As student enrollment at UK continues to grow, what’s next for on-campus housing?
As the enrollment at the University of Kentucky continues to grow, the school has had to regularly evaluate its housing options in recent years.
UK is expecting approximately 6,500 first-year students to enroll this fall — around the same number as last year — with total enrollment predicted to be nearly 35,000, according to data from the most recent board of trustees meeting. National research has shown that students who live on campus report higher grade point averages and a better sense of belonging on campus.
Students who live on campus at UK report similar results, said Director of Housing Lisa Williams, who said students living in dorms also report that it’s easier to get connected and acclimated to college life.
“We know that students who live with us on campus, particularly in that first year, are going to do better academically,” Williams said. “They’re able to get more involved quickly with our residence life staff and the (resident advisors), and they just become more acclimated to what campus looks like pretty quickly.”
UK is expecting more than 5,500 first-year students to live on campus, and around 8,000 total students to live on campus, though those numbers will continue to fluctuate through the first several months of the semester, Williams said. Though UK does not require freshmen to live on campus, typically, around 85% of first-year students chose to, she said.
In recent years, growing numbers of returning students have opted to live on campus, too. At a board meeting last year, Eric Monday, executive vice president for finance and administration, said typically 2,000 to 2,500 students re-apply to live on campus, but last year, that number was over 3,700.
Returning students look to on-campus housing for several reasons, said Heath Price, associate vice president for partnerships, including the proximity to campus and the flexibility of not having to sign a 12-month lease if they do not live in Lexington year-round.
“The returner numbers at UK have grown higher in recent years, which starts to put a compounding impact on how many incoming freshman that we can house,” Price said.
New dorm planned for 2026
While UK has seen record enrollment in recent years, keeping up with the housing needs of a ever-growing freshman class has presented challenges.
Now, for the first time since 2017, UK has begun construction on a new residence hall.
The dorm is expected to open for students by August 2026, and include approximately 649 beds, study rooms, laundry facilities and kitchens. While the facility will be operated by Greystar Real Estate, UK will operate programming in the dorm, according to board of trustees materials from December, when the dorm was approved. The project is expected to cost $81 million, UK said last year.
Since 2012, UK has maintained a partnership with Greystar for multiple dorms on campus. Greystar is contracted to develop and maintain housing buildings for the university, which are leased to UK.
The most popular housing option among students is a 2-bedroom suite, where students have their own bedroom but share a bathroom. That will be the style for the new dorm, said Cory Thalheimer, campus partnership director.
The 225,000 square foot building will be located at the former location of the Kirwan/Blanding complex. As building plans were being created, it was important to look at creating “a variety of spaces and how to have flexibility within those spaces,” Thalheimer said.
“It was a key that we looked at that throughout the entire process,” Thalheimer said. “What are ways we can use the spaces for more than one purpose? If a student decides they want to use a space in a certain way, how can we create a generalized space so that they can kind of mold it to how they want to use it?”
In the post-pandemic college experience, students aren’t just looking for a place to sleep or do homework, Price and Williams said.
“This campus has been on a transformational trajectory of looking and creating residential experiences where that residence hall really doesn’t function purely today as a dormitory,” Price said. “It’s not just a dwelling place to put your head for sleeping. It’s a place you have experiences in.”
New dorms and buildings on campus include spaces for students to connect and attend events. UK has also started focusing on the programs offered in dorms, including networking opportunities, Williams said.
“When you think about the trajectory of these students and their high school experience as it relates to the pandemic, they’re really looking for those engagement opportunities on campus,” Williams said.
Additionally, a seven-story private student apartment complex has been proposed near campus. The building would not be owned by UK. It would include 241 apartments with 799 bed on South Limestone, though developers would need to demolish multiple buildings and still need approval from the planning commission before proceeding.
TRI-IT housing option returns this fall
Williams said housing space is still available on campus for students this fall. Housing changes from recent years, like the TRI-IT program that converted two-person suites into three-person suites, have been used to expand the number of beds on campus and will continue this fall after positive feedback.
Students living in the TRI-IT rooms last year reported similar relationships with roommates and and “a consistent experience” to students living in other housing arrangements, Williams said. Another added benefit of selecting the TRI-IT room is a lower housing cost, in some cases more than $1,000 cheaper per semester for students opting to share a room.
“We’re seeing that our incoming students are choosing to live in those spaces,” Williams said. “I think it provides some additional flexibility for them, but also it’s a more affordable price point as well, so I think it’s providing students with options across campus.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 10:56 AM.