News Release

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July 13, 2005

More Boise State Students Opting To Live On Campus
 

Imagine renting an apartment for as low as $329 per month or living along the Boise River Greenbelt while attending college classes.

Shaking its image as a commuter school, Boise State University has increased its campus housing capacity by 63 percent with its new University Square apartments and residence halls along the Greenbelt that opened in 2004. For the first time this fall, more than 1,000 students will be living on campus.
 

“A pre-conceived notion exists that the residence halls are always full when in fact affordable and convenient housing is available,” said Craig Thompson, director of student housing, citing a 71 percent occupancy rate last year.
 

Options exist for first-year students, older single students, couples and families. In the residence halls, one fee typically covers rent, food, phone, utilities, free cable television and broadband Internet. Boise State has five apartment complexes with mostly one- and two-bedroom units and six residence halls with shared and single rooms with semi-private or communal bathrooms.

Seven Ivy League-modeled residential colleges, minus the ivy but with the academic support, will operate this fall with faculty living in the residence halls or graduate fellows serving as liaisons. The themes of the residential colleges are honors, business, health, music, Renaissance, engineering and leadership.

Residential colleges, which will include up to 20 percent of the on-campus population, serve as a bridge between learning and living, and offer opportunities for personal and academic enrichment beyond the classroom. Students, who share similar interests and goals, are clustered in a single residence hall or apartment complex where visiting lecturers, community service projects or themed dinner discussions are organized at no additional expense.

In many of the residential colleges, a student’s next-door neighbor could be a professor or dean. Four married couples, with each person working at Boise State, are making their homes on campus this fall. They include College of Health Sciences Dean Jim Girvan and his wife, Georgia, who are living in Morrison Hall; business professor Rob Anson and his wife, Cindy, and their dogs, who are back for their second year in Taylor Hall; history professors Lisa Brady and David Walker, faculty in residence for the Renaissance program in the University Square Apartments; and Jeremy Ball, an assistant professor in criminal justice administration, who moved into Keiser Hall in the fall of 2004 with his wife, Marcy.

“I’m one of the crazy faculty that actually lives in the residence hall,” said Ball, who oversees the civic leadership program. “This experience brings me back to my roots and allows me to be a better professor. The residential colleges humanize us. It’s a good way to show we’re real people. We let our hair down. We wear jeans and baseball caps.”

While students often crave their independence off campus, it’s not always a better deal – financially or academically.

“There is an epiphany when people move off campus and suddenly realize the convenience of parking, meal plans and the quality of life,” Thompson said. “I tell students not to underestimate the value of belonging to a community. You may have more freedom, but there are less resources for academic advising and campus connections that ultimately make a difference in your success.”

Contact: Craig Thompson, Director of Student Housing, (208) 426-1341, cthompso@boisestate.edu

Media Contact: Frank Zang, University Communications, (208) 426-5391, frankzang@boisestate.edu

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Last reviewed on Thursday, December 22, 2005