2. 2
Table of Contents
01
Introduction
02 03
Analysis Conclusions
• Carolina Housing’s
Problem
• Gathering Information
• Overview of Factors
• Cost
• Distance
• Advantage of
Apartments
• Carolina Housing's
Response
• Carolina Housing's
Plan
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
for Carolina Housing
Pages 5-6 Pages 15-16Pages 3-13
3. 12/18/2016 3
3
Executive Summary
Students are leaving university housing for off-campus alternatives at an alarming rate,
creating lost revenue and undesirable vacancies
Off-campus living has advantages in price, location and atmosphere. Carolina Housing is
finding creative ways to attract students to stay on-campus. We recommend the following to
improve their efforts:
Parking Availability
Two-Way
Communication
A Value Option
Develop better forms of
communication between
students and Carolina
Housing to better receive
and convey information
Provide more parking
options so on-campus
students can live a more
mobile lifestyle and keep
their car at college
Create a cheaper housing
option to appeal to more
financially-conscious
students and their families
5. 12/18/2016 5
5
Introduction
UNC students are choosing houses and apartments over on-campus housing
On-campus student housing is unable to fill up rooms as student preferences shift
Problems for UNC arise when on-
campus options aren’t fully utilized.
This results in empty dorms and lost
university revenue. The associate
director of Carolina Housing has
recognized the issue of operating with
vacancies in dorms.
“We are opening at a little
over 90% occupancy. Our
awareness [of a change in
student preferences] has
been heightened.”
Problems for students arise when
they don’t always receive their
preferred housing option. Students
have to sign leases around mid-
October in order to secure ideal
housing, prompting students to
commit early to leaving campus.
On-campus
dorms and
apartments
LUX
Houses
Shortbread
Lofts
Warehouse
Apartments
Chapel
Ridge
The Village
Apartments
And
many
more
Sources: Rick Bradley, Daily Tar Heel
6. 12/18/2016 6
6
Introduction
We researched reasons for the switch to off-campus housing
We used primary research to understand student motivations and apartment strategies
Surveys
We conducted a survey targeted
towards students. This simple
questionnaire gave us insight on
the reasoning for choices in the
housing selection process, and
received 130 responses.
Questions included:
• What year are you?
• How many years did you live
on campus?
• Rank these factors in how
relevant they were in your
housing selection process
Interviews
We discovered the main selling
points for individual apartment
complexes, through interviews
with representatives at each
table at the UNC Housing Fair.
We interviewed Rick Bradley,
Associate Director of DHRE,
and Joseph Vinar, former
Housing Advisory Board
member, for insights on what
UNC Housing has done to
increase occupancy.
Calculations
We calculated and analyzed
housing costs pertaining to
single and double bedrooms, as
well as the distance to key
locations of various housing
options.
Surveys
InterviewsCalculations
8. 12/18/2016 8
Analysis
8
Students consider many factors when deciding to move off-campus
Students ranked cost and distance as the two most important pieces of the puzzle
Cost of
Rent
Cost of
Utilities
Number of
Bathrooms
Single
Room
Kitchen &
Amenities
Distance
from
Campus
Parking Services
Provided
Student Survey
Sources: Student Surveys
Students in our survey ranked the following factors, from most to least important when searching for housing options.
Cost and distance were the most significant factors, by a large margin. This provided insights that influenced our
recommendations.
#1 #2 #3 #4
#5 #6 #7 #8
9. 12/18/2016 9
Analysis
9
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
Dorm Rams Lux Ware-
House
Short-
Bread
House Town-
House
Quantitative analysis reveals off-campus housing’s advantage in cost
Cost is the most significant factor in students’ motivation to move off-campus
For single rooms, on-campus housing options range
from $943–$1002 per month, with off-campus ranging
from $611–$1079 per month. This wider price range
means that students can tailor their living situation to
their budget and preferences by moving off-campus.
Students often split a room to save money. On-
campus, a double ranges from $805–$930, while off-
campus options are as low as $335. Students are
leaving campus because they can save more than
50% on a double room by doing so.
For only $4 per month more than
an on-campus double, a student
can have their own single room in
an off-campus house.
Single Rooms Cost Less Off-campus
Rent Per Month, Single Room
Doubles Offer Even Greater Savings
Rent Per Month, Double Room
◼ On-Campus ◼ Off-Campus
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
Dorm Rams Lux Ware-
House
Short-
Bread
House Town-
House
◼ On-Campus ◼ Off-Campus
Sources: UNC Housing and Private Apartment Websites
10. 12/18/2016 10
Analysis
10
Proximity to Franklin Street’s amenities makes off-campus housing attractive
Off-campus housing is much closer to Franklin and only marginally farther from campus
Students in our survey cited location as the second-
most important factor when deciding where to live.
On-campus dorms offer the shortest walks to classes,
libraries, and dining halls. However, the walk to Franklin
Street can take more than 20 minutes.
Off-campus housing is slightly farther from campus,
averaging a 16-minute walk to The Pit compared to 12
minutes on-campus. However, it is much closer to the
restaurants, bars, and retail of Franklin Street.
Because off-campus housing is much
closer to Franklin Street and only
marginally farther from campus, many
students leave dorms sooner rather than
later.
Off-Campus Is Farther From The Pit
Walking Time to To The Pit (minutes)
Off-Campus Is Closer To Franklin Street
Walking Time to Franklin Street (minutes)
◼ On-Campus ◼ Off-Campus
◼ On-Campus ◼ Off-Campus
0
5
10
15
20
25
Dorm Rams
Vilage
Lux Ware-
House
Short-
Bread
House Town-
House
0
5
10
15
20
25
Dorm Rams
Vilage
Lux Ware-
House
Short-
Bread
House Town-
House
Sources: Google Maps
11. 12/18/2016 11
Analysis
11
Houses are the leading option for off-campus living, but apartments are on the rise
Apartment complexes compete in various ways to draw in potential tenants
Houses provide students with their own space and
essentially full-blown independence. They’re commonly
the first choice for many students, but the tides are
turning towards apartment complexes.
Apartments provide the convenience of on-campus
housing without sacrificing the independence of living
off-campus.
Shortbread and Lux appeal to students with their high-
quality amenities including their gyms, coffee lounges,
furniture and exclusive building events.
All apartment complexes provide an option for parking
as well as closer access to the nightlife available on
Franklin Street and in Carrboro.0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
Off-Campus
House
Shortbread
Lofts
Lux Greek
Housing
Warehouse Other
1 out of every 5 Carolina
students lives in an
apartment complex
Sources: Student Surveys and Interviews with Apartment Managers
Most Popular Off-Campus Destinations
Percent of Students in Housing Option
12. 12/18/2016 12
Analysis
12
Carolina Housing has already done a lot to improve living on campus
Housing has made changes during 2015 and 2016 to increase occupancy rates
The Housing Advisory Board, formed by student Community Governors, has played an instrumental role in providing
Carolina Housing with students’ opinions and feedback. Based on this advice, Carolina Housing began several initiatives in
hopes of improving on-campus living and increasing retention.
Renovated bathrooms and floors in Upper Quad and Lower Quad to compete with
modernized apartments
Converted 20% of Upper Quad and Spencer to single rooms to attract students
who want more privacy
Installed branding in first year communities to emphasize the “Carolina Experience”
Established Pride Place as a Living Learning Community to support LGBTQ
students
Added Maker Carts as enhancements to allow students to explore cooking,
sewing, robotics, web design, and 3D printing
Sources: Rick Bradley and Joseph Vinar
13. 12/18/2016 13
Analysis
13
Carolina Housing will continue to improve on-campus living
It will launch new projects in 2016 and 2017 to keep more students on campus
Carolina Housing has taken on several exciting initiatives to provide better facilities and engage residents academically.
Gourmet Kitchen
In Mangum
Maker Space
In Carmichael
Extra Lounges
In Grimes
Text Here Text Here
To meet student desire for
better kitchens and cooking
facilities
To provide a physical space
that facilitates
entrepreneurship and creativity
To encourage formation of
strong community among
students
Sources: Rick Bradley
15. Conclusion
15
Off-campus living has advantages in price, location, and atmosphere
Carolina’s initiatives to combat these challenges have not been communicated effectively
Carolina Housing
Struggles to Retain
Students On-Campus
As most of us have experienced,
students at Carolina are required
to live in on-campus housing for
their first year (barring a few
exceptions).
However, seemingly no matter
how hard Carolina Housing and
RHA tries to keep students on-
campus, students end up leaving
after their freshman or sophomore
year. According to Rick Bradley,
the Associate Director of Carolina
Housing, “students are leaving
campus housing at an increasing
rate every year”.
Carolina Housing Faces
Many Obstacles in
Appealing to Students
Off-campus houses and
apartments hold an advantage in
most things that students deem
important. Living off-campus
caters to the priorities of many
students, as options are typically
cheaper, provide more
independence and are closer to
the rest of Chapel Hill.
Carolina Housing faces a lot of
unique difficulties due to the
nature of the department. They
lack state and university funding
and face stringent building
standards. Yet in the face of this
adversity, Carolina Housing has
begun to introduce initiatives to
combat students leaving campus
housing.
Carolina Housing Has
Implemented Initiatives
But Has Room to Grow
Carolina Housing has begun the
fight against off-campus housing
by selling an experience and
providing the students with what
they want. They have started
creating more single rooms and
enhancing some of the amenities
in some of the older dormitories.
They have created a cohesive
branding effort and have
introduced brand new program
initiatives to get students excited
about on-campus living. However,
the lack of communication to
students about these initiatives
remains an issue.
Sources: Rick Bradley, Daily Tar Heel
16. Conclusion
16
On-campus housing can make strides to attract student interest
Changes should be better communicated and accommodate factors of parking and cost
Two-Way Communication
Although Housing has done a lot to
improve on-campus living, many
students have never heard of
initiatives that might convince them
to stay on-campus.
Residents could benefit from an
increased social media presence
by Carolina Housing to
communicate changes and
renovations to on-campus housing.
Carolina Housing could also benefit
from student feedback to more
effectively tailor improvements to
student preferences.
Parking Availability
Students heavily weigh the
possibility of having a parking
spot at a convenient location
when considering various housing
options.
Carolina Housing could provide
more student parking on campus.
This will make cars far more
accessible than the RR lot, which
is not within walking distance.
Students are more likely to stay
on campus if they have the
convenience of a car within
walking distance.
A Value Option
Cost is a large deterrent to staying
on campus for all four years, and
Carolina housing should make an
effort to combat this.
UNC could cut costs by repurposing
a portion of the residence halls to
only include basic amenities.
They could lower the cost of the
value dorms by converting shared
space into individual rooms,
eliminating the budget for individual
residence hall programming, and
limiting spending on community
enhancements.
17. 12/18/2016 17
17
Bradley, Rick. “Carolina Housing.” Personal interview. 26 Oct. 2016.
"Floor Plans & Rates." Townhouse Apartments. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
"Google Maps." Google Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
Hussey, JP. "BUSI 401 Student Housing Survey." SurveyMonkey Inc. SurveyMonkey Inc., 19 Oct. 2016. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NLH957Q>.
Kolstad, Erin. "More Students Turn to Off-campus Housing." The Daily Tar Heel. N.p., 28 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
<http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/08/more-students-turn-to-off-campus-housing>.
Kryzskoski, Brian. “Chapel Ridge Apartments.” Personal interview. 26 Oct. 2016.
"Our Floor Plans." Luxury 2, 3 & 4 Bedroom Student Apartments in Chapel Hill, NC. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
"Our Floor Plans." The Warehouse. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
"Our Floor Plans." Lux at Central Park. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
Peterson, Billy. “Shortbread Lofts.” Personal interview. 26 Oct. 2016.
"Rates | UNC Chapel Hill Housing and Residential Education." UNC Chapel Hill Housing and Residential Education. N.p., n.d. Web.
25 Oct. 2016.
Vinar, Joseph. “Housing Advisory Board.” Personal interview. 26 Oct. 2016.
Williams, Anna. "University Closed Stacy and Everett Due to Low Housing Enrollment." The Daily Tar Heel. N.p., 16 Aug. 2015.
Web. 21 Nov. 2016. <http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/08/university-closed-stacy-and-everett-due-to-low-
housing-enrollment>.
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