Proposal: Improving FIU housing facilities
FIU is giving students the opportunity to live on campus so they can be close to all their needs in school and do not have to worry about paying anything beside one semester rent. The problem is students have to pay a lot toward that; they do not provide a good space for rooms; most of the bathrooms are shared, and some of the dorms do not have a kitchen. Student housing is made to fit the needs and lifestyle of young adults, which means that FIU residence halls may have to offer those needs, and lifestyle in a different way as most of off-campus housing do. Most of the students like to have their bathrooms and their rooms, in a way that they feel happy in a place they live. I think if FIU offers plenty of those single rooms, students might like living in the dorms, regardless of its prices.
Proposal
FIU has praised living in the dorms as one of the best options for students to start with a good GPA (Haro n.p). FIU is forcing students to be able to live in the dorms since you have to sign an agreement for two semesters. I think they are not even in a good quality.
The school should offer single rooms with good space and with bathrooms that will make students satisfied and comfortable living there. Optionally, the school should reduce the prices of what they have now (their shared rooms and bathrooms) by making it more payable and in good price standing. The idea behind reducing the prices of the dorms for FIU students is because they are already paying for fees tuition. Therefore, FIU has to give good prices for their students and try to fit the needs of those students. This way, FIU could probably have a good amount of students coming to live in the dorms. The school can also consider coming up with new sand cheaper structures. If the school cannot afford to build new structures, they can invite private investors to come up with such structures that will be cheaper and better than the existing. Altogether, the school can also collaborate with NGO’s to come up with other structures.
Optionally, the school could provide meals and signing of the contract forms for living in the dorms should be done each semester. Also, the school should limit their restrictions in the dorms regarding cooking and movement of students within the dorms. These are just options the school may consider, however, for the problem to be fully solved, the school needs to improve the housing facilities by building new one. The schools can also expand the already existing ones by renovation and building new buildings. This way, kitchens can be installed, and the school should minimize restrictions in the dorms. It will more friendly to students.
Upon doing this, the University will be improving the future generation’s living standards. It will also increase student satisfaction, as they will feel like they get value for what they pay for during the semester. Accordingly, reducing the prices will increase the general campus satisfaction with their facilities and attract more students.
Building the dorms will also make FIU a less commuter school, giving students more time to do their studies and research hence improved learning and grades. It will increase the students and faculty satisfaction.
For them to enact this proposal of building new dorms, the university can seek approval for from the Finance County to issue tax-exempt for the housing of students like seen in the case of Services from Miami- Dade county approval. They got the approval that allowed them put up tax-exempt structures. This will ensure that the dorms are affordable and rented to students at a cheaper price. This is because of tax exemption in coming up with the structures, hence cheaper prices for the final products, where the school will not be struggling to recover finances or pay debts.. Also, the proposal can be enacted by improving the housing facilities by making new building and renovating the existing ones. FIU can make new housing by acquiring the Tamiami Park through getting a lease of the 2085 acres of land. The University has run out of buildable space, and the Tamiami Park is the only expansion opportunity available for the university (Sell n.p).
Justification
Kenyon College, located in Ohio provides the best dorm’s prices for their students. Students have to pay an average of $6,590 per year which is about half of FIU prices (Forbes 2010).Even though they offer rooms with shared bedrooms or group of three but there price deals are the best in all American colleges. Also, other universities like UCF have cheaper accommodation and better dorms.
Also, the university should expand the dorms and provide the best prices, as there is an expansion of residence halls, scientific research space and academic buildings. These expansions will increase the capacity of the school and the student intake, hence the need for expansion of the dorms and providing quality residential facilities. According to Miami Today newspaper of December, 1st 2014, FIU will graduate 12, 500 students next year, and the population continues to grow.
Also, there is a need for expansion so that the University of FIU does not loose momentum for the growing community. The campus seems large, but it is the smallest among the ten traditional public universities. The proposed expansion will enhance the creation of new jobs for the economy of South Florida and enhance greater student talent in entrepreneurship and sciences.
Similarly, FIU has been drafting expansion plans, and accomplished some expansions like the Tamami Park, business incubator and alumni/conference centre. The expansion of the dorms will also be in line with such expansions and should not come at an extra cost.
Conclusion
The school has been striving to ensure academic excellence and ensure that it is an admired institute of learning in the past. The school has done numerous activities to improve the facilities in the school, including the building of the new parking. The school should also challenge its status quo and improve other crucial facilities, and ensure better affordable housing for its students. If there is an increase of dorms, more students will come to school and there will be need for more parking. However, this has been catered for by the recent expansions of Tamani Park, however there may be need to expand the parking. Lack of expansion of accommodation will lead to the loss of momentum of the growing student population; students will prefer to go to other schools that have affordable accommodation. Students will also prefer a school where they do not commute from place to place. Therefore, the accommodation is crucial in expanding FIU as an institution.
Works Cited
Haro Martin. Construction of New Dorms, Parking Garage Begins; Make Note of Road Closure.
FIU News, 3 Sep. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2014
McCaughan Sean. FIU Cuts the Ribbon on New Hurricane-Fighting Complex. Curbed, 13 Oct.
2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014
Sell Mark. Look for a high-rise waterfront student dorm on the Biscayne Bay campus. Biscayne
Times, July 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014
