The National Park College Board of Trustees has approved a resolution to explore the expansion of on-campus housing.
The resolution, which allows predevelopment discussions that would identify a potential location, determine the number of beds needed, identify funding sources, determine a project timeline and integrate the project with the campus master plan, was approved Wednesday the board at its regular monthly meeting.
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"Leasing for NPC housing for fall of 2021 has gone really well. We are full and oversubscribed in a significant amount of students who wish to live on campus," Kelli Embry, vice president for administration, said.
The college has seen the impact that living on campus does on its students and especially its athletes.
"There's a lot of potential benefits for students living on campus, including stronger relationships with their peers, and greater success in the classroom, our retention and completion rates, as well as a better overall college experience," Embry said.
NPC is aware that Garland County currently has a lack of affordable quality housing for students. There's a significant scarcity of housing nearby.
"Often what we find is that our students and their families can't afford to lease or rent apartments in the area," Embry said.
NPC wants to enter into the free development phase. Looking at what type of housing they might be able to have in the future as far as expansion, how that would integrate with the college's master plan.
"We would love to have additional housing this fall, but we all know that can't occur, but the sooner we can move into the space, the faster we can get those spaces built for our students," Embry said.
Javon Southwell, NPC's community manager, said in a news release that 77% of residents live outside of a 30-mile radius of the college. Student-athletes account for 57% of the residents, and 43% are non-athletes.
Dogwood Hall opened in August 2020. The board approved the project in November 2018. Servitas was selected to build and operate the facility. A comprehensive feasibility study revealed a significant demand for affordable housing options at NPC.
While demand was estimated to be approximately 237 beds, Servitas recommended starting with 180 beds, but in the end, it had 237 beds, the release said.
"Results from the study also indicated more than half of the 586 respondents were ages 17-24, 86 percent of which would consider on-campus housing," the release said.
One-quarter of all respondents commute more than 40 miles each day to attend NPC, and 15 percent travel more than 60 miles daily, it said.
"We continue to be focused on student success and hearing that student voice. Students choose us, and we have to keep that in mind," NPC President John Hogan said. "Your recognition for expanding on-campus housing is necessary for recruitment, enrollment growth and fulfillment of the college's mission. It's a very important initiative, and I am grateful for your support there."