[995] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Fwd: The Crowding Problem
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Matt Cain)
Mon Jan 14 22:52:10 2002
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Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 22:43:08 -0500
From: Matt Cain <mcain@MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
>Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 12:32:01 -0500
>From: Phillip Clay <plclay@MIT.EDU>
>Subject: The Crowding Problem
>
>
>I am writing to share with you an issue that is both a problem and
>an opportunity. I want to explain how we reached this point, and
>present the options we have for the school year 2002-2003 and
>beyond. Crowding in campus housing presents this dichotomy. While
>crowding is a problem for obvious reasons, the opening of more than
>1100 beds on campus next year is the opportunity.
>
>Presently we have 140 more undergraduate students than we have
>uncrowded residence hall rooms to accommodate them. This will be
>true even with the additions of Simmons Hall. While this may not
>seem like a large number, you will quickly realize that the students
>who are affected by crowding include not only the 140 students but
>all of the students who room with them. The total number of
>students who are in crowded rooms exceeds 400! In addition, all of
>the students in the affected residence halls suffer the loss of
>lounges, study rooms, and other spaces meant for community use.
>
>Our undergraduate students have been extraordinarily patient under
>these circumstances. Our faculty, colleagues, parents, and students
>consider this to be an intolerable situation, which needs to be
>addressed. I agree.
>
>This crowding is not a self-correcting problem. If we take no
>action, the problem will worsen as the students who are presently
>here continue to experience crowding and additional students place
>even more pressure on the system. A worsening of the problem would
>undermine all our plans to enhance the community.
>
>How did we reach this point? There are several factors that have
>come together. We reached this point because with the exception of
>Simmons Hall, which will be added this coming year, we have not
>added housing for undergraduates in more than a twenty years (Next
>House in 1981.) While we have not expanded the undergraduate
>population, the freshman class has fluctuated at around 1,000 for
>more than twenty years.
>
>In the last two years, however, we have hit a capacity wall. We had
>slight over-enrollments among freshmen. Fifty extra first-year
>students in the last two years are generating extra pressure. In
>addition, we also had thirty to forty transfer students each year.
>These are not a large numbers but they add to the pressure.
>
>At the same time, we have lost some supply of beds available to
>undergraduates. Two FSILGs have closed in recent years, and rush
>has been lower in each of the last two years. In the meantime, the
>small number of students who might opt for off-campus living has
>been reduced because of the high rents and limited supply in
>Cambridge. In short, small shifts in supply and demand have
>combined to produce crowding.
>
> The prognosis going forward is that this problem will likely
>become more serious and, therefore, more intolerable unless we take
>some action. I will address what we will do to eliminate crowding
>and manage enrollment. We want to do more. We want to manage the
>housing resources to advance our community goals and not just avoid
>the ugly problem of too many students and too few rooms. There are
>several options. They include:
>
>1. Reduce the undergraduate population
>2. Buy or lease additional housing
>3. Continue crowding
>4. Reassign part of the new supply being added for graduate
>students to house undergraduates
>
>These are all difficult options. None can be defended alone nor
>without regard to the effect on the Institute goals and student
>life. Making a five-percent reduction in admissions for at least
>the next two to three years might eliminate crowding, but has other
>negative consequences for class composition and equity. No great
>university can rule out taking some transfers students. The
>undergraduate population is already shrinking as a percent of the
>entire student body, and undergraduate numbers are currently at an
>appropriate level (1,000), not counting the slight over-enrollment
>in the last two years. We will eliminate over enrollment that would
>not address current crowding.
>
>The second option is to buy or lease already constructed housing.
>This would provide a means of meeting the housing needs on short
>order. The problem is that this is not a viable option, because
>there are no such housing opportunities available. Our staff has
>searched this year and in years past for available structures to
>purchase. Notwithstanding the high cost of real estate that would
>be close or convenient for students, the absolute scarcity precludes
>this as a reliable strategy for now or in the near future. Low
>quality or remote sites cannot be considered, given our campus and
>community life goals.
>
>A third option is that we could continue crowding. By doing nothing
>(other than managing future enrollment) we would expect crowding to
>continue for three years at least. This is not much of an
>accomplishment.
>
>The final option would be to use some portion of the supply of
>housing designated for graduate students - about 150 beds. This
>year we added 130 beds on Albany Street, and next year we will add
>750 beds on Sidney and Pacific Streets. In recent years we have
>added Edgerton House and Green House to others from an earlier time.
>This option would solve the problem of crowding.
>
>Considering all options, I am presently inclined to recommend that
>we use a fraction of the housing intended for graduate students and
>reassign the beds to undergraduates. This is a temporary solution,
>but it will have to remain in place for the next three to five years
>when a combination of economic conditions and a long backlog of
>prior commitemtns make it impossible to consider to new residential
>construction.
>
>This step will come as a disappointment to graduate students who
>have been looking forward to the added on campus housing. Instead
>of graduate students getting nearly 900 beds this year and next,
>they would get about 750 beds. This small reduction has to be
>looked at in context. We have added one dorm for undergraduates in
>nearly 20 years. In the same period, we had added many halls for
>graduate students - Green, Albany Street, Edgerton, for example. We
>are taking a small reduction in an increasing response to graduate
>student needs.
>
>To make this work and to be fair requires some corollary action.
>First, we have to proceed with our plans for residential programming
>and support to the graduates and undergraduates on campus life.
>
>FSILGs play a role and will need to be strengthened so that we
>preserve their role and maximize rush. We have to reverse the most
>recent fall off in rush totals. We will have a plan to help FSILGs
>do this.
>
>Finally, in the administration, we have to cap new student
>enrollment at 1,000 and not allow this to drift upward. If we stem
>the decline in the occupancy of the FSILGs, contain the enrollment
>of transfer students, we will be able to contain the risks for
>future demands on the graduate inventory
>
>During the next several weeks, I look forward to receiving comments
>on this issue and our options. I also welcome ideas for how to
>implement this plan to make it a winning proposition for all
>elements of the campus. I urge appropriate committees, students, and
>faculty to weigh these issues and get your comments to me or Deans
>Benedict or Colbert by February 12 .We are happy to discuss the
>issues raised in this note.
>--
>_____________________________________________________________
>Professor Phillip L. Clay
>Chancellor
>Mass. Institute of Technology Room 10-200
>77 Mass. Ave.
>Cambridge, Mass. 02139-4307
>617-253-6164 phone
>617-258-6261 fax
>email: plclay@mit.edu
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