When sophomore Megan Vanjoske, a Carroll Hall resident enrolled in letters and sciences, first heard about differentiated rates, she said she would be willing to pay more money to live in a bigger, air-conditioned room next year. Now she might have that chance.
The Department of Resident Life introduced a new differentiated housing-rates plan in November, and the Residence Hall Association passed a resolution Tuesday confirming its support for the implementation of the rates.
The differentiated rates, which will go into effect starting in fall 2015, will allow students to select on-campus housing based on preferred price ranges and room amenities. With the new rate structure, a single room featuring a private bathroom in the newer, more spacious Oakland Hall will cost more than a classic double room in an older dorm, like Carroll Hall, with a communal bathroom.
“Do you think that it’s fair for someone to live in Prince Frederick to pay the same amount as someone living in Carroll, Caroline and Wicomico?” asked Sasha Galbreath, a sophomore government and politics major and Resident Life Advisory Board committee chairwoman. “I don’t think so, and I think most of us would agree that it’s not.”
After some early debates, the RHA in November circulated a student survey on social media to seek student feedback on the concept of different rates for each type of housing. Of the 283 students who responded to the survey, about 60 percent answered in favor of the rate changes. About 10 percent voted “it’s complicated,” citing concerns about economic differences and confusion about how the process would work.
Vanjoske said she was on-board, explaining that her room in Carroll isn’t worth the same as ones in other high-rise dorms.
Galbreath wrote the resolution and led the hour-long debate on it. Discussion centered on the possibility of “economic” communities appearing around the campus, as some dorms such as Prince Frederick Hall are markedly “nicer” than others and their rooms likely would be more expensive.
The RHA has discussed this issue before and Galbreath said she too was concerned about the economic implications of the plan when it was first introduced to her. But, she noted, each dorm is made up of multiple types of rooms, which could help prevent economic class divisions among students.
Resident Life also looked at rate structure comparisons for Indiana University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Michigan and Towson University, all of which charge between six and 13 different dorm room rates, and none of these other schools have reported the problem, Galbreath said.
Resident Life Assistant Director Mike Glowacki said developing the rate structure plan is complicated.
“We kind of have to go into this recognizing that it is going to be very difficult to get perfect the first time,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re not back a year from now discussing what works and what needs to be re-evaluated.”
Glowacki said making the rate structure as fair and workable as possible would be an ongoing discussion with the RHA, and Resident Life is willing to adjust if and when any problems arise.
The bottom line, Galbreath said, is most students will be paying less for housing next year. Under the new rate structure, about 65 percent of students will pay less than they would have to under the current system. Rates go up each year, Glowacki said, but with differentiated rates, the base rate for a standard double will only increase by 4.5 percent, to a cost of about $3,356.50 per semester, while without them, the increase would be 5 percent.
Glowacki said now that the RHA has approved the differentiated rate concept, Resident Life will work to finalize a system that will play into the budget for the coming year.
