Page 20 - College Planning & Management, April 2018

Table 2
Do your current or planned residence hall spaces include...
2017
2018
Central kitchen
44%
35%
Central laundry facilities 98% 88%
Classroom spaces
33%
30%
Club-style fitness centers 12% 16%
Coffee shops
16%
16%
Dining hall 35% 33%
Faculty offices
21%
15%
Gender-neutral housing 49% 37%
Gender-neutral restrooms
51%
43%
Kitchen in rooms/suites 47% 45%
Maid services
7%
4%
Retail spaces 14% 16%
Swimming pools
2%
7%
Washer/dryer in rooms/suites 16% 12%
this year if campus residence halls do or will include gender-neutral housing. In 2017, 49 percent indicated they do or will. In 2018, that number has dropped to 37 percent. Gender-neutral restrooms? In 2017 just over half, 51 percent, did. In 2018, that has dropped to 43 percent.
Looking Forward, What Are the Concerns?
The focus of housing directors re- mains firmly on the struggle to provide adequate safe, functional, up-to-date fa- cilities for their residential students with limited budgets and resources.
When asked to rate the impact of a number of issues on housing at their in- stitutions in the next three to five years, the five issues ranked as having the most profound impact were, in percentage or- der of concern: aging facilities, deferred maintenance, lack of adequate funds, need for upgraded/modernized facili- ties, and student/parent expectations... which is exactly the same as 2016’s and 2017’s top five. And again, as last year (ex- cept perhaps for student/parent expecta- tions), the top four are directly related to financial considerations.
From the same question, the five items most often cited as not having any notice- able impact for the next three to five years are overcrowding, keeping beds filled, staffing issues, drug and alcohol use, and staying competitive with off-campus housing.
It Comes Down to the Students
Once the physical needs of shelter and safety are met—as close to student ex- pectations as possible, knowing that the wish list will almost always exceed avail- ability—we asked our survey respon- dents what is the one issue that concerns them most right now, and why.
“The cost of everything,” observes one respondent. “The college debt bubble is going to burst at some point, and we are part of that problem.”
“Pricing ourselves out of the market,” comments another. “Budget and staff- ing, because we could use more staff and funding to provide the services we intend to,” is another observation.
As might be expected, costs, fund- ing, and condition of facilities top the list for 2018. Competition with off-campus facilities concerns some. A decline in enrollment, resulting in empty beds, is another. Another common concern that appears more frequently through the years of compiling these surveys is the students themselves.
“Student emotional fragility.” “Student behaviors.” “Mental health, and our ability to meet the needs of those students.” “Stu- dents who have mental illness or issues that we are not aware of.” “Sexual abuse, because it is rising on campuses.”
Facility design is accommodating this trend in concerns surrounding student health; mental, emotional, and physical, according to Gatewood.
“There is a growing interest and need for campus housing facilities to promote and support student wellness,” he says. “Institutions are all experiencing higher demand for mental and emotional health services. Stress-free zones such as yoga or prayer and meditation space, blackout shades and acoustics that support sleep,
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
26%
Lack of adequate funds 25%
Need for upgraded/ modernized facilities
24%
Deferred maintenance 21%
Student/parent expectations
21%
Cost to students 16%
Keeping beds filled
15%
Staying competitive 15% with off-campus housing
Mental health issues
13%
Civility/entitlement issues 8%
Drug and alcohol abuse
8%
Security concerns 7%
Staffing issues
6%
Overcrowding 6%
20 COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2018 WEBCPM.COM