By Raeanne Raccagno
Staff Writer
Residential Education and Housing’s presentation at the Student Government general body meeting on Oct. 2 revealed first-year students will be required to live on campus starting in the fall of 2025, along with other dorming updates.
Tina Tormey, director of Residential Education and Housing, presented some statistics on how living on campus enhances the college experience. These were the main considerations in piloting the first-year housing requirement.
“Multiple national studies show that living on campus has very significant academic and social benefits,” Tormey said.
According to Tormey, students can submit a housing exemption request if they meet the following criteria: Are a Pathway student, have dependents or are married, are 21 or older, reside with parents or legal guardian within a 10-mile radius, have lived on campus for two full semesters at another college or university, identify as veteran status with at least six months of active duty status, exhibit financial hardship that would impact their ability to live on campus or have a medical need that on-campus housing cannot provide.
Exemptions will launch on Oct. 15 and applicants will be notified if they are required or not to live on campus on April 1, so they can take it into consideration before making their college decision.
“You know we have data that contributed to us deciding to do this, but we also know that there's all of this stuff that's unknown, and that unknown is the stuff that we're going have to monitor through that process,” Tormey said. “Yes, we're piloting this, we're trying it out, but we have to see if it actually helps the institution or hinders us meeting our goals.”
Changes that have already been implemented by ResEd are differential pricing for this academic year. Students who live in doubles pay a lower rate than those who live in singles. Tormey explained this was something students and parents have been suggesting for years.
A first-year housing requirement was previously considered for the current academic year, but the department decided not to enact it.
Another change was adding air conditioning into all dorms in Norsworthy and to the first through third floor lounges of Travers and Wolfe.
ResEd also increased the expansion of mobile swipe entry, meaning students can use their student ID card or phone to get into their rooms in Eickhoff Hall and Townhouses East and West.
Along with allowing Mercer County Community College students to live on campus, ResEd has also started allowing graduate students to have on-campus housing this fall.
Tormey also reviewed changes that are not new but have not been discussed with SG yet, like virtual dorm tours for prospective students and showrooms in all first-year housing options. The showrooms became a necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic when students were not comfortable with showing their rooms for tours, and it was against COVID-19 protocols at the time.
The director also brought up how first-year students are allowed to pick their own roommates and rooms. “This gives students a lot more choice, which we know is not necessarily something that they get to experience at other colleges, especially in the state of New Jersey,” Tormey said.
In the past, transfers had to wait a long time to get housing, but now they can choose their dorm as soon as they are put into the College’s system. Additionally, to help support out-of-state students, they are guaranteed housing for all four years.
This year was the biggest year for Recovery Housing, which started in the fall of 2015. “That is something that we're really proud of and it's a great resource for students,” Tormey said.
Lion’s House is the College’s substance-free residential program for students actively in recovery. The recovery program is integrated with substance-free housing, but recovery is the priority. ResEd will fill all needed recovery spots and the remaining spots are for students interested in substance-free housing.
Tormey also shared that the biggest thing ResEd pays attention to is assessment. “We are very thoughtful about making data-driven decision-making and feedback opportunities,” she said.
She said they had an amazing response rate with the questionnaire they sent out to resident students, which had a 60 percent response rate. The survey helped them decide to let first-year students select their own rooms and allow students to do an online room change process.
To wrap up her presentation, Tormey went over what the expenses students pay for housing go toward.
Housing keeps 15.2% of the funds, which is put directly back into the residential experience, consisting of salaries of those who work in housing, operational expenses and programming.
30.2% of the money goes toward facilities. This includes building services personnel and their supplies for cleaning the residence halls, housing repair personnel and supplies or equipment.
The biggest portion is the “others” category, where 54.5% of expenses go towards. These are things that support both residential and non-residential students.
ResEd’s budget also pays for some police officers because they serve in the buildings in times of crisis.
93% of the total revenue comes from housing fees, 5% comes from commission and less than 1% is from summer camps or conferences on campus, according to Tormey.
Tormey reiterated that moving forward, ResEd will make data-driven decisions, have policies and practices that support belonging in equity, develop or maintain a program that supports healthy, engaged communities, have students maximize all of the resources they pay for through tuition and housing costs, be good stewards of housing fees and serve the College’s mission.
“We very much believe in the educational opportunity of living in the residence hall,” Tormey said. “We don't want to be a hotel.”
