Iowa State is just one university following the nationwide trend of offering more housing options to students.

There is a push by students for more privacy, amenities and space in their housing options.

Schools such as the University of Connecticut, Saint Louis University and Georgia State University are accommodating students’ demands by building new apartment or suite-style buildings.

Iowa State has followed this trend by building Frederiksen Court for sophomores, juniors and seniors, and Union Drive Association Suite Building 1 for freshmen.

“As students get older, they want more privacy and they want more space,” said Randy Alexander, director of the Department of Residence. “Frederiksen Court gives them that.”

As proof of older students’ desire for privacy, Alexander said the residence department “can’t meet the demand” for Frederiksen Court’s single-bedroom apartments. Less popular are the shared bedroom apartments. However, he said, many of these shared bedrooms have been contracted as “super-singles,” and despite higher costs, they have also been popular.

Alexander said Frederiksen Court is responsible for luring many students from off-campus back on.

“The first year, we had 90 students move into Frederiksen Court from off campus,” Alexander said. “Last year 400 moved [on campus] — that’s unbelievable.”

He said part of Frederiksen Court’s success comes from the amenities it offers older students, including a washer and dryer in each apartment, furnishings, a nine-month contract option, a variety of pricing plans, Ethernet connections and the option of a meal plan.

“It gives [students] what they have off campus plus,” Alexander said.

Iowa State has also recently opened Union Drive Suite Building 1, which offers freshmen and underclassmen suite-style living with more privacy, kitchenettes, study rooms, bathrooms shared by four people and other amenities not offered in every residence hall.

Alexander said that though the suites are the most expensive on-campus living option for freshmen, they are in high demand.

“Students seem to be more interested in expensive units than inexpensive units,” Alexander said.

Knapp Hall, Alexander said, is the most inexpensive on-campus living option for students. However, he said the residence department was hard-pressed to find enough students to fill it.

“You need to listen to what students say,” Alexander said. “They vote with their feet.”

The University of Iowa is also making changes in its residence hall options.

Maggie Van Oel, director of residence services at the U of I, said the university is in the planning stages of a new building project which would allow students to share a bathroom with a few other students.

“One of the things students have requested is more privacy,” Van Oel said.

She said increased cost does not seem to be a problem for students.

Van Oel said the U of I makes plans “in response to what students want and are willing to pay.”

The University of Northern Iowa offers students two apartment living options for undergraduates.

UNI’s Residence System Business Manager Gary Daters said University Apartments offer apartment living for undergraduates.

Upperclassmen may also opt to live in furnished university apartments.

“UNI continues to spend dollars on improvements to our facilities and furnishings,” Daters said.

Alexander said housing programs are facing situations similar to Iowa State’s. However, he said the scale on which Iowa State is building is bigger than most.

Alexander said it cost $55 million to build Frederiksen Court. The cost of demolishing old buildings, including parts of Friley and Helser Halls, will be about $4 million.

However, the amount saved in deferred maintenance costs would be about $100 million.

“If you spend that money, you would have excellent 1960s-style living,” he said. “But that’s not what students want.”

When Alexander began conducting research for the housing project, Iowa State had seen a 3 percent drop in enrollment and a 20 percent drop in students living on-campus. “We had to do something,” he said.

The residence department looked at renovating dorms, but Alexander said it would not have been cost-effective.

“The size of the system is not really growing, just changing,” he said.

Two more suite buildings are currently in the works, and Buchanan Hall is being renovated for older students.

Because new projects are funded through the students, Alexander values student input.

“It would be financial suicide to build something students don’t like,” he said.

In the next few weeks, Alexander said the residence department will be conducting surveys and focus groups made up of students in order to make adjustments.

“We involve students a lot,” he said. “They’re the ones that have to decide to live there.”

—The Chronicle of Higher Education

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