Universities Weblog

(Source: Monroe Community College)

Displaying yet another sign of mission creep, some community colleges have built dorms to accommodate students who want to live on campus. Let's see: first baccalaureate programs and now dorms. These are community colleges, right?

From InsideHigherEd:

Paper-thin dorm room walls and fire alarms at dawn are typical expectations of four-year college student life, but not exactly what one thinks of when envisioning life at a community college.

The vast majority of American community colleges do not offer on-campus housing. But a handful built their first dorms decades ago, and as two-year institutions become a more common destination for traditional-age students seeking lower tuition costs and/or an education close to home, more community colleges are in the process of building singles, doubles, triples and larger apartments for their students.

Of the 1,100 colleges represented by the American Association of Community Colleges, 233 public colleges and about 40 private colleges offer some on-campus housing to their students. Norma Kent, the association's spokeswoman, said that although "nobody's documented the full picture, it is our sense that there is increased interest and growth" in campus housing at community colleges.

"With more traditional-age students enrolling at community colleges for a variety of reasons, colleges and students seem more receptive to on-campus housing," she said. "They want that college experience."

Then go to a four-year school, I say. Someone has to pay for construction. Taxpayers? Students? Donors? And how about staffing these dorms? And the liabilities associated with housing students? Is it worth the investment? Unless budgets grow considerably, will the academic enterprise suffer as a result?

What do you think?

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