Living in a dorm is apparently beneficial enough that a growing number of community colleges want to give that experience to its students.
According to U.S. News and World Report, benefits of living on campus can go beyond the traditional "college experience." Students like Omar McGill, 19, can spend up to 12 hours on campus on a given day during the week and, in that case, it may be better to have a dorm room on campus than even a short drive home.
McGill, a theater major, told U.S. News he lives 15 minutes from his school, Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Penn., but he does not have a car. This fall will be the first time the two-year school offers campus housing, which came as a relief for McGill.
The American Association of Community Colleges published a new report that found 25 percent of U.S. two-year schools offer campus housing. From 2000 to 2010, 43 such schools added campus housing for the first time and that figure is still trending upward.
Mark Erickson, Northampton's president, told U.S. News the school had been offering on-campus housing to international and out-of-state students since its opening in 1986. Still, he found local students wanted to live on campus.
"We're a two-year college with a four-year feel," Erickson said. "Students really do invest in this college and get engaged. This residential piece amplifies that engagement."
Susan Salvador, vice president for enrollment and student affairs at Northampton, said the residence hall by itself is not enough. To go along with the dorm hall, the school is rounding out the "college experience" with longer gym hours, a new dining hall, more activities and even a shuttle service to take students to local attractions.
"This is such an important opportunity, for community college students to live on campus," Salvador told U.S. News. "Having the opportunity to live and learn at a two-year college really broadens that college experience."
