CMU denies vacancy problem
FALL 2003
Percentage of beds occupied — 94.4
Vacant beds — 337
Annual cost of vacancies (with room and board averaged at $5,000) — $1,685,000
FALL 2002
Percentage of beds occupied — 99.8
Vacant beds — 8
Annual cost of vacancies (with room and board averaged at $5,000) — $40,000
OTHER INFORMATION
Percentage new students vs. new beds — 53.9
Beds added Fall 2003 — 714
Increase in occupancy from Fall 2002 —385
Vacancies in the residence halls are potentially costing millions in lost revenue, but CMU administrators deny it is a problem.
With the addition of 714 beds this year and an occupancy increase of just 385 students, 337 vacant beds are now scattered across campus.
At an average annual room and board cost of $5,000, those vacancies could potentially generate about $1,685,000.
There are 5,985 beds on campus, 5,648 of which are filled. The halls have managed to add about half as many students as beds, while six residence hall rooms remain vacant.
“The number of (completely) open rooms on campus started the year at 12 and is now down to six,” said Shaun Holtgreive, associate director of Residence Life.
With 337 unoccupied beds, vacancies have skyrocketed since last fall.
Residence halls were near full capacity at the beginning of the fall 2002 semester with just eight vacant beds in all 17 halls. Students filled out 5,263 of a total 5,271 beds for an occupancy rate of 99.8 percent.
Last year’s eight vacant beds, at an average annual room and board cost of $5,000, could have generated around $40,000. The potential revenue from vacancies this year is more than 42 times that figure.
“It’s not money unless you have them filled,” said John Fisher, associate vice president of Residence and Auxiliary Services.
Fisher said he anticipates the halls being filled next fall with the new requirement that sophomores on CMU scholarships of $1,500 or more live on campus.
Fisher said the new requirement has nothing to do with the sharp increase in residence hall vacancies.
The new policy will be administered starting next fall for the first time since the 1998-1999 school year.
Holtgreive said the halls were “very close to normal occupancy” with just eight open beds last fall.
Although the halls are not at full capacity, he said the vacancies were anticipated and budgeted for, so their effects are minimal.
“The budget was built on not being at full occupancy,” he said. “We hit where we thought we’d hit this year.”
Fisher also said there isn’t anything to be concerned about.
“We’re still waiving the sophomore requirement this year, so it was planned,” he said.
Holtgreive said even if the halls were at full occupancy, it would not generate as much money as one would think.
“If we had all those (337) students, you can’t even assume it would be all that revenue,” he said. “There’s food costs, utility costs and staff costs on top of that.”
In the event that more students decide to live on campus, the extra revenue would probably cover maintenance costs, Holtgreive said.
“Even if this million dollars were there, there’s not a penny of state funds that go into operating the residence halls,” he said. “When the state has a callback or there’s a budget cut increase, residence halls and campus dining — they don’t see any of that money.”
