Evolving Student Residences

Ken Steele sums up trends in on-campus housing, as colleges and universities build more and more residences, to appeal to international students, teenagers and their parents. Amenities arms races in Canada are nothing compared to those at American colleges (consider for example the $7 million leisure pool at Texas Tech University), but nonetheless the bar keeps rising for luxury campus housing. For example, Brescia University College opened a new $30-million residence in 2013 with private rooms, queen-sized beds, individual thermostats, and even room service.

In many provinces, capital debt is discouraged for residence construction, so increasingly institutions are turning to P3s (public-private partnerships) to design, build, and sometimes manage student residences. In some cases, student residences are an integral part of the academic mission of the institution, such as the Velocity Residence at the University of Waterloo, a "dormcubator" designed to incubate new student-run businesses.

In a previous episode, we argued that there has been a rise in part-time and commuter students on campus, even when they are "invisible" (see the episode at https://youtu.be/e5GGxa2Z7EY ). Some institutions are dedicating dorm space to commuter students.

Some residences are considerably less luxurious. In Terrace BC, Northwest Community College opened a 49-bed campus residence using the same ATCO trailers used in remote work camps - not only a cost-effective solution, but an experiential learning opportunity for trades students.

Space in residence may become even tighter yet, judging by the example of modular dorms in Hong Kong, based on the capsule hotels of Japan. Students pay HK$3,500 per month for a 6x4x3' slot, barely larger than a morgue drawer. Most places in Canada will never see such cramped quarters, but if they do appear, it will likely be in downtown Vancouver, where international students may arrive with less and less expectation of personal space.

Finally, just #ICYMI, we share clips from a catchy new music video from the University of Victoria, "Discover Your Edge."