Boston University has increased its housing and dining rates for the 2015-16 academic year, Director of Housing Nishmin Kashyap announced in an email sent to students on Feb. 28.
The standard minimum rate for a double, triple or quad in a dormitory-style room increased $490 to $14,520, with a dining plan included, for the 2015-16 school year, and the rate for an apartment-style room increased $420 to $12,490 for the same period, according to BU’s housing website. Standard dining plans increased $120 to $4,950 in 2015-16, while unlimited plans increased $130 to $5,250.
On average, room and board rates went up 3.5 percent from the 2014-15 school year, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. The BU Board of Trustees determined the increase.
“It’s a matter of continued operations, the cost of operating the facilities and maintaining and renovating them over the years,” he said. “There’s an increased cost in things like energy and maintenance.”
On-campus housing rates increased $561 and dining plans increased by $140 for the 2014-15 academic year, The Daily Free Press reported on March 5, 2014.
Riley said there is nothing out of the ordinary about the price hikes for the 2015-16 school year. He said the budget is largely impacted by recently added facilities, such as the development of the housing and dining buildings at 100 Bay State Road, 33 Agganis Way and 10 Buick St.
“Over the past 20 years, the university has added about $2 billion of new facilities,” Riley said. “When you build new facilities, they require staffing and maintenance and upkeep, and renovation after periods of time to keep them in good condition.”
Student Village II, which has apartment and suite-style rooms, opened in the fall 2009 semester, according to BU Housing’s website. Marciano Commons, housed within the Yawkey Center for Student Services, opened in East Campus in September 2012, the FreeP reported on September 2, 2012.
Members of the Community Task Force have proposed plans to renovate Myles Standish Hall and build Student Village III in the Institutional Master Plan, the FreeP reported on Feb. 5, 2012.
In order to afford the number of staffers necessary to facilitate new buildings, Riley said the school’s total budget has to expand.
“When you look at the operating budget of the university, nearly half of the operating budget is for salaries and benefits,” he said. “People want a low student-to-faculty ratio. Higher education is labor intensive, and when you are giving increases in wages and benefits, those costs [factor into] the cost of housing.”
Riley said in determining housing rates, the Board of Trustees takes into account the impact on students living off campus compared to living on campus.
“The most important factor to me, as a parent, is that historically, students who live on campus do better academically,” he said. “You also have 24-hour maintenance, proximity to classes, dining facilities and FitRec. If you live on campus, you’re not worried about the T not running down Commonwealth Ave. from Allston during the month of February.”
Several BU students disapproved of the increase and said they wished the school maintained better communication about housing costs.
Humzah Mahmood, a junior in the College of Engineering, said BU should release a detailed list of the allocations of housing money.
“It’s kind of annoying because it happens every year, and we’re not given a detailed description on what’s going on and what [the money is] going to,” he said. “I have a [housing] scholarship, so I’m fortunate, but I know a lot of friends who, because of the increase in housing every year, they’re either commuting or next year, they’re going to live in an off-campus apartment because they can’t afford the increase in prices.”
Evan Gott, a senior in the College of Communication who lives off campus, said building more on-campus housing could combat the issues of rent and safety often associated with off-campus living.
“Allston should be an affordable alternative, but they’re turning it into not that. They’re turning it into a really difficult place to live,” he said. “BU, as a response to that, is creating more housing, and that’s where the price increase comes from, which is understandable and necessary for them to do, but it’s a response to the city doing this negative thing.”
Dan Leary, a sophomore in CAS, said he regrets his decision to live on campus, citing a lack of transparency over where his and others’ funds are being spent.
“My general reaction at first was I was kind of upset that they did increase the rates,” he said. “Why the increase now? And why is there a continuous increase, because there was an increase last year. So I’m kind of curious as to when will they stop increasing or will this be a continuous trend?”
