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University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker checks out the new Cooper Lodge accommodation, due to be completed in 2014. Photo Michelle McAulay
A room of one’ s own
In the face of a tight market for accommodation, a new scheme has been developed by the University of Canberra to guarantee rooms for its students. By Dallas Bastian
International and first-year students will be guaranteed accommodation at the University of Canberra in the first semester of 2014.
“ We want to be more attractive to students from beyond the local region,” Vice-chancellor Stephen Parker said.“ We think universities will have to consider packages, not just a single course offer.”
The accommodation guarantee scheme would provide a single-bed room for continuing international students. Those studying at the University of Canberra College or English language intensive courses for overseas students( ELICOS) were also eligible.
With Canberra’ s rents continuing to make it difficult to find accommodation for those wishing to move to the city to study, Parker hoped the new approach would bring student expenses under control and relieve pressure on Canberra’ s housing market.
“ It takes away some uncertainty about finding accommodation,” he said.“ It takes away the risk of substandard accommodation.” The university wants to set itself apart from stories about substandard accommodation in other cities.
Parents and guardians would also be able to go online to see the kind of room their student would be booking.
It was hoped the guarantee would bring about other benefits for students.“ We want to enrich the campus experience,” Parker said.“ Having [ students ] live on or near campus gives us scale, so there’ s a vibrant on-campus student life.”
The decision to introduce the scheme was a result of increased competition in higher education.“ It’ s a competitive world,” Parker said.“ We need to attract students to Canberra as a city and obviously to the University of Canberra.”
A significant increase is projected in international students coming to the university, and all will have access to the university’ s accommodation for the life of their course, regardless of length.
“ We want to make sure we continue to be attractive to international students by making sure they know where they’ re going to be able to stay and that they know the cost,” Professor Monique Skidmore, pro vice-chancellor international and major projects, said.
The question she hears most from prospective international students, she said, is about where they will be spending their first night.
“ Accommodation is a real concern to our prospective students and their parents,” she said.“ We want to make sure that with an accommodation guarantee, we can at least take away one element of uncertainty about coming to another country for several years.”
Under the scheme, students will also have a better understanding of the finances of studying abroad, Skidmore said.
Travel is another concern for international students, but that issue is mitigated if they know housing is on campus or in nearby Belconnen. Skidmore said this would also give international students an immediate social group.
She said she had already seen an increase in interest among international students attending the university.
Campus Living Villages, Arscott House, Weeden Lodge and Uni Lodge will continue to house students. Weeden Lodge’ s new wing and the new eight-storey accommodation facility being built on campus are to be completed by January 2014 and will also be used to ensure the scheme is successful.
Single beds will start at $ 141 a week. The national rental affordability scheme( NRAS) has won the university a thousand rebates for creating affordable housing. Parker said this was bringing the total cost of building the new residences down considerably over time. He said it was possibly a onceonly opportunity, and one he didn’ t want to miss.
By monitoring patterns of demand and using the NRAS subsidies, he said more accommodation could be constructed in an appropriate time frame to ensure the guarantee was supported.
Office blocks had been retrofitted to student accommodation within 12 months, and Parker pointed to this as an example of the university’ s capacity to create more accommodation if demand required it. ■
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