On many campuses, Fresh Eyes addresses the questions involved with a proposed new housing facility: how many beds should we build, what students should we target, what unit types should be programmed and what rents should we charge?
- One campus wanted to demolish and replace an existing residence hall that was old and in poor condition, but was struggling with how these beds could be taken off-line and still meet the current demand. The Fresh Eyes team, after analysis of the existing housing design capacity and demand using The Student Housing Calculator, showed the campus there were enough beds in place to meet demand if the old hall was demolished immediately. The campus was able to re-allocate students and ultimately remove and replace this hall.
- Another campus lacked spaces within their residence halls for residence life programs. The Fresh Eyes team made recommendations for several existing spaces, including the existing dining hall, where with some minor changes, would be good spaces for improving the residence life program.
- At other campuses, we have made practical short and long-term recommendations for issues related to positioning student services which support student housing – financial aid, dining, parking, and so forth.
- Other assignments have focused on issues relating to overall rental rate setting, estimating appropriate operating expenses, website messaging and communication, maintenance and custodial issues, and the re-structuring of dining plans.
- A growing issue has been making recommendations for additional sources of housing revenue through conference and intern programs.