ID133 Overnight Campus Accommodation for Commuting Students

The Idea

Overnight campus accommodation for commuting students who want to attend a social event or ensure they are on campus for an early exam or lecture the next day. This would be achieved by offering empty rooms in student accommodation at a discounted nightly rate. The University of York do this at a subsidised rate of £29.40 per night up to a maximum of 15 nights each academic year, subject to room availability.

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

It would help students who commute to participate in social events and to ensure that they are on campus on time for assessments or lectures. We recently had an issue where one of our students was unable to sit their exam as they were stuck on the M6 as it had been closed. It would also generate some income from empty rooms. It is my understanding that most universities have some empty rooms most years, some universities keep a small proportion of rooms empty in case of the need for room changes or emergency temporary accommodation caused by an issue in the student's normal room. I would not suggest that the university deliberately keeps rooms empty for this purpose as it is unlikely to generate as much income as having a full-time use.

It may also be an idea to explore a discount on the hotel if they have any rooms empty. This may be more difficult due to the higher initial cost of hotel accommodation and the fact that students are likely to want to book early to ensure that they have a room, especially when travelling for an exam. This means that the hotel will not know if they have empty rooms that date.

How We Would Implement This Idea

By having an awareness campaign and linking to a request system with accommodation. There would need to be an agreed distance of travel to qualify students for the scheme (in York they stipulate that students must live outside the York ring road). In York rooms are offered on a first come, first served basis. We may want to prioritise attendance at exams over social occasions, this may however prove to be too cumbersome or unworkable.

There would need to be a robust booking system in place with clear criteria for eligibility and any priority decided upon. The university would need to consider what times the rooms are available from and to, how long is required to turn the room around for another student, if these times change depending on the day of the week and the cost of doing this to be able to ensure that there is some profit for the university while making it a viable, cheap option for the students.

The university would need to consider what happens if a student books a room for exam or study purposes but then the exam or lecture is cancelled due to site conditions. The university may consider offering a refund if the student does not use the room. There will need to be careful consideration given to if the student is charged if they stay in the room and then the exam or lecture is cancelled. One idea may be to have a partial refund; this would depend on the amount charged per room and the cost of washing the bedding and cleaning the room after use. There would need to be clear terms and conditions set out detailing cancellation and refund policy and what happens in case of the university cancelling exams or lectures.

The university would need to consider what rooms are available for this purpose. It is likely that students would prefer ensuite rooms rather than sharing bathrooms with people they do not know, however if there is a mix of rooms then the pricing should reflect the level of facilities. It would also be beneficial to site these rooms close to the commuter lounges if possible. I would suggest that this is rolled out to students at first and if successful the university could consider rolling it out to apprentices who only spend a few weeks on campus and possibly staff who commute long distances in future years.

What Success Would Look Like

Commuting students feel more involved in student life and supported for assessment time or in times of bad weather. Students are able to request and book any available rooms. The university makes additional income from rooms that would otherwise be sitting empty. This idea is only intended to make use of any empty rooms, not to hold rooms back from full-time occupancy which would make the university more money.