Purdue News

August 2000 Purdue housing realities better than dreams Marvis J. Boscher If we build it, will they come? The concept worked for Kevin Costner in the movie "Field of Dreams." Can it work for Purdue University? A look at the numbers clearly shows that such a dream is not based on reality. Without adding any new buildings, Purdue this fall expects to be able to house all students who have applied for student housing. There is no demand for additional Purdue housing. Furthermore, a new building would not reduce the demand for off-campus student housing in Greater Lafayette. The main reason is that many students – about 65 percent over at least the past decade – consistently prefer to live off campus and would not live in University Residences, even if more were available. Of the students who do want to live on campus this fall, Purdue expects to house all who applied by the university's housing deadline for the fall semester, and likely will house almost all of the late-comers, too. True, last fall 469 students who applied to live in Purdue housing were put on a waiting list. Those students subsequently declined a housing contract offered them later in the summer or chose to find alternative housing upon learning they were on a waiting list. This year, however, Purdue better anticipated housing demand and has reallocated spaces. Of the graduate and undergraduate students wanting to live in a Purdue residence hall, all who applied by the March 15 deadline and signed a contract will have a room waiting for them when they arrive on campus this fall. In fact, those who applied as late as June 13 have received housing contracts. As always, we've had a few students who applied even later than that. Of those, 33 upper-class men have been placed on a waiting list. We expect that we will be able to accommodate them as well, because some students with housing contracts invariably don't return to campus or choose not to come to Purdue. Another part of the housing equation is that we know, based on decades of experience, that of the 12,460 students who have fall housing contracts with Purdue right now, some of them will change their minds, as some already have. One challenge is the fact that we also have three distinct customer groups. Housing space will be provided to meet the needs of 10,872 undergraduate students, 606 graduate students and 982 families. And of our undergraduate and graduate residences, we currently need to further allocate housing to accommodate separate living for men and women. This makes precise allocation of our 12,724 available student spaces challenging, but years of practice helps us come very, very close. To anticipate "no shows," University Residences tracks the contract holders carefully, looking for time-tested clues that will indicate whether they will opt out. We watch to see if they make their first payment for tuition and fees by the May 1 deadline. We check to see whether first-time students attend orientation sessions in the summer. We send postcards to students who haven't returned signed contracts asking them if they are still coming to Purdue. Toward the end of July, we begin making phone calls to students we still haven't heard from, again asking for confirmation of housing requests. Then, we look to see who actually shows up. Once the dust settles, about two weeks after classes start, we expect even students on the waiting list will have housing, as well as a few others who apply when they arrive on campus for class. They may, however, have to accept temporary assignments until we have space for them. What does all of this mean to the Greater Lafayette community? Purdue will house everyone who applied for housing as of June 13, and probably can house those who apply even later than that. Very few, if any, students who want university housing will be turned away. That means that if Purdue built an additional residence hall, a lot of rooms would be vacant this fall, and our students would be paying for a building that isn't needed. Marvis J. Boscher is the director of Purdue University Residences To the Purdue News and Photos Page