News

Trustees mull over student housing's impact on college

By Brad Riggin
rigginb@mscd.edu

The Metro Board of Trustees discussed the transition to a residential school and how the college would prepare at its meeting Oct. 5.

"This is a serious road we're going down, but it's coming whether we're ready or not," said Karen Raforth, Metro interim vice president for Student Services.

Raforth delivered a presentation to the board on how student housing affects student retention and how other commuter colleges have made the transition to residential.

The board asked Raforth to study the situation further.

"I think we need more information," Board chair Bruce Benson said.

Raforth will be looking at the transitions of several universities such as the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the University of Chicago and the University of Houston.

Raforth said that students who live in dorms or campus housing tend to stay in college longer than their peers who do not.

The Regency, located at 39th and Elati Streets, became the first dorm-style residential complex designed specifically for the Auraria campus when it opened in August.

Two more student-housing projects are slated to open by next fall. The Inn at Auraria will take up several floors of the Executive Tower Hotel, which is located only blocks away from campus at 14th and Curtis Streets.

The Campus Village Apartments will be located on the west side of campus and are the required housing for UCD freshmen who live outside a 50-mile radius from campus.

All three student-housing projects are open to students at UCD, Metro and CCD.

Metro President Stephen Jordan agreed the development of student housing is a situation the college will have to deal with.

"We will start having a much younger cohort going across campus at night expecting services that aren't here," Jordan said. "We're going to be involved whether we like it or not."

Auraria will have to consider keeping facilities on campus, like the Recreation Center, open later, he said.

Metro is also experiencing a shift in student population. The largest growth in population has been for those between the ages of 18 and 23 and the median age of Metro students is now 23, Jordan said.

Students in this age group are looking for services provided by facilities like The Regency, he said.

Trustee Alex Cranberg said he finds Auraria's move toward residential housing troubling.

"It troubles me that the group that has the highest retention risk (students over 23 who commute) is shrinking," Cranberg said. "I don't want to see us increase student retention by shifting students."

Jordan said the board needs to keep Metro's legal liability in mind when discussing the college's future involvement with student housing.

"The more involved you get, the more liability increases," Jordan said. "There are sexual assaults in dorms, there are assaults in dorms, students will pull fire alarms and the fire department will call and say you have to put a stop to that."