PNW is struggling to head off a student housing shortage.
As universities across the nation look for ways to fit students into limited campus housing, administrators here have gotten creative to accommodate a growing demand for a bed in a PNW residence hall.
“We’ve extended occupancy by doubling previously single rooms within apartments on the first floors of Griffin and Peregrine, said Scott Iverson, assistant vice chancellor for Housing and Student Life. “We’ve also converted previous four-person occupancy apartments to six-person occupancy apartments and lowered rents in those spaces to match the new configurations.”
The two residence halls in Hammond can accommodate about 750 students, but demand for beds there has increased with the growth in out-of-state and international students.
Beginning a few years ago, PNW has housed some overflow students in Home 2 Suites residential units operated by the Hilton Hotel chain located a 12-minute drive from the Hammond campus.
High demand means the university has a waitlist of students who want to live in a residence hall. Iverson said PNW continues to find space for students.
The university has also begun considering the possibility of building more residential space in Hammond, though no plans have been finalized.
“We have had a waitlist the last two years, but they have each been tiny in nature,” he said. “We have been fortunate to have found a place for everyone on the waitlist during the fall semester.”
The student housing shortage has been recognized nationally. A fall study by Econsulting Solutions Inc., which counsels universities and other institutions, reports that the pressure on universities to provide campus housing has increased because off-campus rental prices have dramatically outpaced tuition and college fees.
“Comparing the inflation-adjusted monthly cost of room and board for public four-year institutions against the inflation-adjusted median gross rent in the United States, the gap between the cost of the renting off-campus and room and board is now approximately $240 monthly – or approximately $11,500 over four years,” the report found.
“The combined trend has led to an acute housing crunch on campuses across the country—where on-campus housing is a limited resource and increasingly represents a relatively affordable housing option for students looking to access higher education and potentially save on cost-of-living,” it said.
As the university actively addresses the housing shortage, some students believe PNW needs a long-term solution.
“I believe that a dorm shortage is preventable,” said Leira Alvarez, a junior Mathematics student. “While having a small waitlist makes sense since some residents only sometimes follow through with their housing requests, it’s unfair for the school to promise housing to many people and then struggle to deliver.
“They could expand the dorms, or at the very least, they need to monitor housing requests and approvals more closely before taking deposits,” she said. “This way, they can avoid making the situation even more cramped than it already is.”
