UNC tries to control housing rate increases

As the cost of living continues to grow, UNC is trying to keep dorm rates from increasing at no more than three percent a year.

For a student living in a dorm with one roommate, the cost is $2,815 per semester.

Next year, the same will cost $2,878, a two percent increase.
Rick Bradley, assistant director for the Department of Housing and Residential Education, said that the price goes up because costs are increasing.

“Utilities go up every year, we have more renovation and construction, material, labor,” he said.

“All those things rise and the cost is passed on to the students who are paying that rent.”

Bradley said the housing department receives no state funding and relies on student’s payments.

Though the costs are higher, Bradley said that there is high demand for apartments and single rooms on North Campus.

“Apartment-style housing typically costs more because there is more square footage with that space and the cost of the project is so much more than the cost of building a residence hall,” Bradley said.

“For example, building Ram Village cost $90 million, so we’re paying off the debt from that,” he added.

For students struggling to pay for the cost of on-campus housing, there are financial aid options available, said Phillip Asbury, deputy director for the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid.

Those options are part of a student’s overall financial aid package and can be used for either on-campus or off-campus housing, he said.

“We base it off of a general measure of what it costs students to live here,” Asbury said.

Asbury said a student’s cost of attendance includes room and board.
“If they chose to live off campus, the amount allotted for housing in their financial aid package might have enough to cover the housing or it might only cover part, but they have the option,” Asbury said.

Sophomore Amish Parikh lives in Morrison Residence Hall and said the pricing is relatively reasonable.

“Housing in general is just expensive,” he said.

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