Tech's Campus Housing Luring Some Students
8/17/2006
(Source: Davis, Angelia, The Greenville News, August 10, 2006)
Apartments a way commuters can save money, parent says
Greenville Technical College had Franklin "Paco" Pruitt III when he first saw the new student housing.
"That's what got me," said Pruitt, a Dixie High School student who will become one of the college's first residential students.
Tech expects to open its 438-student apartment building Aug. 25, after becoming the second of the state's technical schools to win State Budget and Control Board approval for student residences.
School administrators see housing as a way to accommodate students who commute long distances to take Tech programs.
It's also "an inexpensive way to get the entire college experience," said Sandra Moore-Godfrey, the apartments' general manager.
Jennifer Enfinger, a resident assistant and nursing major, said one thing that Greenville Tech has lacked that four-year schools have is "a sense of community -- a sense that you belong and have bonds beyond just taking classes together. With housing, we can provide that."
Franklin Pruitt Jr. said he and his wife were swayed by the student housing, but "escalating gas prices" also were a factor. The Pruitts live in Abbeville County, at least an hour's drive from Greenville.
"It wasn't feasible for him to commute every day. Really, he had to be where he could stay on campus, and we wanted him to start off at a technical school for several reasons, pricing being one," Pruitt said.
Pruitt had already enrolled in another technical school before his parents confirmed rumors they'd heard about Greenville Tech's new housing by visiting the campus.
"They were telling us what all they had to offer. We were just overwhelmed. We thought it was the perfect place for him to get started," Melissa Pruitt said.
The Greenville Tech Foundation is having the apartments built on the Barton campus, at a cost of $16.3 million, according to Becky Mann, spokeswoman for Greenville Tech. Campus Advantage will manage the property for the foundation.
Brett Young Gaffney, Greenville Tech's dean of students, said the opportunity to live in campus housing is often the turning point in the growth and maturity of college students.
"We are thrilled that the foundation's generous provision will allow Greenville Tech students to have this opportunity," she said.
The units come in four- and two-bedroom floor plans.
The cost varies by floor plan, Godfrey said, with prices ranging from $410 to $550.
The price includes furniture and utilities water, power, cable and internet, among other things.
Financial aid can be used to help pay for the housing. Students will have to buy their own food.
The apartments are leased by the bed and not by the unit itself, Godfrey said. Thus, students won't have to worry about whether their roommate will be able pay their portion of the utility bills or rent, she said. "They only have to worry about themselves."
Apartment residents will have access to a student activity center, a gym, a billiard room, a covered porch, private study cubes and a computer lab.
Other amenities are planned activities, such as movie nights, roommate matching, flag football, hall competitions, "the kind of stuff that you don't get at an apartment that's not based for students," Enfinger said.
Paco said the apartments look nothing like the dorm rooms he has seen.
In many dorm rooms, he said, "You just have a little closet, a little room, a little desk all smashed in one, versus an apartment, where you have a bathroom, you have your living room, you have your own bathroom -- it's a lot bigger."
Godfrey said construction isn't complete on the first apartment building, and there is talk already about expanding because "the demand has been so great, so positive."
The apartments are at more than 80 percent occupancy, Godfrey said.
Students are coming from various parts of the country, as well as the Greenville area to live there. A majority of them range in age from 16 to 49 years old.
Godfrey foresees student housing changing the dynamics of how Greenville Tech functions. A mascot for the college is in the works and, she said, "I would love to see sports."
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