Public College, Private Dorm

By RONDA KAYSEN

Even before the recession, states found that companies that specialize in student housing could build residence halls more rapidly and cheaply than universities could. They can ease the burden of being a landlord. And perhaps most important, these partnerships free capital for facilities like classrooms and laboratories.

But as bad economic times make these arrangements even more appealing, the new efforts raise questions about how private ownership of dorms will affect student life and costs in years to come.

Public universities that have entered into or are considering such partnerships include the University of California, Irvine; Arizona State; Portland State; the University of Kentucky; and Montclair State in New Jersey, which in the fall opened the Heights, a two-tower complex with 2,000 beds and a 24,000-square-foot food court that officials say is the largest residence hall complex in the state.

Private colleges and universities have been slower to embrace the concept as they have traditionally financed their student housing with endowments, philanthropy and student fees. Private colleges are less attractive to private developers because they tend to be smaller, so their housing needs are less extensive.

Although proponents of private partnerships point to lower costs for construction and operation, those savings are not necessarily passed on to students. A room at the Heights, for example, costs about $1,000 more a semester than a room in Montclair State’s other dorms.

“These things are often sold as savings, but they don’t often result in savings,” said Edward P. St. John, an education professor at the University of Michigan and an editor of “Privatization and Public Universities,” published in 2006.

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