Student Housing: Campus housing goes upscale with luxuries
For today’s college students, dorm life can be like living in an upscale apartment or hotel:
- ID cards double as room keys.
- Large gathering spaces boast plush furnishings and modern decorations.
- Hardwood floors and granite accents are common.
- Environmentally friendly features are a plus.
The price of a dorm room is higher these days, but students are flocking to the new digs.
“I really don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t living here,” Ole Miss freshman Ashton Morgan said of his university’s new Residential College.
The University of Mississippi’s newest residential option, which opened this fall, offers suites with individual bedrooms, wood furniture and accents like hardwood floors, as well as an on-site dining hall, a fitness center and TV lounge.
Morgan, a public relations and international affairs major from Southaven, said he would classify the Residential College as “more hotel than apartment” – but with a personal feel.
The new housing option costs about $8,000 to $10,000 a year – more than double the average cost of housing at Mississippi’s eight public universities. Still, the $46.5 million facility has been met with popularity even in a difficult economy, and another residential college is on the way at Ole Miss.
“It really feels like home to me,” Morgan said. “I have a really big family, and we have big homes, so that’s kind of what it feels like.”
Morgan said he likely wouldn’t be going to Ole Miss if it weren’t for the school’s new lavish housing option.
“I was torn between LSU, MSU and Ole Miss, but this was the deciding factor,” he said.
Realizing that many students share that attitude, several of Mississippi’s universities are completing new housing projects or have them in the works.
Alcorn State is embarking on its largest single housing project ever.
The new red-brick student housing complex is expected to open next fall and will include four housing units to replace about 1,000 beds, plus an amenities building that will house a convenience store, fitness center, computer labs and leasing offices.
“I think the plans have really spread a lot of excitement across campus,” Alcorn senior English literature major Ryan Martin said.
After touring Alcorn earlier this month, Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds said the new housing is much needed on campus.
“What a blessing that will be for future Alcornites,” he said.
The dorms, particularly those built in the early 1970s and late ’60s are dilapidated and don’t feature many of the extras you find on other campuses, Martin acknowledged.
“I think students have learned to adapt,” he said. “You kind of forget how bad they are.”
He said he has no doubt the new housing will help with recruiting students and thinks it also will foster a better college experience for them.
“This is something that will get students to be more involved in campus activities and student life,” he said.
Private schools also are paying attention to the emerging housing trends. Millsaps College opened its John, Charles and Susanna halls this semester, complete with modern furnishings.
Todd Rose, vice president for campus programs and alumni, said one of the best aspects is that they feature “great gathering spaces.”
“People live and learn in an environment – not just a classroom,” he said.
The dorms also feature several green qualities, including low water usage and recycled materials.
At $7,240 per academic year, Millsaps’ new residence halls run about $1,000 more than the average cost of other dorms on campus, but students who live there say it’s worth it.
“It’s like living in a giant house,” said Sital Sanjanwala, a business and economics major from Madison.
As a senior, Sanjanwala said the new residence halls made it easier to decide to live on campus, rather than finding an apartment.
Other schools also are looking to meet students’ desires for quality campus housing.
Mississippi Valley State University opened two new residence halls – a female honors dorm and a male honors dorm – and has renovated the Magnolia Residence Hall in time for this semester.
“They’re state-of-the-art,” MVSU President Donna Oliver said. “They’re absolutely beautiful.”
The residence halls feature study spaces and lounge areas, as well as new wood furniture in each room.
In an address to faculty and staff at the beginning of the semester, Oliver stressed the need to focus on housing options as part of the university’s plan to grow and attract more students.
“Not only do today’s students want access to the best in technology, but they also want modern amenities and attractive housing options,” she said. “We believe that our new campus residence halls rival the very best in 21st century student residence living.”
Delta State University is about to break ground on a 350-bed residence hall at the site of Whittington/Williams and Bond/Carpenter halls, as well as a 30-unit faculty/staff apartment complex on campus.
“We need those beds, and students are looking forward to it,” Delta State President John Hilpert said.
The $16.5 million housing project – which will include modern amenities comparable to others across the state – will be financed through a new funding model that allows the school to pay back the costs with housing fees.
Officials say the new dorm is expected to open in time for the 2010 fall semester.
Mississippi State University has opened several new residence halls in recent years. Dorm rooms in Zacharius Village run between $4,800 and $6,500 a year.
A comparable 350-bed, four-story option is expected to open by fall 2010.
In addition to state-of-the-art facilities, several of MSU’s residence halls feature extras like convenience stores and eateries.
The new $29 million hall will include double occupancy rooms, each with its own bathroom, and it will feature amenities similar to others MSU recently has opened: wireless Internet, study rooms, individual temperature control and card-reader locks, rather than traditional keys.
The University of Southern Mississippi’s Century Park complex also is expected to open next fall.
At 864 beds, Century Park is the largest housing project in USM’s history. The $37.7 million campus housing development will incorporate a number of environmentally friendly aspects and is expected to become Silver LEED Certified, meeting highest standards for green building.
by Elizabeth Crisp for Clarion Ledger
