SOUTH KINGSTOWN - More than 1,300 students who signed up to live at the University of Rhode Island this fall are now scrambling to find transportation or off-campus housing after the university announced last week that dormitories would not be available to most in-state students.
Lourdes Monteiro, a rising sophomore from North Providence, said she needs “a campus environment to be successful,” adding that she missed being able to meet with her adviser and receive tutoring last semester, when URI moved to remote learning.
“It seems like URI cares more about the money they get from out-of-state students,” she said. “It’s double the cost of in-state tuition. You think URI would prioritize the well-being of the students who live here.”
“These are unbelievably hard decisions that we are making,” said Kathy Collins, URI’s vice-president of students affairs, on Wednesday. “Schools across the country are working to decrease student housing density because it would be irresponsible to house students at full capacity.”
URI, after consulting with state health officials, decided to reduce on-campus housing by 30 percent. URI will house 4,400 students this fall compared to 6,200.
Among those who get a first shot at dorm rooms are first-year students, Collins said, because research has shown that freshmen who live on campus are much more likely to graduate.
“In addition, we want our first-years to know that they are part of the URI family,” she said. “Many of them have never been to our campus because our tours and welcome days were canceled this spring.”
Transfer students and out-of-state students were also given priority for on-campus housing. Many of the transfer students come from out of state.
Of the 2,745 returning students who signed up for residential housing, 1,335 were Rhode Island residents, Collins said.
URI, however, is offering grants totaling $3,000 over two years for students in this type of situation, she said. That money can be used for transportation, housing and other critical needs.
In addition, the university is providing free parking and a campus meal plan. Other services, including health, counseling and the writing center, will be available online.
Collins pointed out that URI will not be back to normal this fall. Students will take half of their classes online.
“Because we’re in the middle of a health crisis, this fall is going to be very different,” she said. “Students may only need to be here twice a week.”
Nakena Kilgore, a rising junior from Providence, is lucky to be a residential adviser this year so she has a dorm room. But she said her friends are “freaking out.”
She said URI’s decision is compounded by a decision Wednesday by the Narragansett Town Council to limit student rentals to three unrelated adults per house.
“This is a big dig at the minority community at URI,” she said, referring to the university’s announcement. “A lot of the URI community is from in-state and the fact that they are taking this away from us is unfair.”
Like many land grant universities, URI has increasingly relied on out-of-state students to not only fill their coffers but make up for the declining enrollment of high school graduates, a crisis particularly acute in New England.
For the upcoming school year, out-of-state tuition costs $32,578 and in-state costs $15,004.
Meanwhile, public universities have been getting less aid from state governments in recent years, forcing higher education to rely more heavily on tuition.
Fifty-four percent of URI’s students are from Rhode Island, Collins said. She said URI depends on a healthy mix of students from in state and out of state to thrive, adding that the university is now a global institution.
Alexander Monteiro, a rising junior from Providence, doesn’t know how he is going to juggle a 90-minute commute, a work study job and morning classes.
“The housing decision has ruined everything for me,” he said. “I don’t have a car. I was looking forward to going back. They didn’t give us enough warning. I have struggled with online learning. It’s so hard for me to concentrate. I need to be in class.”
Monteiro also thinks that out-of-state students are being privileged at the expense of Rhode Island students, many of whom receive additional support through a program called Talent Development aimed at students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The university said it’s developing an appeals process for students who can make a good case that it would be very difficult to live off campus.
Sixty students have successfully appealed their case so far.
URI is also looking at enhancing its on-campus shuttle.
“We are exploring off-campus housing,” Collins said. “When we made the announcement, over 600 beds were available from private landlords. We’re in very close contact with them.”