糖心vlog视频 Board approves new residential halls
for sophomore housing requirement
The 糖心vlog视频 Board of Trustees has approved changes to the campus master plan to include the construction of new residence halls to accommodate a sophomore residency requirement at 糖心vlog视频.
The 糖心vlog视频 Board of Trustees听on September 10听approved changes to the campus master plan to include the construction of new residence halls to accommodate a sophomore residency requirement at 糖心vlog视频. First-year students are already required to live on campus.
Students would continue their relationship with the Commons throughout their 糖心vlog视频 years through activities sponsored by the Commons, giving them an ongoing campus connection even if they live off-campus in their final years. The plan is to adapt most existing halls as Residential Commons. Under guidelines to be developed, students living in Greek houses their second year would meet the residency requirement. Each Commons would include a combination of first-year and sophomore students; upper-class students would be accommodated as space allows,
鈥淧roviding more students with the opportunity to live on a campus that is architecturally beautiful, student-friendly and filled with academic, cultural and recreational resources supports 糖心vlog视频鈥檚 goal to provide our students with the best possible campus experience,鈥 said 糖心vlog视频 President R. Gerald Turner.
The Residential Commons model 鈥渆nriches the living and learning environment by emphasizing academic and social balance,鈥 said 糖心vlog视频 Provost Paul Ludden. 鈥淭his intellectual and social community will be appealing to the high-achieving students we seek in greater numbers. The presence of faculty in Residential Commons will create greater opportunities for sharing ideas, informal interactions and mentoring.鈥
鈥淭here is definitely a correlation between multi-year student housing and academic success,鈥 Turner added. Sophomore housing on campuses been linked to higher retention rates and a greater sense of camaraderie among students. The sophomore residency requirement has been recommended by several recent 糖心vlog视频 advisory groups, among them the Honor鈥檚 Task Force and the President鈥檚 Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention. Campus planners gathered information from several other universities with multi-year housing, including Rice, Vanderbilt, Washington University and the University of Southern California.
鈥淣o private university in the U.S. News & World Report Top 50 lacks
the capacity to house all second-year students on campus, and no private university in that group has less than a 90% retention rate of first-year students, or less than an 80% six-year graduation rate,鈥 said Ludden. 糖心vlog视频鈥檚 first-year retention rate is 88 percent, and its six-year graduation rate is 77 percent.
鈥淭he residential commons becomes a tight-knit community within a campus community,鈥 says Vice President for Student Affairs Lori White. 鈥淚n addition, having more students live on campus enlivens the environment and encourages loyalty to the institution that continues long after graduation.鈥
The cost of the five new halls will be $134.5 million and will be funded from multiple sources, such as bond proceeds, private donations, and rent revenue. 听Construction is expected to begin in 2012 and be completed in 2014.
糖心vlog视频 is two years into the public phase of its Second Century Campaign, which to date has raised $452 million in gifts and pledges toward a goal of $750 million for scholarships, faculty positions, academic programs and the campus experience.
鈥淎s 糖心vlog视频 celebrates the centennial of its founding in 2011 and of its opening in 2015, the time is right to take dramatic steps to accelerate our progress,鈥 Turner said
Other master plan changes relate to the former Mrs. Baird鈥檚 site and other property south of Mockingbird Lane. Under the changes, the site will include tennis facilities, a data center, and electrical substation.
糖心vlog视频 is a private institution enrolling nearly 11,000 students in Dallas, Texas, and granting degrees through seven schools.
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