RPS housing rates raised, scholarships remain same

Despite tough economic times, Residential Programs and Services continues to spend money to improve and expand residential facilities.

On Feb. 19 the board of trustees approved a 4.9 percent rate increase on student housing for the 2010-11 school year.

This increase equates to a $324 increase for a non-air-conditioned double room and to a $522 increase for single bedroom in a 4-bedroom apartment in Willkie Quad.

Room-and-board fees generally increase every year due to simple increases in the cost of living.

“I’m not too upset about it because I know it will have to go up because of inflation,” said Chineze Kushnell, a freshman who is planning on living in the dorms next year.

Patrick Connor, executive director of RPS, said the largest single cost component for this year’s increase is an 11 percent increase in the cost of utilities.

“We attempt to be pretty cautious in our rate increases. We don’t ask for anything we don’t need,” Connor said. “We really do look at the off-campus mark to try and make sure that we feel that we’re not in a position where the choice between off-campus and on-campus is solely a decision of dollars because we’re priced so way out of the ballpark.”

However, other factors that fueled this year’s increase were construction on the new student housing off 10th Street and several ongoing renovation projects, with more slated to begin this summer.

Connor said RPS spends an average of roughly $10 million on repair and minor-scale projects for its facilities every year.

“We are making a lot of re-investment in (our facilities) to continue to provide the level of accommodations that we know students expect today,” Connor said.

While these projects are part of the budget, large projects also have a significant impact.

“Part of the cost increase is in terms of looking at the debt we’re taking on,” Connor said, adding that RPS borrowed $7 million in order to pay up front for the construction on the new student housing.

Students living in the new apartments will pay one of the highest rates on campus because of the amenities the apartments offer. The revenues brought in from the rate increases on other rooms with fewer amenities will go toward paying off the debt the new housing incurred.

“Any student who’s living on campus is in part paying for part of that because they have the ability to live there sometime during their career,” Connor said.

Next year’s rate increase, which actually comes from an 8 percent increase on all room fees and no increase in the cost of meal plans, is the lowest percent increase since 2006 when it was 3.22 percent.

“We want to make sure that the gap between the bottom and the top doesn’t get so broad that the top becomes too unaffordable,” Connor said. “So next year ... the bottom tier may get priced a little bit higher because of the fact that the gaps are getting too large and putting too much responsibility on the top ends.” 

This year’s room-and-board increase follows the board of trustees’ approval in 2009 of a 4.6 percent increase in tuition for the 2009-10 school year and an additional 4.8 percent increase for the 2010-11 school year.

In June 2009, the University announced stricter requirements for its automatic academic scholarships, which were instituted before the 2008-09 school year.
The automatic scholarship amounts were adjusted prior to the current school year but will stay the same for next year.

The IU Office of Scholarships could not be reached for comment.

Trustee Thomas E. Reilly, chairman of the Finance & Audit Committee, said the board tries to send indications to the administration about what it thinks should be done in regards to financial aid.

Four years ago, the board suggested an increase in financial aid. Reilly said the automatic academic scholarships were part of that increase.

“Taken as a whole — not necessarily for any individual student — I think most increases in rates have been offset by increases in financial aid,” Reilly said. “That’s not to say that for an out-of-state student paying full cost things haven’t changed, (but) at least for Indiana students, the net cost has generally stayed the same.”

Kushnell, who is on the McNutt Quad executive board and sits in on the Residence Hall Association’s General Assembly meetings, said the reasons for the increases make sense, so although her scholarship won’t increase with the rate increases, she understands.

“I’m out-of-state, so it sucks that I have to work harder, but (the increases) aren’t unexpected,” she said.

While some scholarships, like the Wells Scholars Program, include adjustments for room-and-board increases, many do not.

“There’s a bit of a de-linkage here,” Reilly said. “There has been a lot done on the tuition side to try and alleviate costs, but I’m not sure there’s been as much done on the room-and-board side.”