Some students will pay more for housing in the fall, but they may not see the improvements their money will pay for.
Officials plan to increase housing prices by 5 percent for rooms in certain campus dorms. The revenue from the increase will be put into a “rollover” or savings account and used for future dorm renovations and upgrades.
“The small amount that we get from that increase will go to this account which will continue to grow every semester,” said Amy Ayres, vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
The rooms affected by the fee will be:
– doubles and triples in Walker Hall by $205 per student,
– traditional doubles in Banning and Smith halls by $255 per student,
– doubles in Oklahoma United Methodist Hall by $164 per student,
– quads in Oklahoma United Methodist Hall by $265 per student, and
– quads in Cokesbury Court Apartments by $135 per student.
Currently, when students pay their housing fees, most of the money goes into the university’s general fund. The contribution to the general fund will not change under the new structure.
“The university will get the normal amount that they usually get that goes toward the university’s general fund, but we will get whatever comes from this increase,” Ayres said.
The budget committee approved the plan in December. It will begin in Fall 2016.
“We have some money, but we realized that we require more money than we have to fix the things that really need to be done,” Ayres said.
Officials think the fee will generate $45,000 to $50,000 a semester, Ayres said. This will allow them to address deferred maintenance items like plumbing, heating and air, and lighting, and look toward renovating campus housing.
Deferred maintenance is the repair of items that can be expensive to fix but is necessary, Ayres said.
“It’s things that aren’t as sexy as new flooring or freshly painted walls,” she said. “This is certainly not going to be enough to do everything we need to do, but, over time, we need to be creative and keep a larger portion of housing revenue.”
Some of the money housing keeps goes toward maintenance, but officials require more money to keep up with the needed work, Ayres said.
“We can’t take more from the general fund because that goes to university for their expenses,” Ayres said.
Sarah Cason, psychology junior, said she understands the need for a plan.
“We all know housing and dorms are a mess,” Cason said. “A new plan can be good, but charging students more to live in these dorms is a little much. We are paying for renovations we might not get to see.”
Officials will develop a long-term plan for deferred maintenance and renovations once they see for sure how much revenue the increase will bring.
While the renovation plans have not yet been decided, Ayres said she would choose Walker Hall for a complete renovation.
“It is almost the face of the university,” she said. “For freshmen, it is their first experience for university housing, and for recruiting purposes, I would choose that one. But, we aren’t that far yet.”
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