A consulting group Ohio University hired to review its on-campus housing presented renovation possibilities to the Board of Trustees on Thursday, which could include increasing traditional room rates by up to 10 percent.
Brailsford & Dunlavey, a facility planning firm, began its analysis in May to determine how OU’s residence halls stack up against other public universities in Ohio. OU is paying the consultant $79,000.
“(The firm) did a very detailed analysis in a short amount of time,” said Becky Watts, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis. “They got satisfaction ratings (for the residence halls), assessed the physical condition, demand, what effect housing has on student retention and cost compared to other institutions.”
OU currently ranks below every other Ohio public university, except for Bowling Green State University, in cost per room. OU’s cost per room is 10 percent below average for traditional rooms and four percent for suite-style rooms, according to a presentation given by the consulting group.
For the 2009-2010 academic year, the average cost for a traditional, double-occupancy room at OU was $4,700 and $6,000 for a suite-style, double-occupancy room.
Brailsford & Dunlavey state in its presentation that OU could increase traditional room rates by 10 percent and suite-style room rates by four percent and still compete with other public university.
McDavis estimated renovating residence halls on campus could cost between $400 and $500 million. The renovation plan could include 36 dorms – 19 on South Green, nine on East Green and eight on West Green, according to a previous Post article.
The consulting group will continue their analysis and provide more information at the Board’s September meeting, Watts said. Part of the consulting group’s analysis will include determining whether OU students would be willing to pay more for renovated dorm rooms, she said.
Future renovations could also include changing the “mix” of traditional and suite-style rooms. Currently, only 10 percent of OU beds are in suite-style rooms, which is less than any other Ohio public university, according to the consultants’ presentation.
The Board has not made any decisions about how to fund the possible renovations.
“There are lots of decisions still to be made; this is very much in the discovery phase,” Watts said.
It is not known how much OU is paying Brailsford & Dunlavey.