How Campus Facilities Affect the Competition for Students

Written by Jennifer Amster, AIA, LEED AP Monday August 08, 2011 4:32pm

Library Higher education leaders recognize the need for institutions to adopt strategies that are more often associated with business than academia. In many ways, higher education has become an extremely competitive industry.Universities are being challenged to compete to recruit and retain students, faculty and staff. Rising education costs are making students more critical of where they will spend their education dollars – and schools are rising to the occasion with aggressive campaigns to win prospective students.

Campus facilities play a large part in reinforcing an institution’s identity and brand. Facilities can gain a competitive advantage by providing amenities within an attractive environment that promise a high quality of student life.

Facilities affect students’ choice of institution in a number of ways. They speak to an institution’s commitment to teaching, research and student life. These buildings express the university’s character and values, and have the power to affect prospective students’ perceptions of the school.

Residential and Campus Amenities: Students Expect More

Students today have higher expectations of dormitories, dining and recreation facilities than students of the past. As the focus of construction at many public universities, these student life facilities can be funded without legislative budget allocation or grants. Instead they can be self-liquidating and funded from student fees.

Libraries, dining halls, recreation centers, student unions and other student-life-focused buildings and spaces are often the focal point of prospective student and family tours as they evaluate colleges. Facilities that are modern, with state-of-the-art technology and equipment provide an institution with a competitive advantage.

Today universities must compete with less expensive, off-campus apartment complexes that offer pools and tanning beds, so dormitories must provide alternative amenities. University housing units now include laundry and kitchens, ample technology, and even sustainable features. Student rooms look like their homes, with a trend toward single occupancy and fewer shared bathrooms.

Beyond more elaborate amenities, however, universities must give students a reason to pay more to stay on campus. What is the perceived benefit?

Despite wanting their own rooms, students are looking for a strong sense of community. Therefore, schools are carefully crafting the residential life and on-campus living experience. One trend is for living-learning communities, which connect classroom learning and academic opportunities with residence life. Participation in these communities promotes opportunities for intellectual development and greater student involvement in campus life.

For example, the Chinese House Living-Learning Community at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers students the opportunity to pursue their interests in a foreign language and culture beyond the classroom. Students pursuing these interests at the Chinese House will help foster a spirit of curiosity and tolerance that will enhance respect for multiculturalism at UNC.

The Changing Classroom

Ultimately, students spend the majority of their waking time in classrooms. As savvy academic shoppers, future students are becoming increasingly critical of their learning and education spaces.

Smart classrooms are designed to deliver teaching content in a variety of ways, with less reliance on lecture, and more on demonstrations and open discussion. Classrooms have been reconfigured to decrease the distance between instructor and student, and allow more work and study groups. Buildings are being designed to be more open, with windows into labs and expanded views into and around learning spaces.

The 2001 Higher Education Bond focused on improvement of university core facilities. Many of these projects were science buildings, providing new or renovated facilities for teaching and research. New science buildings and renovated facilities must be able to support increased technology, more sophisticated equipment, and provide flexibility for the future.

Meredith College

We are seeing examples of these trends in Raleigh with a number of new projects underway or recently completed. At Meredith College, for instance, the last three new construction projects demonstrate the institution’s strong commitment to its students:

Science and Math Building. Completed in 2002, this building, with state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories, prompted an increased interest in the sciences and made biology one of the most popular majors at Meredith.

The Oaks Apartments. This on-campus housing facility achieved Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification, acknowledging the value Meredith students place on the environment.

Soccer Field. The college invested in this new facility in order to allow teams to compete at a higher level of NCAA play. Field surfacing was selected for sustainability, demonstrating the campus’s ongoing commitment to minimize environmental impact.

Hunt Library - NC State University NC State University

Two high-profile buildings at NC State intend to attract new students and retain existing ones through improved amenities for intellectual and social pursuits:

Hunt Library. The new Centennial Campus library will provide a much-needed central student space to support the latest teaching and research buildings for the College of Engineering. The design provides an iconic image that promotes Centennial’s vision of a community built around knowledge.

Talley Student Center. The existing student center will be transformed to allow greater opportunities for student organizations to meet and collaborate, additional entertainment and social spaces, and the integration of technology.

The Campus Environment Affects Student Choice. A campus’s overall appearance and its landscape are powerful visual associations that reinforce the institution’s message and vision. The built surroundings, including the campus entrance, special quads and landmark buildings, create the lasting impressions on students and their families in selecting an academic institution. However, these elements are only a part of the total student life environment and academic experience that is reshaping student selection of a higher education institution.

Jennifer Amster is a principal at BJAC, pa, one of the largest certified women-owned architectural design firms in the Southeast. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (919) 833-8818.