Approximately 22 percent of full-time students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities live in college dormitories, data shows. However, at some schools, nearly the entire student population lives in dorms or on-campus apartments.
Colleges and universities need to provide student housing that’s safe and comfortable, and that meets the needs of its students. COVID-19 challenged institutions to provide safe spaces within dorm rooms, reduce bed counts and set aside unoccupied dorm rooms to act as quarantine spaces.
FinancesOnline identified 10 trends that are currently helping to shape the student housing.
- New house rules. When some colleges and universities began to welcome students back to campus in the fall of 2020, they had to implement new housing protocols to ensure student health safety. These measures include mask wearing, appropriate cleaning protocols and social distancing. In addition, schools had to ensure that residents in shared spaces had enough space to be six feet apart or more, or adding physical barriers to separate students living in the same room. Today, school housing managers and staff are requiring personnel to wear personal protective equipment, disinfect common areas and amenities and implement high-efficiency HEPA filtration systems.
- Technology. Students absolutely must be able to get online at any time, from any device, and schools must provide technology-enabled spaces in residences. At the very minimum, student housing management should ensure seamless Internet connection, plenty of bandwidth and no service interruptions. WiFi should be available anywhere in dorm buildings.
- Modern, collaborative safe spaces. Students are looking for opportunities to connect with one another. To nurture connections and support students in their studies, colleges and universities must provide collaborative spaces within student housing. Many schools are creating comfortable outdoor spaces to support social events and educational programs. COVID-19 is causing schools to focus on student health, so some schools are contemplating constructing new spaces to support social distancing.
- Going green. Today’s students are typically concerned about the environment and their impact on the world we live in. Sustainability is a way of life for many students, and higher education institutions are taking this into account when designing student housing, incorporating green features and aiming to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum status in their new construction and renovation projects.
- Increased privacy. The restrictions of the pandemic have prompted demand for privacy in student housing. Previously, campus apartments could house six students, but the trend in student housing today is for micro-units and studio-type accommodations, as single-occupancy apartments. However, schools aren’t able to do away with shared rooms altogether and schools now need to address the need for personal privacy. Some schools have moved away from communal bathrooms and decreased the number of students sharing a room and now might offer suites with private spaces.
- Modes of transportation. During the pandemic, many people shied away from public transportation and instead increasingly opted for private cars and bicycles and even walking to get from one place to another. In addition, before and during COVID-19, a majority of students drove themselves to campuses, and on-campus housing needed to provide sufficient parking. Today, however, many higher education institutions are offering eco-friendly transportation options that include cross-campus shuttles and ride-sharing, so schools no longer have to provide ample on-campus parking.
- New roles for resident assistants. Resident assistants (RAs) have evolved into rules and regulations enforcers, and they are also tasked with encouraging healthy living for students. RAs remind students to mask up, observe social distancing and avoid meeting in groups, in addition to helping students properly use bathrooms and other common areas.
- Diverse housing types. Student housing preferences and needs vary, and many schools now provide more diverse unit types. On-campus housing facilities now blend quad style, studio style and family apartments, and the new designs benefit both students and institutions.
- Phasing out the ‘dorm’. Today, student housing buildings look more like off-campus housing, with an urban feel and appearance. They also are filled with state-of-the-art amenities to support the basic, social and academic needs of students. These facilities are lively, sustainable and engaging to attract the current generation of students.
- Gender-neutral housing. Co-ed housing policies have been changing for years, with intensifying campaigns for gender inclusivity leading to more mixed gender housing instead of male or female dorms. Many colleges and universities are now providing co-ed housing but still guarantee student privacy by offering gender-specific showers, for example.