While some schools charge equal rates for all on-campus housing, the University institutes a policy based on the "market concept," said Fidelia Thomason, director of the department of housing management.
This means that dormitories on West Campus, which are deemed by many students to be most desirable, are placed in the highest of four price brackets, Thomason said.
Singles and air-conditioned rooms are also in higher brackets, and housing on East Campus and North Campus is generally in the lower brackets.
The rates for Central Campus housing are determined on a different scale altogether and are generally the cheapest of all on-campus housing. Its rates are designed to compete with housing rates offered by comparable off-campus housing, Thomason said.
Where a double on Central costs about $2,766 per academic year, a similar two bedroom apartment at Duke Court, located on Duke University Road off of West Campus, would cost about $3,000, said Kim Jernigan, a Duke Court/Duke Villa representative. Rents for these apartments are determined on a monthly scale.
Rate increases are distributed evenly throughout the brackets, Thomason said. Next year, prices for singles will rise between $300 and $380 and prices for doubles will rise between $221 and $290, depending on location and desirability.
Rate brackets were first drafted in the early eighties by a committee of students, faculty and administrators who evaluated campus housing for its attractiveness to students, Thomason said.
"The students on the committee decided that West is the preferred campus, and that students on East should be given a break," said Karen Steinour, dean of residential life.
Changes have been made to the price brackets following the renovations of several dorms and the construction of Decker and Mitchell towers, Thomason said.
This market-driven rate structure is also used at other institutions. At Wake Forest University, residence hall rates vary from hall to hall, said Dennis Gregory, director of residential life and housing. The same factors of size, air-conditioning and location are taken into consideration, and next year's room prices will vary from about $1,500 per academic year for a triple to $2,470 for an air-conditioned single, Gregory said.
On the other hand, campus housing at Yale University is fixed at the single rate of $3,450 per academic year, and all students who live in campus housing are required to purchase a fixed meal plan of $3,030 per year, said Rosa Stone, executive assistant to the dean of Yale College.
When compared to University rates, these minimums are the equivalent of living in an air-conditioned double on West and getting plan E for meals.
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