Photography by Richard Forbes.
For many years, the Colorado College housing selection process has been problematic and controversial for students; this year is no exception.
At Colorado College, housing works by randomly assigning students with time slots based off of their year in school to pick where they will live the following year. Spots are available based off of the number of incoming first-years and, with 1552 bed spaces available to the 2,000 or so students; it is no wonder that occupancy is 100%.
Kathy Butler of the Housing department, a firm advocate for the randomization of housing numbers and the lottery system for apartments, is in charge of the process. In fact, she believes that the only con of this system is that the students can get confused or overwhelmed with all of their options.
However, this does not appear to be the problem in the eyes of the student population. Last year, housing selection ran out of slots for sophomores to choose from before the first day of selection was even over.
“It’s completely unfair,” said sophomore Jennifer Murray. “They can’t require on-campus housing for three years and then not even have enough [housing options] for people.”
Consequently, a lot of people were stuck in a “gray area” where they had no rooms to choose from. These people were prioritized in housing over people on the waitlist.
“At the end of the process, we typically do have spaces available, but they aren’t necessarily housing choices that students want to make,” said Kathy Butler, Room Assignment Specialist. “Given that scenario, students often decide to simply not choose a room.”
Despite these issues, the college does not see itself taking a different approach to housing or the lottery system.
At Colorado College, housing works by randomly assigning students with time slots based off of their year in school to pick where they will live the following year. Spots are available based off of the number of incoming first-years and, with 1552 bed spaces available to the 2,000 or so students; it is no wonder that occupancy is 100%.
Colorado College also requires for students to live on campus for three years, although there have been some exceptions where juniors, if approved, can live off-campus; this is far from the norm
“The College is very transparent and intentional about our three-year residency requirement, as we strongly believe that learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom,” said Butler. “As a department, Residential Life and Housing strives to have a positive influence on and encourage the growth and development of our students.”
Despite these mentioned benefits that come with on-campus housing, the cost of living off campus is substantially less. In fact, a double in a residence building goes for $3,088; a single in a dorm goes for $3,300; a single in a small house goes for $3,600; and the all-popular apartments go for $4,400. These numbers are based off of one semester’s cost.
“Once students have an opportunity to survey their off-campus options, many find that campus housing offers advantages that can’t be found off campus,” said Butler. “We do encourage students who have financial considerations to visit with Financial Aid, as they may discover some options through that office.”
Hopefully, over time, students will be able to propose an alternative plan for housing selection in which everyone is given the “overwhelming and confusing” amounts of opportunities that we are expected to have.