Syracuse University’s ongoing review of its student housing will be completed by spring and published later this year, university officials said.

The review is guided by student feedback from the 2019-2020 academic year. A possible three-year on-campus housing requirement was proposed in a student survey about campus housing in September, sparking student concerns. Students are currently required to live on campus for two years.

“The results of the housing survey will provide critical insight into students’ preferences for their living and learning environment and housing options,” said Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president for enrollment and the student experience, in a statement.

A portion of the survey questioned if students would support a three-year live-on policy if the on-campus residential experience was “transformed to meet the needs of contemporary college students.”

Amir Rahnamay-Azar, SU’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, said students’ needs and expectations have changed considerably since SU constructed the majority of its residence halls.

The location of a student’s residence hall or apartment has a significant impact on the nature of their academic experience, Rahnamay-Azar said. Feedback from the student survey indicated that greater access to university resources increases student satisfaction and improves academic outcomes, he said.

“The further away a student lives, especially in the first two to three years of their college experience, the more challenging it is for them to take advantage of the benefits afforded by being on or near the campus core,” Rahnamay-Azar said.

Mandatory on-campus living requirements are supposed to provide equal housing experiences for students, said Amy Ellen Schwartz, a professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs who studies student performance and housing.

There may not be conclusive answers about student performance relative to where students live on campus, but SU should be looking into the potential correlation, Schwartz said.

Part of the three-year housing plan would involve moving all undergraduate housing from South Campus to Main Campus. More than 2,500 students live in apartments on South Campus, and nearly 5,900 students live in one of the 18 residence halls on main campus.

New residence halls would likely be needed to accommodate the change.

Day Hall, which houses about 615 students, is the university’s most populated residence hall. Ernie Davis Hall, SU’s newest residence hall, cost about $54 million to build and houses 250 students.

In the past year, SU demolished nine buildings on the 700 block of Ostrom Avenue. A map SU included in a Campus Framework plan in 2017 identified the block as a possible site for new student housing, showing two buildings between Shaw and DellPlain Halls.

The site is one of many that SU’s Housing Committee is evaluating for potential student housing development, Rahnamay-Azar said.

The more data SU can look at before making any decisions, the better, Schwartz said.

“What is hard about all this is that we’re not actually making this change for today,” she said. “We have to think about the university of tomorrow.”

Published on February 5, 2020 at 10:26 pm

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