Purdue News
Purdue News
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July 2, 2004 Purdue takes steps to meet increased need for on-campus housingWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue officials are considering four options to meet the housing needs of about 400 incoming male students who are registered for fall semester but applied for on-campus housing after the university's March 1 deadline. "We're working very hard to offer housing on campus to all students who have asked for it, even though they applied well after the deadline," said Ernest Poland, executive director of University Residences. "Although there is plenty of space available in apartment complexes near campus, many students want the structure and programming of the residence halls, and we will do everything possible to provide those services. "The spaces normally occupied by undergraduates are basically full. We've had students walking in every day this week with housing applications. Fortunately there are several options both on and off campus. What we have to do now is decide which options to choose and then communicate to students who are still waiting for housing assignments." Poland said he and other administrators will make a decision before the end of next week about how to best serve the needs of these incoming freshman and transfer students who, as of Friday (July 2), have not yet been assigned housing. Three options, which could be implemented in a variety of combinations, include: • Four vacant floors of Young Hall (second, third, ninth and 10th) could be used to house several hundred students. • Incoming students could live in available apartments in Purdue Village, with three to an apartment. • Purdue could lease space in off-campus apartments and turn those units into university residence halls, providing residence advisers and the same guidelines and offerings as on-campus housing. Particular emphasis would be placed on building a sense of community within this unique setting, Poland said. "We have been calling the students and parents, explaining the situation to them," he said. "They are very relieved that we are working on a solution. Once we make a final decision next week, we will inform the students and their parents of the options open to them and mail them each a contract." All female students who applied before the end of May were accommodated in on-campus housing. The men who applied through April 27 will be in undergraduate residence halls. Poland said the housing shortfall is partially due to a Cary Quad southwest renovation project that reduces the number of available beds by 375. The greater demand this year for on-campus housing can also be attributed to an increase in returning students choosing to stay in on-campus housing, Poland said. "Possible factors affecting the increased demand for campus housing could be due to improving the quality of campus housing through renovation and updated food services," Poland said. He said that 87 percent of incoming freshmen typically live in residence halls, although unlike many universities, Purdue does not require freshmen to live on campus. Students living in the alternative housing would be entitled to the same meal plans as students in residence halls, with freshmen living at Young Hall or off-campus entitled to additional meal benefits to compensate for having to travel farther to the dining halls. Full meal plan choices would be available to any of the students in the alternative housing options. Several apartment complexes in the community are being considered to provide off-campus housing, but only preliminary discussions between Purdue and the owners have taken place. "We are considering the off-campus option because we have available students and the community has available beds," Poland said. "This seems like a natural option because of the strong cooperative efforts between Purdue and the West Lafayette community." Writer: Reni Winter, (765) 496-3133, (765) 714-4288 (cell), rwinter@purdue.edu Source: Ernest Poland, (765) 494-1000, efpoland@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Related Web site:
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