Talking Stick - November/December 2015 - 29

they pay each year more consistent or
predictable.
In 1996, Washington State
University in Pullman was faced
with decreasing numbers of students
returning to campus housing. Bob
Tattershall, director of housing and
conference services, identifies the
variables that contributed to the
decline. "Our return rate was going
down, in large measure because of our
circumstances here in Pullman, which
include a small town, the highest bus
ridership in the Northwest, lots of
apartments, a very large and strong
Greek community, and, above all, the
desire of our freshmen to leave as soon
as possible since our first-year live-on
rule makes them live in the halls in the
first place."
After surveying students and
presenting them with options ranging
from decreasing housing rates by
incremental percentages to offering
a guaranteed rate, it was determined
that the guaranteed rate would be less
risky. "The potential loss of income
on lowering the rent was in the
millions of dollars, whereas the loss
on a guaranteed rate was very small
by comparison," says Tattershall. The
university used the guaranteed rate
model until just about five years ago,
when it was no longer incentivizing
to students in the way it once was.
"The goal was to increase our return
rate, thereby increasing our revenue,
which would lower our rate increases.
It worked for a few years, as our
return rate increased by more than 10
percent. However, after the residents
got used to the guaranteed rate and the
town kept building more apartments,
the return rate slowly dropped back to
where it had been and kept decreasing
over the years. We discontinued it
because it stopped working; although
one could always say it helped our
return rate from getting even worse,
we didn't really believe that. The return
rate was declining based on many

factors," says Tattershall.
In 2005, the University of
Cincinnati in Ohio implemented a
guaranteed housing rate, or frozen
rate model, with surprising results.
"Faced with 1,500 new beds of housing
competition for first-year students
within 50 miles and all continuing
students, we elected to offer frozen
rates for returning students for
the 2005-06 academic year. Sales
increased by 66 percent at the end
of our contract renewal program
executed in January 2005," explains
Todd Duncan, assistant vice president
of food and retail services. Despite
a promising outlook, the number of
housing cancellations surged to 200
percent, even after increasing the
cancellation fees. "The students who
did renew and occupy housing in fall
2005 and beyond were assessed fall
2004 room rates. In the end we did
not grow our sales with returning
students in any measurable way
and created additional work for our
processing staff to track the students
who were to receive the frozen rates."
When guaranteed housing rates
did not work as a sales or retention
model for the University of Cincinnati,
they shifted their focus elsewhere
for demonstrating the value added
to the college experience by living
on campus. "We focus on academic
persistence," explains Duncan.
"University of Cincinnati's required
housing policy applies to single
freshmen, 21 years old or younger,
from outside 50 miles of the campus
based on zip code. Typically about half
of freshmen are subject to the required
housing policy, though 85 percent of
all freshmen typically live on campus.
Residential freshmen typically have
a 10-11 percent higher grade point
average than non-residential freshmen
and 12-13 percent higher retention
rates."
For some institutions, guaranteed
housing rates are part of the overall

institutional mission to improve
retention and make attending college
more affordable for students and
families. Even at a financial risk,
the retention benefits make the
program worth continuing. At the
University of South Carolina Upstate
in Spartanburg, guaranteed housing
rates are part of the department's
loyalty program, which also includes
paying for students' graduation
regalia and diploma frame if they
reside on campus the entire time
they are a student at the institution.
The guaranteed housing rates ensure
that a student locks in their first
year room rate for the duration of
the time they reside on campus. For
example, if a student lives in a double
room as a first-year student, that
double room rate follows the student
through their future assignments,
regardless of the building or room
type. Mandy Whitten, director of
housing and residential life, explains
that the program originated with her
predecessor as a retention effort to
keep students in housing. Whitten
highlights that the guaranteed rates
are a great talking point when working
with parents or families and help
students plan ahead for the actual
cost of attending the university.
The program is not without its
drawbacks, though. "Our current
assignment software does not allow
us to easily manage the fees. We have
a cumbersome and labor-intensive
process to determine and apply the
correct rates to each student," explains
Whitten. Since they are unable to
upload the correct rates for each
student, students instead see the rate
for the current academic year applied
to their accounts initially. "Once we
get through move-in, our housing
operations coordinator goes through
each student's account and manually
applies a credit. It is a process that
takes about two weeks," says Whitten.
Whitten is also keeping a close eye
on the budget and the implications

NOVEMBER + DECEMBER 2015

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Talking Stick - November/December 2015

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