Spartan Echo

Section: Student Life

Media Credit: Norfolk State University Spartan Suites is the newest dorm on the campus of Norfolk State University and exemplifies the new apartment-style living that many campuses are beginning to offer as a way to increase retention and graduation rates.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) _ Living on campus isn't just for freshmen anymore.

Colleges and universities across the country say an increasing number of sophomores and upperclassmen are living in dormitories or university-operated apartment complexes. It's been a growing trend for the past decade, said Kevin Kruger, associate executive director of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Some schools even promote the back-to-campus move, saying the rewards include higher retention and graduation rates, better grades, increased involvement in campus activities, and more character-building interaction and mentoring among students. A campus police presence and an uncertain economy are other reasons students are staying on campus.

For Carl Mills, a 21-year-old senior pre-med major at Marshall University, living on campus is simply more convenient.

"You can meet new people and you're just closer to everything, all your classes and everything."

It also means he doesn't have to worry about utility bills or grocery shopping, he said.

"Students who say 'I can live off campus cheaper' often look at the rent but forget or underestimate what the utilities will be," said Ruth Gerstner, spokeswoman for student life at the Ohio State University. "When you get that $400 bill for heating an apartment in an old leaky Victorian, it can come as quite a shock."

In Mills' case, a housing and meal plan at Marshall's Huntington campus costs about $6,500 for the nine-month school year. Rent at many apartments near the Huntington campus can be found as low as about $400 per month, which for the school year would total about $3,600. But rent rarely includes utilities and never the price of food.

While many universities mandate that only freshmen live on campus, Ohio's Miami University will be requiring both freshmen and sophomores to live in university housing starting in the 2009-2010 school year.

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