SLIDE 1
Shepherd University Board of Governors December 2015 Agenda Page 6-1
Shepherd University Board of Governors December 3, 2015 Agenda Item No. 6
PRESENTATION AND PRELIMINARY APPROVAL RESIDENCE HALL PROJECT
Introduction In 2014 Shepherd University updated its Campus Master Plan in response to the State of West Virginia’s requirement that all State supported universities produce such a plan as a prerequisite for State capital
- funding. The plan also serves as a road map for the University to achieve its vision of becoming a premier
public liberal arts university. The 2014 Campus Master plan will be used as a guide for the University as it moves forward with the design and construction of new facilities and renovates existing facilities on campus for the next 10 years. With broad university constituency input, the Campus Master Plan Committee identified multiple goals, including increasing the campus residential population. The higher resident population would move Shepherd toward the average among its COPLAC peers, which house on average 46% of their undergraduate population. Campus auxiliaries are increasingly important in driving revenue for the University, recruiting prospective students and retaining current students. Shepherd’s auxiliaries produce revenue equal to the University’s total tuition and fee revenue and almost double the University’s State appropriation. As State support continues to decrease and the competition for new students increases, the University’s investment in auxiliaries in order to increase revenue will be a key component of Shepherd’s plans to increase the on- campus resident population, increase the size of its new student classes, retain more students and decrease its reliance on State support. A new residence hall and renovations to existing halls are central to our needed investments. Shepherd’s student housing stock has a capacity for 1,301 beds in 14 buildings. The average residence hall structure is 41 years old, and while they are well maintained they are beginning to show their age and are increasingly unattractive to students. The existing housing stock faces many challenges:
- 425 beds are in halls without air-conditioning;
- unit type mix is not attractive to maturing students who desire privacy;
- housing assets are dated and have deteriorating infrastructure;
- deferred maintenance is $10 million over the next 10 years.
In addition, occupancy has fallen from a high of 96% in fall 2012 to 82% in fall 2015. While some of the decline in residence hall occupancy is attributable to the University’s decline in undergraduate enrollment
- ver the last three years, it is also evident that the lack of attractive housing options with modern
amenities is impacting the University’s ability to attract new students, retain current students and increase
- ur on-campus resident population.