| An almost full house |
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by Michele Dawson the Carillon U of R residences get a major boost in occupancy In Sept. 2004, the University of Regina opened the doors to its newest buildings, the North and South towers of the New Residence. Now, in the beginning of its second year, this residence is almost full. According to Judy Amundson, business manager for the New Residence, College West and the Language Institute, the New Residence currently has about 80 per cent occupancy. Last year, this residence only had 63 per cent occupancy. Amundson attributed several factors to the significant increase in occupancy. One logical explanation is that “[the university] went from having 300 rooms to having about 1000 rooms.” This drastic increase in available rooms provides a greater probability that more students will choose to live on campus. However, Amundson stressed that there are many more factors that can be attributed to the massive increase. “When people experience campus living, they are provided with both instant friendships and an environment of academic support,” said Amundson. “International students are also in an environment where they can get help improving their English.” Not only do residents have social and academic support, “they also have easy access to things on campus,” said Amundson. She also joked that “you can always tell who lives in residence because they wear flip-flops all year round.” In addition to the convenience and social factors, there are still more reasons that can be attributed to the increased occupancy in the New Residence. “Retention is up because of choices,” said Amundson. “Various room choices allow people to choose between things such as meal plans or cooking, and coed or unisex living arrangements.” The New Residence has 132 dorms and 166 suites, allowing them to accommodate the needs of prospective residents. These choices lured first-year student, Surien, to the New Residence. “I liked that I would be able to cook for myself,” she said. These choices also caused returning resident, James Kennedy, to come back to campus living. “I was happy that I would be able to cook for myself this year, because last year the meal plan was the suck,” said Kennedy. Surien says she will “definitely” be returning to residence next year. The final big reason for the increased occupancy in the New Residence is “active recruitment.” Last year, people from Residence Services spearheaded many campaigns to increase occupancy for this year. These campaigns included UR Sleeping Over, in which friends and siblings of current residents could sleep over in order to get a taste for campus living. When first year students came to campus for their advising appointments, they were also offered a free night in residence. A phone campaign was implemented to further advertise all of the potential benefits that campus living could provide first year students. Finally, coloured pamphlets were also mailed out to show off the New Residence’s allure. This year, the occupancy level of the New Residence has surpassed the goals of those involved with the Residence Services Office. Next year, they are shooting for an even further increase in occupancy. |