Number of students living on campus declines

What's bad for Residential Living this year may be good for students living in Residential Living dormitories next year. The actual number of students who chose to live on campus decreased this year from last year, Residential Living officials said recently. But in an attempt to reverse this downward trend and revive Residential Living's sagging budget, officials are considering dormitory changes to attract students back on campus -- including more West Campus rooms with private bedroom space. "We're trying to do everything we can to make on-campus as convenient as it can be for students," Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said this week. "We're trying to offer as many items as possible that students would really want." Deputy Vice Provost George Koval said last week that undergraduate residences are 96 percent full, while graduate student dormitories enjoy a 99 percent occupancy rate. These figures translate into about 215 vacancies in undergraduate dorms and fewer than 20 vacancies in graduate dorms. Last February there were approximately 400 vacancies. But these numbers do not tell the whole story because of the closing of the English House dormitory for renovation and the demolition of the Law School dormitory. "[We have] slightly less students living in the dorms than we did a year ago, but the percentages are better because you have a small base," Koval said. "We had planned to have the same number of people living ]on-campus[ and that did not materialize to that degree." But according to Simeone, officials are trying to compensate for the downward trend with perks to make on-campus dorm rooms more attractive. "We're just hoping that the rates will go up next year and we're right now in the process of developing some innovative things," Simeone said. The plan most often put forward at this point is offering more private bedroom space on West Campus, which is currently suffering from particularly low occupancy. Officials said they may offer the common three-bedrooms-for-four-people suites in the high rises to only three people, giving each student a private bedroom. Low occupancy rates can have serious budgetary implications, and they did last year. If Residential Living does not receive the rent it expects, it may defer maintenance projects -- something it was forced to do last year. But officials said they have yet to resort to cutting student services. In the meantime, the Residential Living budget, while not in perfect health, is in better condition than this time last year. "We are slightly behind in what was budgeted, but I don't expect it to have any adverse effects," Koval said. "We're not in as dire straits as we were a year ago." According to officials, summer rentals to conferences and visiting student groups helped make up some of last year's lost ground. "They came in just about on target and we were able to do some minor showcasing items we had planned," Koval said. Because vacancies are spread out among dormitories and because planning and hiring for each year begins before occupancy agreements are signed, it is too late to reduce the number of residential advisors, support workers or buildings in operation by the time the year begins. "If you knew they were concentrated, you could shut down a building and have all kinds of savings," Koval said. Where have all the students gone? Not directly off-campus, according to local realtors. Center City student populations have remained constant, however, and more students may be commuting from suburban locales. Koval said occupancy rate figures can fluctuate rapidly -- "It's a moving target . . . I get these every week to ten days" -- and dramatically. "It's the springtime that we see the major change because people go to study abroad," he said. Koval said the second semester shift may be more dramatic than usual this year due to the after-effects of the Persian Gulf War. Students may have deferred travel last spring due to the perceived risk, and more than the usual number may temporarily vacate the campus in the coming year. "After it settles in, it should be a constant," he said. "They have to come back eventually." Low Rise North, which houses both graduate and undergraduate students, and the Quadrangle, which only houses undergraduates, are the fullest dorms this year. The Low Rise has "no vacancies at this time," Koval said, while the Quad has a 99.7 percent occupancy rate and only four vacancies. The three High Rise dormitories have occupancy rates ranging from 92 to 95 percent, while the King's Court dormitory has an occupancy rate between 95 and 96 percent. College House and Living-Learning Programs are 97 percent full this year. These dorms include Hill House, parts of Low Rise North, Van Pelt Manor House, Modern Language College House, Stouffer College House, the Community Service Living-Learning Program in the Castle, and certain areas of High Rise East and the Quadrangle. Except for the addition of the program in the Castle, none of the special program floors, areas and dormitories grew. Several special programs shrunk, however: East Asia House and Arts House each lost a high rise floor compared to last year, and the Substance Free Floor and Women's Issues Living-Learning Programs are each contained in a couple of rooms. Graduate student dormitories include Mayer Hall, the Graduate Towers and certain areas of Low Rise North.

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