Increased Dorm Rates To Help Maintain Facilities

If you haven’t considered living off-campus yet, now might be a good time.

In a letter dated March 10, 2010, Vice President for Student Affairs John Smith proposed a 6 percent housing rate increase for 2010-2011. His proposal was based on a recommendation made by Dr. Chris Charlton, director of Housing, who insisted the increase was needed “to maintain and upgrade housing facilities.”

The proposal was accepted. The 6 percent housing rate increase will come alongside a 14 percent tuition hike.

In a Vanguard interview, Charlton explained that the 6 percent increase will be permanent, and she said it is necessary given that while University costs have continued to rise, housing costs have not increased since 2008.

Those University costs include the diminishment of state revenues in response to the global recession. More specifically, the Alabama Legislature reduced USA’s funding by $40 million from three years ago, or 29 percent. The federal stimulus funds of $21.6 million are slated to expire a year from now.

The University also claims to have incurred “unavoidable” costs in excess of $23 million annually over the past three years, including retirement, health care, utilities and operation.

According to Charlton, the renovation and repairs on Delta 6 have been especially costly. In layman’s terms, USA is struggling to make ends meet, and students (or their parents) are footing the bill to recovery.

The good news is that USA is still one of the cheapest doctoral-level universities in Alabama. The bad news is that still isn’t very cheap.

“We are conscientious of housing costs for students, and we try to be as conservative as possible,” Charlton said, “but we also have financial obligations. We compared our rates to other public institutions across the state and found that we are still the most affordable.”

Nevertheless, when mandatory meal plans are factored into the equation, students can expect to pay between $570-670 per month living on campus. Therefore, students living off-campus are paying around the upper-end of what students are paying to live on-campus.

So, if you aren’t fond of having a kitchen in your bedroom, off-campus living is appearing more attractive than ever.