News Reporter
When the Orchard Avenue residence hall opens in August, there will be about 2,100 beds on campus and a projected incoming class of 2,500 freshmen. The entire sophomore class is required to live on campus and will need beds as well.
This is the most recent challenge for CMU Residence Life director Troy Seppelt.
“For me, 90 percent of it is a financial issue,” freshman John Bishop said. “It’s at least $2,000 cheaper for me to live off campus.”
While some freshmen want off campus to have a relaxed living environment away from the all-seeing-eye of Resident Assistants, the issue of finance is showing up more and more.
“As an institution (CMU) they have a budget to meet,” Seppelt said. “Is it in the University’s interest on the business side for the resident halls to be full? Of course.”
Like any other university, CMU is a business. In order to keep the doors open and the lights on it takes lots of money.
Seppelt explained that generating revenue isn’t the sole reason that the school requires all first and second year students to live on campus. He referenced surveys that show academic success and better dropout rates for students who live in dorms. CMU President Tim Foster believes that campus living has much more incentive than just the financial aspect.
“I think there’s value to freshmen living on campus,” Foster said. “I think it’s helpful to have some structure. And then I think there are students who mature at different rates, and can handle living off campus.”
Foster explained that living on campus has been a requirement since the first dorms were built in the 1960’s.
“Contractually with every group of folks that leant money to help us build our dorms, that’s a requirement that was put in to the bond documents,” Foster said.
While administration and Residence Life agree that it’s not all about money, sophomore Tyler Funk feels a little differently.
“It is all about money,” said Funk. “It always has been. There is no resistance for students looking to get off campus that live in nice dorms like North Ave. and Grand Mesa compared to the resistance that students that live in not as nice dorms like Tolman and the Four Point apartments.”
This year’s freshman class was one of the biggest on record. The 2011-12 freshman class showed a 14 percent increase from the year before. The housing situation for most of the fall semester saw a number of freshmen living off campus in hotels.
“I wouldn’t call it a mess,” Seppelt said. “Do we have a challenge on our hands? Of course. Right now, if you look strictly at the numbers, I don’t have enough beds.”
[…] http://thecrite.com/home/2012/04/30/admin-struggles-to-meet-housing-needs/ […]
Mr. Seppelt’s candor is somewhat refreshing – he’s especially matter-of-fact about the need to maximize revenue. I wonder if his salary or continued employment is somehow hinged to occupancy. Full dorms = job security. How’s that for an incentive at a “public” university?
If I were the parent of an out of town student, I would bristle at what is largely an unnecessary requirement for well-adjusted young men and women.
It’s also uncharacteristically nanny-like for CMU, especially when you consider that freshmen and sophomores who commute from their own GJ-area residences are exempt from this requirement. Makes you wonder about what the university thinks of its potential student market share.
This sounds to me like something I would use as a platform item if I were running for ASG. Comment from current ASG reps might be an interesting sidebar to this as well.