AU Housing and Dining Programs has seen an increase in the past three years of returning students who seek on-campus housing - numbers that are in line with a national trend of upperclassmen seeking on-campus housing at colleges across the country.
James Baumann, director of communication and marketing for the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International, said his organization has seen an increase in the number of upperclassmen-oriented residence halls.
"We have seen a trend based on antidotal evidence," he said.
Colleges and universities across the country are finding increasing apartment style resident halls with kitchenettes and living areas because there is a demand for more privacy, Baumann said.
ACUHO-I sponsored the multi-phased initiative called the 21st Century Project for its members to lead a movement in better construction and state of the art residential facilities on college campuses, according to the Web site.
Housing and Dining Executive Director Chris Moody said he believes the economy is a major reason for more upperclassmen who choose to live on-campus.
"It's not necessarily the cost of rent that is expensive," he said. "But transportation, furnishing an apartment and food costs."
The renovation of Centennial Hall and the addition of Nebraska Hall appeal to upperclassmen since both of these dormitories are upperclassmen housing, Moody said.
Between four and five years ago, 54 percent of returning students sought on-campus housing. This year, 59.4 percent of returning students are living on campus. Returning students are not based on the traditional four-year academic track. Instead, it is based on academic credit and therefore a student can be a sophomore after one semester or a senior after four years and they both want to live on campus, Moody said. This factor makes it difficult to determine the exact number of upperclassmen living on campus at AU.
Housing and Dining is preparing for next semester and future academic years for the anticipated increase in upperclassmen residents.
The Holiday Inn in Georgetown will not be offered as a housing option next semester. Instead, students who are continuing their education at AU will move onto the main or Tenley campuses, Moody said.
"Our demand is higher than our supply," he said. "We want [upperclassmen] to stay. We will try to help students get housing if they meet the requirements."
Housing and Dining is working on some new initiatives, including organizing an apartment fair to help students search for off-campus housing, which is tentatively scheduled in February. The office is talking with landlords of apartments located within a mile of campus to help house transfer students for the of 2009, Moody said.
Liza Gipsova, a junior in the School of Communication, said she lives on campus because it is closer than off-campus housing.
"I feel more connected," she said.
Dayna Wells, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Service, said she lives on campus because while she was studying abroad, it was hard for her to shop for an apartment. She did not want to commit to a one-year lease and found it was convenient for her to spend her last year at AU on campus.
"You would have to buy furniture. The cost of living and transit is not worth it," she said. "Transit time. Time is money."
Savannah Graybill, a junior in SOC, lives off campus because she said it is nice to have a home away from home.
"You're dorm room isn't your living room and kitchen," she said.
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