Theme Houses - click on link to see list of RFs.

Note: There are also self-ops within the Greek residences at Stanford. See the Residential Education’s Self-Operated Housing page for more information.

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