As students finalize living arrangements for the 2007-2008 academic year, those staying on Grounds can anticipate a significant increase in the cost of housing -- on average, University housing tenants will see a 9.6 percent hike in price.
The Board of Visitors Finance Committee recently approved the new student housing rates, which will cause students living in Brown College, the IRC and Gooch/Dillard to pay more than $4,000 for housing next year.
According to Richard Kovatch, assistant vice president for business operations, housing funds will support various housing costs and University projects.
"The increase is needed twofold, to cover [the] housing division's operating costs, including personnel, debt service, the debt we have to pay on our existing facilities, and to contribute to our replacement and renewal reserves, the funds we use to make improvements on facilities," Kovatch said.
Approximately half of the increase in housing costs will go to this housing improvement fund. Specifically, the funds will support the Alderman Road Replacement Project and the newly adopted Gateway to the Arts Project.
Kovatch said housing costs have seen significant increases over the past few years; the cost of housing from the 2005-2006 academic year to the 2006-2007 academic year was also raised 9.6 percent.
"Five or six years ago, we realized that we were going to have to make sizeable investments in our facilities," Kovatch said. "They were going to need to have major reservations with regard to building systems and infrastructure and modernizing the interior of these facilities. Almost 75 percent of the beds we have in the housing division are 25 years old, close to 30 percent are over 50 years old. We have to continue to invest in [student] facilities."
For students paying another $400 to live on Grounds next year, off-Grounds housing options may be increasingly appealing.
Off-Grounds Housing Director Vicki Hawes estimated that a single room in an off-Grounds apartment would cost $600 a month; students who share might pay $400 to $500 (including utilities) each per month, she said. This means that students sharing a room and paying $500 a month for an off-Grounds apartment will pay $6,000 for a 12-month lease; a student living in a single Gooch/Dillard room will pay $6,230 for 12 months. Gooch/Dillard provides the only 12-month on-Grounds housing option.
Hawes said despite differences in cost, there are myriad benefits unique to on-Grounds housing, adding that the hike in costs would not drastically affect the number of students who choose to stay on Grounds.
"We're still going to have 65 percent of our student body on Grounds, it's going to be that way no matter what we have," she said. "Quite frankly, it's a better deal to be on Grounds, just in terms of having nine months versus twelve months [and] utilities involved directly in the lease."
Hawes added that under certain circumstances, on-Grounds housing can be much more flexible than off-Grounds housing.
"If you decide to study abroad you are out of your housing contract; if you flunk out you're out of your housing contract," she said. "From a practical perspective, it's a lot easier to negotiate within the [on-Grounds] system."
Kovatch did not predict a similar increase in the housing costs of 2008-2009.
"We'll be looking annually at where we are, what the increase will need to be," he said. "I wouldn't anticipate [the increases] continuing at [the current] level"
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