Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Students who plan on paying for on-campus living or dining next year will have to reach deeper into their pockets to foot the bill.
The annual KU budget proposal went before the Kansas Board of Regents last week and, if approved, both on-campus housing and dining prices would increase.
Diana Robertson, director of student housing, said each student would pay an average $330 more for both services next year.
She said the departments would use the additional money for maintenance of KU housing and dining halls.
The Board of Regents will decide on the proposal in December. If approved, students will not feel the effects until July.
Residence Halls
(Traditional double room)
Current:
$3,386 annually
Proposed:
$3,554
Difference:
$168
Percent change:
+5.0
Meal Plans
(Default plan: 390 meals per year and $280 in Cuisine Cash)
Current:
$3,088 annual
Proposed:
$3,248
Difference:
$160
Percent change:
+5.2
Naomi Wilfred, Boston junior, stopped living on campus after her sophomore year. She said that although she enjoyed the convenience of living on campus, she thought the conditions of residence halls and Jayhawker Towers were subpar.
“People enjoy their freshman year,” Wilfred said. “But how often do you hear people saying they’d never go back to the dorms? If there were better conditions, maybe people would want to live there longer.”
The directors of KU Dining Services and student housing said their goal was to improve those conditions.
Nona Golledge, director of dining services, said the budgeting process had become more difficult during the past few years because of the shrinking economy. She said the fluctuating price of oil and food costs made budgeting a weekly necessity within the department. Golledge said her department wanted to keep food prices reasonable for students, but it also had to account for fluctuating food costs.
“We are not immune to those high prices,” Golledge said. “Our goal is to always improve, but we have to be accountable for our finances.”
Along with food costs, dining services must also account for maintenance of its 20 facilities and utility fees, such as electricity and employee wages.
On the housing side, the proposal would allow for major renovations to continue in on-campus residence halls. Planned maintenance would also continue, such as the replacement of air-conditioning units in both Oliver Hall and one of the Jayhawker Towers.
Seyool Oh, Jinhae, South Korea, graduate student who lives on campus in the Stouffer Place community, said he was originally opposed to the increase in housing costs. But Oh said open communication with the department of student housing had helped to change his mind, and he saw the increase as necessary.
“Good communication has been really important to us,” Oh said. “Even if the costs increase, at least we have a say in what happens.”
— — Edited by Andy Greenhaw
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Comments
Student dining and housing may get pricey
I have never lived in the dorms and this is why. Even the current rate is way more expensive than what I pay for my very nice two bedroom apartment.
Student dining and housing may get pricey
My brother is coming up to KU next year, and he might have to live in my house if the prices of dorms keep going up. My sister and I will have to work hard to try and get him the same social experience that we had when we were in the dorms. Living off campus is way cheaper, and the less restrictive rules are awesome, but you miss out on the people experience.
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