Monday October 15, 2001

University expected to take action on crisis within two weeks

A committee made up of representatives from campus departments and student organizations has met several times this semester to determine the problems that have led to the current housing crisis at the UA.

The committee - which included representatives from Residence Life, Associated Students of the University of Arizona, the Residence Hall Association, the Parents' Association and the president's office, among other university offices related to student and campus life - compiled a report detailing problems within the residence life system which must be addressed to prevent future housing shortages.

Jim Van Arsdel, director of Residence Life and University Housing, stressed that the committee simply identified existing problems within the system. No recommendations were made regarding how to solve the housing shortage.

The report was sent on Oct. 2 to University of Arizona President Peter Likins as well as the offices of the Dean of Students, the Vice President for Campus Life and the Vice President for Undergraduate Education.

Saundra Taylor, vice president for Campus Life, said those officials will gather feedback from other university departments - including the Office of the Provost, the Office of Admissions and the Honors College - and compile a response to the report.

Likins and Taylor will make a final decision about what action will be taken to solve the housing crisis. They said they expect to reach a decision within two weeks.

"We want to get this thing settled, because we know it is unsettling to students," Van Arsdel said.

Although the committee didn't make any actual recommendations, they discussed solutions that included caps on the number of returning students and elimination of guaranteed housing dates.

Included in the report were concerns about the university's ability to house enough freshmen next year.

"We want to house the same number as this year," Van Arsdel said. "But we don't want to place 500 people in temporary housing."

Another issue addressed was the May 1 guaranteed-housing date previously offered by Residence Life.

"It doesn't convey to prospective students the urgency to get their applications in early," Van Arsdel said.

He said, however, that simply pushing the guarantee date forward is not an option.

National standards recognized by nearly all universities dictate that incoming students should not be required to pay money to a university before May 1.

"If we moved the date up, we wouldn't be consistent with those national standards," Van Arsdel said.

Instead, the committee considered eliminating the guarantee date entirely.

"I think everybody can live with the elimination of the May 1 guarantee date," Taylor said. "We're going to be very responsive and straight with (students) as to how many beds there are."

The committee also addressed the possibility of imposing a housing cap on students returning to the Residence Life system. Last year, 26 percent of residents were returning students. If the cap is put into effect, only 18 percent of available space will be allotted to those who return.

Finally, the committee discussed the disbursement of returning students in the dorms. Van Arsdel said returning students tend to clump together in certain residence halls. If the committee's concerns are acted on, returning students would be distributed equally throughout all dorms.

He said they looked at both the recent history of the housing crisis, as well as the history of the past three to four years in making their report.

"There was definite consensus that there was a problem," Van Arsdel said. "I feel very good about what the committee did."

Taylor said she is pleased with the committee's report.

"I think it is a very thoughtful and sound proposal," she said. She also said it is important to remember that making decisions about what actions to take is a difficult process.

"Policies like housing caps and elimination of the guarantee date are a departure from the service that Residence Life is used to providing," she said.

Taylor said that while students may find the final decisions extreme, they will keep students from having to live in lounges or hotels.

"We're weighing tradeoffs," Taylor said.

She also pointed out that building new housing is a long and difficult process.

Likins said that while additional housing is being built, the first phase of the Highland District Project, the new undergraduate housing program, will not be open until fall of 2003.

Likins said in the meantime, the university is going to "manage our limited supply differently so that students are not as frustrated by unmet promises."