UPB Students at Best Western Again
With another year of record enrollments projected, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will be forced to once again house some of its students for the fall term at the Best Western Bradford Inn.
“Accommodating the needs of all students seeking housing is a problem we’re dealing with for a second year in a row,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president. “We’re happy that students are coming to our campus in record numbers, of course, but eventually we will need to develop a permanent solution to the housing shortage on our campus.”
Despite the opening of a new 144-bed residence hall this fall, demand for housing continues to outstrip the number of beds available on campus, said Rhett Kennedy, associate dean of student affairs and director of residential life and housing. The new residence hall brings the number of beds on campus to 841.
This is the second year Pitt-Bradford has worked with Best Western co-managers Jerry and Deborah Stover to create a home away from campus for students.
About 20 students will live in the hotel during the fall semester, Kennedy said, adding that because some students will graduate in December, all students will be accommodated on campus during the spring semester.
To turn one wing of the hotel into a residence hall, the Best Western has removed all of its furniture except for a microwave and refrigerator from the rooms that will be used. Pitt-Bradford has replaced the furniture with its own and set up Internet connections for the students. The university will employ a security guard for the rooms 24 hours a day as well as a residence life coordinator and two resident advisors.
Students can commute the two miles from the downtown hotel to campus on a shuttle that will make a loop from campus to the hotel between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. every day. At 6 p.m. each day, students can take the shuttle to Wal-Mart and return at 8 p.m. Pitt-Bradford will employ six drivers to staff the shuttle bus.
And if students don’t want to try to make the shuttle in time for breakfast on campus, they can eat at the hotel’s continental breakfast as part of their meal plan.
Jerry Stover said that despite a few initial misgivings, he was pleased with how well the arrangement worked last fall.
“We had absolutely not one bit of problem the whole time,” he said. “It was a very, very well-organized situation. The longer it went on the better it got. We expect the same this year. A lot of the students wanted to stay.”
“It’s a great facility and the people we have to work with are wonderful,” Kennedy said. “They have commented that our students were fantastic last year and that’s why we were able to continue this relationship.”
“Accommodating the needs of all students seeking housing is a problem we’re dealing with for a second year in a row,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president. “We’re happy that students are coming to our campus in record numbers, of course, but eventually we will need to develop a permanent solution to the housing shortage on our campus.”
Despite the opening of a new 144-bed residence hall this fall, demand for housing continues to outstrip the number of beds available on campus, said Rhett Kennedy, associate dean of student affairs and director of residential life and housing. The new residence hall brings the number of beds on campus to 841.
This is the second year Pitt-Bradford has worked with Best Western co-managers Jerry and Deborah Stover to create a home away from campus for students.
About 20 students will live in the hotel during the fall semester, Kennedy said, adding that because some students will graduate in December, all students will be accommodated on campus during the spring semester.
To turn one wing of the hotel into a residence hall, the Best Western has removed all of its furniture except for a microwave and refrigerator from the rooms that will be used. Pitt-Bradford has replaced the furniture with its own and set up Internet connections for the students. The university will employ a security guard for the rooms 24 hours a day as well as a residence life coordinator and two resident advisors.
Students can commute the two miles from the downtown hotel to campus on a shuttle that will make a loop from campus to the hotel between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. every day. At 6 p.m. each day, students can take the shuttle to Wal-Mart and return at 8 p.m. Pitt-Bradford will employ six drivers to staff the shuttle bus.
And if students don’t want to try to make the shuttle in time for breakfast on campus, they can eat at the hotel’s continental breakfast as part of their meal plan.
Jerry Stover said that despite a few initial misgivings, he was pleased with how well the arrangement worked last fall.
“We had absolutely not one bit of problem the whole time,” he said. “It was a very, very well-organized situation. The longer it went on the better it got. We expect the same this year. A lot of the students wanted to stay.”
“It’s a great facility and the people we have to work with are wonderful,” Kennedy said. “They have commented that our students were fantastic last year and that’s why we were able to continue this relationship.”
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