For the first time since the early ’90s, students living in all on-campus locations for the fall 2014 semester will not see increases in the cost of housing, said Residential Life Executive Director Steven Waller.
Paying more for housing — around 4 to 5 percent more each semester for the past 16 years — is a product of heightened costs of employing staff, coordinating ResLife programs, upgrading technology and renovating existing infrastructure.
East Campus Apartments and West Campus Apartments are the only two exceptions to this rent increase, as they have maintained the same price for the past two years.
The cost of building new residence halls also adds to the total cost of on-campus housing that the University must pay for with student housing bills.
However, after nearly two decades of heightened costs and expansion projects, the University has opted not to approve any new debts, or bonds, until 2015. This decision has allowed housing costs to remain stable until then.
Unfortunately for students living on campus in 2015, housing costs are expected to resume rising to meet the demands of more ResLife projects.
Although ResLife could have chosen to continue upping the cost of on-campus digs, ResLife Associate Director of Communication Catherine David said the department kept the costs stable to make LSU living more affordable.
With so many convenient off-campus options, David said the University should do what it can to stay competitive with surrounding complexes.
This increased flexibility in setting rental rates satisfies budget-conscious students but puts extra pressure on ResLife to make ends meet, Waller said.
Current spending won’t be affected much because costs aren’t technically decreasing, but the department must be more frugal when deciding to hire more staff and add new programs, Waller said.
Despite ResLife’s commitment to curtail spending, the department is still able to continue with its plan to provide pay raises for staff members with money already allotted from student rent.
David said the funding for the raises depends on residential halls reaching full capacity.
While students might think on-campus costs are high — and in fact, LSU ranks in the top third percent of universities in the Southeastern Conference with most expensive housing — the prices reflect the University’s extensive renovations and expansions, Waller said.
Most other schools that don’t rank in the top percentages haven’t renovated their facilities yet, Waller said. He said LSU is simply ahead of the curve.
Not raising student rent in fall 2014 will help the University move to the middle of that list, Waller said.
Despite already leading many other schools in on-campus housing costs, Waller said ResLife is planning even more renovations, starting with Acadian Hall in 2019. McVoy Hall, Herget Hall and Miller Hall are also expected to be renovated and returned to service no later than 2027, according to ResLife’s Comprehensive Housing Master Plan.
These renovations are in addition to the new residential halls, such as under-construction Cypress Hall and another residence hall that Waller said is in the works.
Recent renovations include Annie Boyd, West Laville, East Laville and Kirby Smith, which were all gutted and upgraded.
LSU Residential Life didn't raise the cost of room and board for students for the first time since the early 1990s.
