Citing lack of space, Missouri State may build new residence hall
Missouri State University's existing residence halls are full — and then some.
Enrollment on the Springfield campus has grown in 18 of the past 20 years and experienced a record-setting, three-year spike in first-time students, which include freshmen. For three years in a row, the residence halls have opened in "overflow" status.
That status kicks in when the university's 4,000 student beds are spoken for and hundreds of additional students, especially underclassmen and women, are still seeking rooms.
In recent years, the residence hall staff have found creative solutions. They have transformed study spaces into temporary dorm rooms; placed extra beds in larger-than-average dorm rooms; and assigned roommates to many of the halls' 100 resident assistants, upperclassmen in leadership roles who typically bunk alone.
"We are going to continue to be crushed if we are going to continue to have this growth," said Gary Stewart, director of residence life, housing and dining services. "It's a great problem to have."
MSU President Clif Smart said it's time to look at the feasibility of adding another residence hall, primarily for freshmen, somewhere on campus.
Smart said a study has started and a recommendation could go before the Board of Governors as early as October.
"We anticipate being up 400 or 500 students in the fall, over what was a record a year ago," he said, referring to the more than 22,800 students enrolled last year. "We will be evaluating where we are in terms of our housing stock in the fall, after we see our final numbers."
Stewart said the university currently has nine traditional residence halls and two apartment-style complexes on campus. The university expects those to be full in early August.
No details have been released about the possible size, cost and location of a new residence hall. But Stewart said any new hall would likely need to have a "minimum of 350 beds" and be located on MSU property.
"We need to own the land," he said.
He pointed out the university has made a commitment not to grow east of National Avenue or south of Grand Street. One option is a plot of university-owned land on Walnut Street, behind Kentwood Hall, but Stewart said the location may not be ideal.
"That is a long way from the core of campus," he said. "Nothing has been decided."
He said the earliest a new residence hall could open is August 2018.
Asked about a possible price tag for a new hall, Stewart said it would depend on the scope of the work. There is no recent comparison, but he said the 650-bed Hutchens House was constructed in 1990 for $11 million.
The amount students pay to live in residence halls varies based on the location, number of roommates and the size of the meal plan.
Stewart said a student in a two-person traditional room with 14 meals a week can expect to pay $8,050 a year. A student living in a suite-style room with the same meal plan can pay nearly $8,500 a year.
Smart said enrollment growth in the past five years has outpaced the previous two decades and shows no signs of slowing.
Still, "We want to be careful on this," he said. "We want to be confident there is a demand that is going to be continuous."
This spring, the University of Missouri announced plans to temporarily close several residence halls after a drop in enrollment on its Columbia campus.
If MSU opts to construct a new residence hall, it would be at a time when there is an unprecedented amount of relatively new apartment-style housing near campus. More is on the way, with large complexes under construction on Grand Street, Kimbrough Avenue and St. Louis Avenue, among others.
Smart said the privately-owned complexes near campus are an attractive option, especially for upperclassmen and graduate students.
"The apartments that are building up around us are fabulous. They improve the look (of the area) and they keep people relatively close, which is a good thing," he said. "We are ecstatic about the housing that is being built around us but, particularly for our freshmen students, we think it's important that they live on campus."
The university requires incoming students who are under age 21 and have completed fewer than 30 college credits to live on campus unless they plan to live with their parents, less than 60 miles from campus.
MSU officials say students who live on campus are more likely to engage in student activities, complete courses and stay on track to graduate.
Smart said the type of residence hall under consideration is more traditional and would be geared toward serving freshmen and possibly sophomores.
"I don't anticipate that we would build any apartment-style housing," he said. "The market has taken care of that."
Don Simpson, associate vice president for enrollment management and services, said enrollment growth in the past two decades has been fueled by more new, transfer, graduate and dual credit students.
Since 1996, enrollment has grown each year except 2005 and 2011.
"But in the past three years, from the fall of 2012 to the fall of 2015, our first-time students, what we call our freshmen, have increased by 27 percent," he said.
The university has also experienced higher-than-average student retention.
Based on the number of existing students who have already enrolled and the new students signing up for orientation and making housing reservations, Simpson predicts an increase of at least 2 percent this fall.
