TAKING HEED OF STUDENTS (AND THE MARKET)

The cost of attending a university, as any parent with older teen-agers will attest, proves hard on the nerves and the pocketbook. Perhaps some of this is generational nostalgia, a wistful remembrance of what was once paid for a college degree. At Southeast Missouri State University, which at one time fashioned a reputation as a cost-friendly institution, the tide of rising prices has been too difficult to buck. However, at a meeting last week, the school's regents took some action to hold the line on escalating costs, particularly with regard to room and board costs.

True, the regents' decision in this matter was driven not solely by altruism but rather by market forces. We find nothing wrong with this. There is considerably less demand for on-campus housing than there once way. It doesn't take an especially long memory to recall when university dormitories were bursting at the seams here; some students were even farmed out to a local motel, and the old St. Francis Hospital was engaged to relieve the bulging residence halls.

Things have changed. For the 1994-95 academic year, the university finds itself with 1,990 beds for on-campus living. During the current semester, about 1,600 students are living in dormitories. Roughly calculated, only about a quarter of undergraduates at Southeast are living on campus. Because of these diminishing numbers, Southeast encounters no difficulty in closing a dormitory for renovation -- as it has done to Towers West for the last year, and as it will with Towers North in the coming year -- and further closing two wings (a total of about 200 beds) of Dearmont residence hall for the coming year.

What brought this change about? Student demographics have changed. There are more non-traditional students attending universities these days, people returning to academic pursuits after a time in the work force, perhaps with families already started. There may be lifestyle changes at work; parents sending their children to college might no longer value the more regimented manner of dormitory life. And, as always, there is the money. Southeast and other universities, in meeting the rising costs of maintaining large housing units, might have priced themselves into market difficulties. For example, the annual double-room rate at the newly renovated Towers West later this year will be $2,900, or about $322 for each of the nine months a student will stay there. Can an apartment off campus, with fewer restrictions imposed on the student, compete with this price? If you watch your pennies and don't order out meals every night, you probably can.

With this in mind, university administrators and the regents have formulated a reasonable approach toward structuring dormitory fees. The renovations have been undertaken with an eye toward modern residence hall trends. Towers West will carry rates that reflect its new sheen. Myers Hall will draw a 4.5 percent fee increase delayed from a 1987 renovation. Other dormitories -- Cheney, Towers South and East, Greek Housing and Dearmont -- will see no rate increases. Plus, the university has taken action in recent years to provide housing for non-traditional students and provide meal options that better meet the needs of students.

Residence life is an important part of the university experience, and it is somewhat unsettling to observe the falling numbers of on-campus residents at Southeast. However, it appears reasonable steps are being taken to make dormitories an appealing choice at the university, and we applaud the regents' recent effort to hold the line on housing prices.