Austin College prides itself in being a “private, RESIDENTIAL, co-educational college dedicated to educating undergraduate students in the liberal arts and sciences.” As per the current policy, all students are required to live on campus for 6 semesters (3 years), therefore the College proudly boasts how 80% of students live on campus. Given the tight-knit community and the quality of housing options available, many students prefer to live on campus throughout their time. However, Austin College is no longer giving priority for rising seniors to live at the Dr. Marjorie Hass Village on Grand, aka “the cottages”. The Village was constructed in 2011 to "provide senior housing that encourages the residents to remain actively engaged in the campus community" and is advertised as senior housing to potential students during on-campus tours and in the college's brochures. Furthermore, it is highlighted in the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan as “housing [that allows] seniors to stay closer to campus and play a larger role in student life.”

The College has decided to push all rising seniors off campus due to the size of the recent freshman class (~450 students), and projects a similar size for the incoming new student class. One of the goals of the College as indicated in the 2015-2020 strategic plan is Sustainability in the New Economy. “[The College] will aim for a student body of at least 1,450—larger than our current size but still WELL WITHIN OUR CAPACITY—in order to stabilize our financial health.” Whenever students questioned the administration regarding this strategic goal, they were constantly promised and told there is enough housing for all on campus. There are four growing concerns among the student body at this moment:

1.Decline in the quality of THE Austin College Experience
2.Lack of safety and security on campus and in the City of Sherman
3.The impact on financial aid
4.Limited off-campus housing options

This year alone has not been the same experience that every student prior has had at Austin College. What makes Austin College great is the strong sense of community, which comes from its small size and the features that complement those. Due to poor planning by the College in regard to welcoming the latest new student class, the overall student experience has been negatively impacted. There are no longer study rooms in any of the traditional residence halls (dorms). There are limited common spaces as even residence hall basements have been converted to living spaces to accommodate for the growing student body. The library is always crowded, yet it still closes at the same times as always. Seating is limited in the campus’ cafeteria during lunchtime despite being mandatory for on-campus students and necessary for professors and off-campus students who live too far away from campus. Classes are overly cramped and student access to professors is limited. While the College promises a continuance of it’s 13:1 student to faculty ratio in its strategic plan, that will not be the case with an increased freshmen class. There has been a noticeable overcrowding that has hurt the defining experience Austin College proudly advertises.

Secondly, there are strong concerns regarding safety and security, both on and off campus, which is why there is and has been a strong interest to live on campus. Over the years, off campus students have experienced theft, some at gunpoint, and even had their off-campus homes burglarized. More recently, the community has not felt safe due to attempted muggings by non-Austin College members towards students and staff. Without a doubt, there has been a significant increase in crime in the areas and neighborhoods surrounding campus.

Thirdly, the impact this policy would have on student financial aid packages is detrimental. The FAFSA takes into account where students live, whether that is on or off campus. From their perspective, living on campus means a higher cost of attendance, therefore a more generous financial aid package. If you live off campus, then the cost of attendance appears to be lower, which translates to a lesser financial need. Depending on these calculations, students may end up having a higher cost living off campus than on campus. Overall, the financial need the federal government considers can have a negative impact. Living off campus, could mean an unexpected financial burden on many families and students.

Finally, there are very limited off-campus housing options available. Even with the small proportion of students that resided off-campus over the past few years, there have always been a few handful that have had trouble finding housing. There are VERY LIMITED housing options in the City of Sherman, making it difficult for students to go off-campus. Although it is hard to provide data on this, it should not be necessary as this is coming from the same students who have always expressed concerns how there is not enough on-campus housing if the College wants to grow the student body size. With the opening of Finisar Plant (Apple Facial Recognition) due at the end of this year and its projected employment of over 500, the housing market can only become more competitive. Furthermore, students living off campus will need adequate transportation. Sherman has no public transportation and all apartment complexes are across the freeway. If a student does not own a car, how can she/he attend class? It is clear that these concerns were valid, because the fears that students have had regarding student expansion have been realized.

We urge President Steven O’Day and the Austin College Board of Trustees to immediately assess the College’s current housing and explore options in order to APPROPRIATELY accommodate for the 2019-2020 school year.