The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

More IHEs Turning To The Private Sector For Dorm Construction And Management

With state budgets tight and demand for a college education at a high point, public universities across the country are increasingly turning to the private sector to build and finance on-campus dormitories. states found that companies that specialize in student housing could build residence halls more rapidly and cheaply than universities could. They can ease the burden of being a landlord. And perhaps most important, these partnerships free capital for facilities like classrooms and laboratories. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/realestate/commercial/public-college-private-dorm.html?_r=1&ref=education

Hong Kong College Students Want A Capsule Dormitory

About a dozen local students had expressed interest in a capsule college dormitory near campus, offering pods for HK$3,500 a month. "Students are affected by a severe lack of space in university housing, so we thought, why not do dorm rooms as well?" Wong said. Campus dormitories are nearly unavailable due to long waiting lists for the inexpensively-priced rooms and tough entrance requirements. While there are no firm dates for launching a capsule dorm, Wong said one could open once there is interest from at least 15 students of the same gender. Read more at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/uk-hongkong-dorms-capsules-idUSLNE80F01920120116

Students Moving Back Into The Dome Dorms At UC Davis

Five months after they were ordered vacated, igloo-like housing units known as the Domes have reopened to students at UC Davis. Students have moved back into some of the 14 units in advance of the start of winter classes. University officials had announced in February 2011 that they would cease to offer leases for the prefabricated fiberglass-and-foam huts – erected in the early 1970s as an experiment in sustainable living – saying the structures were falling apart. In March, the Solar Community Housing Association proposed to step in as a third-party management group, repair the Domes and lease them to students for the next five years. Read more at:
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/09/4172579/uc-davis-students-are-moving-back.html

This Campus Uses Foreclosed McMansions For Student Dorm Rooms

While students at other colleges cram into shoebox-size dorm rooms, Ms. Alarab, a management major, and Ms. Foster, who is studying applied math, come home from midterms to chill out under the stars in a curvaceous swimming pool and an adjoining Jacuzzi behind the rapidly depreciating McMansion that they have rented for a song. Here in Merced, a city in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley and one of the country’s hardest hit by home foreclosures, the downturn in the real estate market has presented an unusual housing opportunity for thousands of college students. Facing a shortage of dorm space, they are moving into hundreds of luxurious homes in overbuilt planned communities. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/us/homework-and-jacuzzis-as-dorms-move-to-mcmansions-in-california.html?partner=rss&emc=rss 

 

Gender Neutral Locker Rooms Are The Next Frontier

This year, the private liberal arts college on the Iowa prairie has added a gender-neutral locker room to its mix of gender-neutral options. It's the most recent step for the school, which became the state's only college to offer a gender-neutral dorm option three years ago as part of a growing trend nationwide. t Grinnell, the gender-neutral idea was driven by transgender students, those who don't identify themselves as either male or female, and students transitioning from one gender to the other, students and school officials said. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-11-09/gender-neutral-college/51134546/1

Enrollment Is Booming But It Strains The Dorm And Food Systems

The University of Washington's largest ever freshman class has left undergraduate housing more crowded than ever. UW's Housing and Food Services has had to strain to accommodate as many students as possible. There are 846 students living in Terry Hall this year, compared to 624 last year. Many rooms that once held two students have been converted to triples. Read more at:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2016460822_uwhousing11m.html

New Dormitory Complex Was Built With Private Funds

Montclair State’s new dormitory complex — called the Heights — is expected to house 2,000 students and nearly double the number of beds at one of the state’s largest public universities. The project, which will be dedicated in a ceremony with state officials today, includes two high-rise buildings with eight residence hall wings and a new 24,000-square-foot gourmet dining hall.Campus officials said the Heights includes the latest features in luxury dorm living, including private bathrooms, plush furniture, flat screen televisions in the lounge spaces and a restaurant-style dining hall. But the complex is also notable because neither Montclair State nor the state put up a penny to build it. The Heights is the first campus construction project built as a public-private partnership under the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009. Read more at:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/new_montclair_state_dorm_build.html

Students Want To Commute Even When Dorm Living Is A Requirement

A new study from Sallie Mae -- a college financing company -- found that more families are cutting costs to save money on higher education. One of those strategies includes living at home instead of in the dorms, where room and board rates run $11,280 a year. University policy requires freshmen to live in a CU dorm for two academic semesters unless they are married, live with parents or legal guardians and have permission to commute or the campus has a housing crunch and can't accommodate all students. CU officials say that the dorms allow freshmen to transition to collegiate life and provide academic support -- like free tutoring to residents. Read more at:
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_18771770

What We Miss When Roommates Are No Longer Assigned Randomly

Today I am a college professor, and I am sad that most of my students will not experience what I did back when Mark Zuckerberg was in diapers. While the Internet has made it easy to reconnect with the lost Tonys of our lives, it has made it a lot more difficult to meet them in the first place, by taking a lot of randomness out of life. We tend to value order and control over randomness, but when we lose randomness, we also lose serendipity. As soon as today’s students receive their proverbial fat envelope from their top choice college, they are on Facebook meeting other potential freshmen. They are on sites likeroomsurf.com and roomsync.com, scoping out prospective friends. By the time the roommate application forms arrive, many like-minded students with similar backgrounds have already connected and agreed to request one another. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/opinion/when-roommates-were-random.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=thab1

To Cope With Booming Enrollments Colleges Get Creative With Housing

The University of Iowa is also expecting record enrollment, while the University of Northern Iowa anticipates a fifth consecutive year of increased enrollment. Final figures will be released in September. Record enrollments have also created a housing crunch at the U of I and ISU, with hundreds of students living in converted residence hall lounges. To make room for a record number of freshmen and transfer students, ISU converted dorm lounge rooms into housing for multiple people. Read more at:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110819/NEWS02/108190325/1004/