Last semester, Pepperdine Housing had approximately 34 percent of its beds empty. Next semester, with new discounts for juniors and seniors and a more personalized housing selection process, Housing has only 6 percent of its beds empty, according to Associate Dean of Housing and Residence Life Brian Dawson.
“When I was trying to sell the discounts to the Board of Regents,” Dawson said, “I told them that if they let me have the lower rates, I will fill the empty spots. It seems like it has been working.”
The Housing Office relied heavily on student feedback when determining the changes that it would make for housing in the coming academic year. After the recent Housing Placement Days where juniors and seniors were able to pick the exact rooms that they wanted, the Housing Office has received a lot of feedback as well. Most of it has been positive Dawson said.
“There have been 20 or more positive comments to every one negative comment, but I want to hear the criticism too,” Dawson said. “I want to continue to make the Housing experience better for students.”
Through the positive feedback and the criticism, Dawson has been able to see what people liked about the new process and what can be changed for next year. The ability to pick an exact room, as well as the discounts for seniors and juniors were very popular. Yet the housing office is working to find a way to make it easier for all of the junior class to select housing as well as a way to better address the housing selection process in light of RA and SLA selections.
There has been overwhelming support for being able to pick an exact room. That change to the housing selection process will be here to stay for the coming years, Dawson said.
“I liked being able to pick the room I wanted, and I got to room with the people I wanted to, as well,” sophomore Steven Fleming, said. “I also like that Towers is very cheap next year.”
According to Dawson, his strategy of reducing rates to make Pepperdine more comparable to off-campus housing has also received positive feedback. The discounts can be seen as especially large when compared to the 6.38 percent increase to the room and board rate that was announced on Feb. 10 in a letter to the student body by Dean of Seaver College Rick Marrs.
The new, discounted rates also encompass an additional month of room and board for the academic year. Students will be paying for nine months instead of eight, but as a result, will no longer have to pay a per day rate for staying on campus during breaks. This change was made to make Pepperdine housing more similar to how off-campus housing works.
“When you sign a contract for housing off-campus, you don’t get four months and then take a break during December only to come back for another four months,” Dawson said.
Another change made to make housing at Pepperdine more like that found off-campus has been less popular with students. This year, the Housing Contract was binding for the full amount of room and board, unlike in previous years where students could cancel for a gradually increasing fee many months after accepting the contract. This particular change disappointed some students.
“I signed a housing contract, but I didn’t do it with a smile on my face. I felt forced to do it out of default because I hadn’t had time to look at other options. I think they should definitely provide a way out of the contract, especially if there is going to be a waiting list for people to get in. What’s wrong with dropping my on-campus housing if there’s someone to replace me?” junior Aaron Schott said.
Dawson considered this change another attempt to make housing at Pepperdine more like a lease off campus.
“When we had the sliding cancellation, students didn’t have choices. This year they did have choice, but we told them that if they are not sure, they should not sign the contract,” he said. “We let students pick exactly where they want to go; if you don’t like it, don’t commit, but if you do like it, we need you to commit, just like you would if it were off-campus housing.”
Dawson also wants to find a way to improve the selection process for would-be juniors who are scattered between Malibu and study abroad programs.
“My major complaint about the housing process, other than the drawing that randomly disadvantages some IP houses in major ways, is that RA/SLA hasn’t been decided yet. That is going to free up so much space,” said Andy Krawtz, a sophomore in the Heidelberg program.
Dawson thought the system this year was as fair as it could have been.
“Although it is always hard when people get to pick in front of you, I think picking the order for the different programs out of a hat was the fairest and most equitable thing to do, but it would be best if we were able to combine the entire class somehow,” Dawson said.
Dawson also recognized the difficulty posed by the RA and SLA selections not having been made yet. He is looking at trying to incorporate technology into the selection process in order to make picking housing more like picking classes online. This would also enable the entire junior class to pick as one group, regardless of location.
“I would like for students to be able to actually look at the exact plans of rooms online and click on the room that they want at their randomly assigned time,” Dawson said. We are currently still looking for a program that does all of this. If a Pepperdine student can design me one, I will pay for it.”
