Dorms Add to Community Colleges’ Appeal
In an attempt to offer a low-cost alternative to college students
who typically attend more expensive private and public institutions,
community colleges have started building on-campus dorms, a move
that may soon alter the commuter culture at such schools, reports
the Los Angeles Times (“Community Colleges Add Dorms to Boost
Appeal,” April 7, 2009).
With tuition rising at most colleges and universities across the
country, experts say that larger numbers of college-age students are
opting to enroll in two-year schools offering the same type of
college dormitory life traditionally found only at a four-year
university. And many community colleges are actively promoting their
on-campus housing amenities in their recruitment of international
students and athletes, two demographics who often prefer on-campus
housing.
“We do think it’s a trend for more community colleges to provide
residential housing for students,” said Norma Kent, spokeswoman for
the American Association of Community Colleges.
States Responding to Need for Community College Dorms
Dorms at community colleges are being built in Washington state,
Florida, Texas, Minnesota, and California, where both the University
of California and the California State University systems have said
they will severely limit freshmen enrollment this fall.
Educators believe that California — with nearly 2.8 million
community college students or roughly 25 percent of the nation’s
total community college population — may be particularly ripe for
adding new dorms.
With both of the state’s university systems accepting fewer freshmen
this year, many of the 4,000 first-year students who’ve been denied
admission to those four-year schools may be more likely to consider
a two-year school that offers on-campus housing versus one that
doesn’t.
And what may come as a surprise, the Los Angeles Times reports, is
that 11 community colleges in the state already have dorms, although
many of those decades-old dorms resemble 1950s-era military
barracks. Other dorms, like those at Sierra College near Sacramento,
have been updated and include meal plans honored at local
restaurants, one of many features intended to lure students to its
campus.
Cerro Coso Community College, a 300-student school located in
Mammoth Lakes, says that its South Gateway Student Apartments — an
$8.5 million residence hall built last August that can house 59
students — is the first new community college housing to go up in
California in 20 years. Funded by a grant from the Mammoth Lakes
Foundation, the new dorms aren’t cheap: $900 a month for a single
room or $750 a month for a shared room, plus meals.
Feedback from students regarding community college dorms is largely
positive. Some students say they’re succeeding at school for the
first time and that they enjoy the intimate surroundings and small
class sizes that community colleges can offer.
Sharon Carroll, a student at Cerro Coso Community College, said that
if she had to fight the traffic and large class sizes of an urban
community college, “I would have been sick of school already. I
figured out a lot from being here. It made me want to go to a four-
year college.”