Page 19 - College Planning & Management, April 2017

kitchen is now an important component of building community in the residence hall. Community kitchens provide opportuni- ties for students to cook together, campus dietitians can conduct educational pro- grams about healthy eating and cooking, and international students are able to cook native cuisine for themselves and introduce hall mates to food from different cultures. Many of the community kitchens we have designed recently include two of each appliance to satisfy demand and provide opportunity for ‘iron chef’ type cooking matches between students.”
Coffee shops within residence halls? In 2016, only 10 percent indicated they were or would be included. That number rose to 16 percent in 2017.
Classroom spaces were indicated for 32 percent of facilities in 2016; that number remains steady in 2017, at 33 percent.
Inspired by current, sometimes acrimo- nious discussion, CP&M asked if campus residence halls do or will include gender- neutral housing. Almost half, 49 percent, indicated they do or will; and gender-neutral restrooms — over half, 51 percent, do or will.
Gatewood sees this evolution from the design end.
“Campus housing continues to be impacted by the legislation and discus- sion surrounding issues of transgender and gender-neutral accommodations,” he observes. “Largely, institutions of higher education have been ahead of the curve
on addressing these issues in new and renovated facilities. Architects are increas-
ingly challenged to create safe, equitable living environments on college campuses. Engaging all users of the facility in the design process rather than relying on as- sumptions helps ensure everyone’s needs for privacy and security are being met to the greatest extent possible.”
Looking Forward,
What Are the Concerns?
The eyes of housing directors remain firmly focused on budget.
When asked to rate the impact of a number of issues on housing at their institutions in the next three to five years, the five issues ranked as having the most profound impact were aging facilities, deferred maintenance, lack of adequate funds, need for upgraded/modernized fa- cilities and student/parent expectations... which is exactly the same as 2016’s top five. And as last year, except perhaps for stu- dent/parent expectations, the top four are directly related to financial considerations.
From the same question, the five items most often cited as not having any noticeable impact for the next three to five years are overcrowding, keeping beds filled, staffing issues, staying competitive with off-campus housing and security concerns.
Table 3
Percentage of survey respondents who rated these issues as having the most profound impact on housing at their institutions in the next three to five years:
Aging facilities
53%
Deferred maintenance 35%
Lack of adequate funds
34%
Need for upgraded/ 25% modernized facilities
Student/parent expectations
25%
Cost to students 18%
Keeping beds filled
13%
Civility/entitlement issues 12%
Mental health issues
10%
Staying competitive 10% with off-campus housing
Overcrowding
10%
Drug and alcohol abuse 10%
Staffing issues
6%
Security concerns 2%
Table 2
Do your current or planned residence hall spaces include...
2016
2017
Central kitchen
49%
44%
Central laundry facilities 93% 98%
Classroom spaces
32%
33%
Club-style fitness centers 12% 12%
Coffee shops
10%
16%
Dining hall 37% 35%
Faculty offices
15%
21%
Gender-neutral housing 22% 49%
Gender-neutral restrooms
N/A
51%
Kitchen in rooms/suites 29% 47%
Maid services
2%
7%
Retail spaces 10% 14%
Swimming pools
7%
2%
Washer/dryer in rooms/suites 15% 16%
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HOUSING SURVEY COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 4 2017
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