Miami Hamilton begins on-campus housing study

September 23, 2004

Does Miami University Hamilton need on-campus student housing? University officials have hired professional consultants to conduct a market analysis this fall to answer this question.

According to Miami Hamilton Executive Director Dr. Daniel E. Hall, the growth the regional campus has experienced over the last five years has led to the discussion of on-campus housing. “It was time to look into the issue,” he said. Over the past five years, we’ve seen steady growth in our enrollments, as well as changing needs of our students. The additions of two new buildings to the campus—University Hall and The Conservatory—led us to review our campus facilities and the potential for growth.”

Bob Rusbosin, associate executive director and director of student services for Miami Hamilton, agrees that this is the right time to find out what our students are thinking. Several regional campuses in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania and community colleges across the country are beginning to offer student housing after being commuter campuses for several decades.

“I’ve visited regional campuses in Ohio and Pennsylvania and their halls are at full capacity with waiting lists of students seeking on-campus housing. Students at other colleges seem to be seeking convenient, affordable, and safe living options on campus and it will be interesting to find out if our students have similar interests. My colleagues at the campuses I visited and spoken with have been very pleased with the obvious positive impact that the new resident students have made in fostering a stronger sense of community and belonging on campus. We certainly won’t know if our students are interested in campus housing unless we ask.”

At this time, Miami Hamilton is in the information gathering stage according to Rusbosin. The facility planners firm of Brailsford & Dunlavey is conducting a professional housing market analysis for the campus. They are collecting data to provide an objective analysis of student needs, as well as what the local housing market can handle. The firm completed its first round of focus groups with faculty, staff, and students and will soon send an on-line survey to all students. An initial in-house survey of faculty, staff, and students, which revealed interest in student housing, was conducted in the spring of 2004 by Chen Ferguson, assistant professor of business technology at Miami Hamilton.

“If we do find that the market analysis shows significant demand, the next steps will be to involve Miami University and engage in the proposal seeking process to see if there is interest among developers to fund this initiative,” Rusbosin added.