Jay Tolman Hall and Mary Rait Hall, two of Colorado Mesa University’s older residence halls, recently underwent cuts in room and board costs. The room cost per semester now sits at $2,150 for a double room in either hall, a roughly 10 percent decrease from last year.

“We want to be as affordable as possible,” said Jody Diers, director of residence life at CMU. “We want to give students options.”

Tolman and Rait are currently the two least expensive dorms on campus, and CMU’s partnership with Mesa County high schools decreases the cost even further. “We’re hoping that by lowering it to the amount that we’re charging now, we’ll bring more Mesa County students on campus,” Diers said.

One reason for lowering the cost of room and board was to combat rising tuition costs at CMU.

“When tuition rate go up we try not to make residence hall rates skyrocket so that there’s a limited amount of how much increase happens across the board,” said Diers. With lowered cost, the two halls filled up faster this semester than they have in the past. “We were hoping that those would fill up at the same rate or better, and they did. They were very quick to fill up this year,” Diers said.

Greer Hanes, Tolman Hall resident, explained how the sense of community this year enhances her experience living on-campus.

“Even though it’s one of the older buildings, it has such a community feel to it and people always feel the most at-home there,” Hanes said. Tolman houses a large population of Outdoor Program students, which contributes to the “laid-back vibe” that Hanes feels from the building.

The combination of lowered room and board costs and a welcoming atmosphere encourages incoming freshmen to choose on-campus housing.

“We want more students to live on campus, but we want them there for a reason, and that’s to engage in school and to focus on themselves, to learn more about themselves,” Diers said. “Residence life is more than just a place to live.”