Q & A About the RLI and the Division of Student Affairs' Master Planning for Residential Life

Updated 9/23/04

What is the RLI?

• The Residential Life Initiatives (RLI) is a planned approach for the renewal, revitalization, and modernization of campus residential facilities. Essentially, RLI is our master planning process for student housing and dining.
• The need for infrastructure renewal isn’t going away. By planning, we expect to avoid some deferred maintenance expense, reduce total costs, and develop a vision for our housing system that’s designed to support the University’s academic mission and built to address student needs.

Why has it been so long since the University has made a major investment in its residence halls?

• We’ve been spending between $5 million to $7 million a year on capital projects, but it isn’t enough to keep up with the needs of our facilities.
• We’re now at a point where a number of factors are coalescing to focus our attention on renewal, including building component and equipment obsolescence, new fire safety, accessibility and health codes, and the need to adapt to changing standards of living and technology.

When will these projects occur?

• We expect to bring specific proposals, cost estimates, and schedule information to the Board of Regents in late 2004 for a new dining facility, one of the major residence hall renovations, and the new residence hall. During 2004-2006, we will complete programming and design for these three major projects, with construction beginning in 2006.

How many more students will be able to live in on-campus housing after the project is complete?

• Initially, we are planning to add a residence hall for 500-650 students. In remodeling older facilities, however, we may lose some bed spaces as we add more common space and make other changes (such as converting doubles to singles, reconfiguring bathrooms, and ADA compliance).

Will new construction ensure the University will no longer have to address overcrowding at the start of the school year?

• Not necessarily. Overcrowding is not solely a function of capacity. It is affected both by the number of students who decide to return to residence halls for the following year, and the number of students in the incoming first-year class—two factors we cannot predict precisely. It is possible that even as capacity expands, we may have more students interested in University housing than we have spaces to accommodate.
• What many institutions have found is that as new housing is added and existing housing improved, students decide to stay on campus longer and the demand for University housing grows. We would not be surprised to see that happen here.

Why can’t the University’s need for additional housing capacity be handled solely by the private sector?

• We very deliberately want to differentiate the type of experience we provide for students from what is available off-campus. Along with a room with a bed and a desk, we offer support services that contribute to the intellectual and personal growth of our students. Our goal is to create an environment in which students of all backgrounds can succeed and take advantage of opportunities to connect with one another.

While residence halls are closed for renovation, will there be less on-campus housing?

• Yes. However, we are committed to maintaining the same capacity for undergraduate students throughout the renewal period and will make up the difference by allocating some of our apartment housing to undergraduates.

What type of housing are you building?

• We plan to build either suites or apartments. We already commit to house all first-year students on campus. In growing our capacity, we want to expand our residence hall community to include more returning and upper-class students. One reason to build suites is because they better meet the developmental needs of advanced undergraduate students who are more independent. Additionally, our market research shows that we have an adequate supply of traditional housing for undergraduates.

Where will the new residence hall be located?

• President Coleman has announced that the new residence hall will be located on the corner of State Street and Huron, where the Frieze Building is today.

What is included in the renovations?

• Examples of the type of projects that will be part of the renovations are:
  
  • Upgrade electrical service
  • Replace plumbing system
  • Renovate bathrooms
  • Replace/upgrade elevators
  • Upgrade HVAC
  • Install sprinklers
  • Renew IT infrastructure
  • ADA compliance

Will the residence halls be air-conditioned?

• Air conditioning will be included in each hall that undergoes major renovations. Renovated dining spaces also will be air conditioned.

What about parking?

• There are no plans to add new student parking associated with the residence hall.

How were MoJo and Stockwell selected as the first priorities for renovation?

• Several years ago, working with a consultant (ISES), we conducted a facility condition audit of every building in our housing inventory. The results of this study show that the condition of Mosher-Jordan and Stockwell puts them among the most needy in our system. Furthermore, we’ve determined that the need for repairs to these buildings is more urgent and must be addressed sooner than in other buildings.
• Also, we have a special commitment to these particular residence halls. They are among the most beautiful buildings on campus, with architectural detail that would be costly to duplicate today. Moreover, they have meaning and memories for generations of University students – and are part of the essential fabric of our campus.

What will happen to the residence halls that are not scheduled for major renovation under this plan?

• In addition to the major renovation projects listed in the RLI, we expect to spend approximately $7 million to $10 million annually on improvements to all of our existing facilities. More residence halls will be targeted for significant renovation after the completion of the initial 10-year time period.
• Additionally, we will be addressing targeted infrastructure projects, such as the continuation of our program to upgrade our fire alarm systems and install suppression systems in all buildings, replacement of the IT building wiring in West Quad, both IT and electrical upgrades in Markley, and a significant renovation of our residential dining facilities.

How will students’ dining experience be different after the renovations?

• Students have indicated they prefer high quality, a variety of food choices, and longer hours of dining operation. Students no longer eat three sit-down meals a day at traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner hours. They want the flexibility to get a meal at any time of day and the convenience of quick-service options. In keeping with trends in the general population, students’ preferences and diets encompass a wide range of specialty and ethnic cuisines and there is more emphasis on healthy food.
• In order to address these changing needs and trends, we are planning comprehensive improvements that will involve a substantial reconfiguration of our dining operations. Our plans include developing large, marketplace-style dining facilities that are able to offer a wider variety of food selections. At the same time, we will create a variety of flexible food-service options in the individual residence halls—such as snack bars, convenience stories and food emporiums—that will make food available to students quickly and over longer hours of service.
• Dining facilities also serve as social gathering places. Our new dining centers may incorporate multiple functions, such as meeting spaces.

What is “marketplace” dining?

• A marketplace offers:
  • A restaurant-quality dining environment.
  • Emphasis on freshness and immediate preparation.
  • Customers immersed in the experience of food being prepared and enjoyed.
  • The opportunity to intersperse food preparation/service within dining areas.
• A typical marketplace may include a grill, a stir-fry station, a wood-burning pizza oven, a Mongolian barbeque, a deli, a sushi station and a salad bar, as examples.
• These stations are designed to be flexible. As dining trends and student preferences change, we’ll be able to switch out a fading concept for a fresh, new idea.

What is a food “emporium”?

• A food emporium makes it possible to offer extended hours on an economical basis. Its features include:
  • Blend of restaurant and convenience store
  • 1-2 cooking platforms
  • Disposable serviceware
  • Quick take-out and dine-in
  • Seating for 100
  • Soft seating lounges
  • Computer work stations, TV and games
  • Vending

What has been done so far regarding life safety improvement and what is left to be done?

• Upgrades to security systems began in Fall 2002. Installation of keyless entry locks was completed this fall.
• Fire alarms have been upgraded in all but five buildings and these will be complete by the summer of 2007.
• We have just started to install sprinklers in all of our buildings. Our only high-rise building, South Quad, was completed last summer, and this summer we installed sprinklers in Fletcher. Sprinkler installation will be complete by 2011.

What are the plans for information technology upgrades?

• We have adopted a standard of one port for every resident and desktop performance of 100 mbps.
• In the future, we expect that students’ academic work will involve more interactive voice, data and video resources.

How much will the RLI cost?

• The total cost of these projects over a 10-year time span is estimated to be between $250 million and $280 million.

How will the program be funded?

• Funding will come from Housing internal reallocations and cost savings, routine fee increases, and increased revenue generated from expanded capacity. University Housing is a financially self-supporting auxiliary unit.

How will the RLI program affect housing rates?

• Rate increases are likely to be in the range of 5% annually, although specific rate increases have not been proposed and approved.

How is the University addressing demand by single graduate students?

• Other than the Law Club, the University currently has no housing dedicated to single graduate students. Starting next fall, we expect to meet some of the demand by allocating a portion of our apartment housing to single graduate students.

Why is Housing converting some spaces that had been occupied by families into housing for single undergraduates and graduate students?

• The process of renewing our housing system will require us to take residence halls off-line for renovation. During the renewal, which will take place over a number of years, we want to maintain the same capacity for undergraduate students, who are our highest priority for housing. Therefore, we have decided to move single graduate students and upper-level undergraduate students out of our residence halls and into what are now Family Housing apartments.
• In our surveys and focus groups, we learned that there is a significant demand for housing among single graduate students and that we are not meeting this demand today. First-year graduate students in particular indicated a very strong interest in on-campus housing. We want to create a community for them.
• We have saturated the market for Family Housing, as evidenced by our high vacancy rate and the results of our market research study.
• We will still be providing a minimum of 880 apartments for students with families, which is more than at most of our peer institutions.

Is the conversion this year of some apartments to single student housing permanent, or will this space eventually be returned to use by families?

• It’s very difficult to say, but it seems unlikely that all of our apartment housing will be rededicated exclusively to families. Market research and the fact that we’ve been experiencing high vacancy rates suggest that we have an excess supply of family housing. Furthermore, our first two renovations will require us to use some of our apartment housing to maintain undergraduate capacity through at least 2010. Between now and then, any number of internal and external factors may evolve that will influence our decision.

What are you doing in terms of renovations for Family Housing?

• Several years ago, working with a consultant, we conducted a facility condition audit of every building in our housing inventory. The results of this study show that while Northwood IV & V certainly will need some attention in the future, they are among the least needy of our buildings. According to this study, only one residence hall (South Quad) is in better condition than Northwood IV or V.
• Because we have more repair work to do than we have resources to do it, we’ve had to prioritize our needs and make some choices. Undertaking major renovations in Northwood IV & V is considered to be less of a priority than protecting some of our other buildings.
• We will, however, continue to invest sufficiently to keep the buildings operational, including such improvements as some kitchen and bathroom renovations, some window and floor covering replacements, interior painting, and furnace and water heater replacements, as necessary, as examples.

Why aren’t you adding new Family Housing?

• Our market research shows the current stock of housing allocated to families is more than sufficient to meet the demand.

Is the University truly committed to being family friendly?

• The University is providing a large number of apartments for families, and supports this community with facilities, programs and services that are designed to meet the needs of families, such as playground equipment, a childcare center, a medical clinic, language programs, etc.
• The University must prioritize and balance its commitments to all our student populations. With respect to student housing, we have determined that undergraduate students are our highest priority—and we believe we need to maintain the same housing capacity for undergraduates that we have today while we go about renewing our buildings.

Who has been consulted in the planning process? What role has there been for students and faculty?

• During our two-year planning process, RLI committee members from Student Affairs and Facilities and Operations examined existing facilities, reviewed institutional data, surveyed and interviewed students, and conducted benchmarking studies at peer universities. Our extensive research included a visioning session with faculty, staff and student representatives, along with individual interviews, student focus groups, a housing survey and a dining survey. In addition, we examined the rental market and retail food outlets in the community, and looked at what 11 other institutions are doing to meet student needs.

What role will there be for community input going forward?

• Detailed planning for RLI projects will begin this fall and proceed over the next several years. For each major project, there will be a Facility Planning Committee and various Design Work Groups which will allow student participation. Additionally, we expect to conduct design charettes and may set up mock-ups to gather student input about furnishings, for example.
• Work by the president’s recently announced task force on residence life will inform the facilities design and programming content.
• Housing and Student Affairs staff will make formal presentations to a number of groups including the Michigan Student Assembly and Residence Halls Association. Community members can share ideas and feedback about the plan by sending e-mail to housing@umich.edu.