Dive brief:

• Hollins University in Virginia is tearing down aging faculty housing to make way for a complex that will hold dorms to house about 100 students and potentially retail shops and restaurants, according to Virginia First.com.
• The faculty housing was built in the 1950s and needed considerable repairs, a university spokesperson said. Meanwhile, some students were living in apartment buildings a distance from the women's college. "Our focus right now is to bring students to campus,” said spokesman Jeff Hodges.
• Demolition will continue through the summer, as will fundraising to pay for construction on the seven-acre site.

Dive Insight:

Hollins, with an enrollment of about 700 students, has generally been credited for its financial stability at a time when similar small private colleges are struggling, with some renting out empty dormitory space. In some cases, critics have said universities are building too many elaborate housing facilities and other amenities for students.

In a commentary for Inside Higher Education, Loren Rullman a college administrator for 30 years and now a higher education consultant in Ann Arbor, Mich., said that while activities outside the classroom are a key part of the college experience, a competition for the most elaborate facilities hurts colleges and their students who pay for the features.

“Recreation centers, student center buildings, residential buildings, dining halls, student success offices and similar facilities provide space, programs, experiences and challenges that contribute to the sum of a student’s education. They do not replace what is in the classroom, and they should not be the primary reason a student selects a college. Most important, they must be responsibly developed to serve the institution’s mission,” he writes.

At the same time, colleges are increasingly moving services from other campus locations to dorms, such as laundries, as well as other services not traditionally seen in residence halls, including counseling and special events, according to University Business. 

The Hollins project eliminates faculty housing, which at least one faculty member said was not a controversial move, but at some institutions professors have a difficult time finding affordable housing. Some universities offer guidance about housing, including the University of Southern California, which offers advice and financial support in expensive and crowded Los Angeles.