Housing on Camden County College Campus
You wake up and the first instinct is to check the time. You are either too late or early, but most of the time you are running late. So what do you do? You skip a shower, breakfast, run a comb through your hair and brush your teeth as quickly as possible. Because you are rushing around so quickly you jump into your car and halfway down the street you realize you have forgotten your important paper due that day. In effort, you turn the car around grab your paper and begin the rush and drive 20, 30, 45 minutes maybe an hour to school.
When you pull up to Camden County College, you find yourself frantically looking for a parking space and by the time you finally get to class, it is almost over. Your last thought before you settle down: It would be so much easier if I lived here.
Housing on community college campuses have been a new popular trend that has been growing across America. For international students, and those who live a little further than most, housing is convenient. Other students like the idea because they feel they are getting the “college experience” by living on their own. But other students may question the tuition and the costs of housing. After all, community college is usually a two-year school offering affordable education.
Susan Coulby, CCC’s media relations director, could not be reached to answer questions on housing on Camden County College’s campus, but the Community College Times was able to give some idea of how the trend started and the progress it is making around the United States. According to the Community College Times, Carisa Chappell writes, “As enrollments at two-year institutions continue to grow, so do the number of students who want to live on campus.” Chappell also says the trend is catching on, “…students who are seeking a broader college experience or who just want to cut their commuting time and transportation costs.”
Daniel Read, a sophomore at Camden County College, majoring in computer engineering, he travels from Cumberland County forty-five minutes everyday to go to school at the Blackwood campus.
“I don’t mind the traveling time because I like Camden County’s college courses better,” hey says, “even if I have to come back for my night classes.” But when Read was asked if he would live at school, he said he would. He said the benefits of living on campus would be less commuting and more time to work on homework. The disadvantages he said would be paying more money for housing costs and to keep his car parked on campus. As of now, Read said he hasn’t heard any talk about housing on Camden County Colleges campus but if he did he said, “I’d definitely look into it.”
Johnny Gil, president of the student government assocation at Camden County College, lives in Clementon, NJ, about five miles from the Blackwood CCC campus. He chose to attend Camden County College three years ago because he said, “it was close to home and it was one of the best community colleges the state offers.”
Gil continued, “I think the idea of housing to other student would be have its ups and downs; there would be a lot of mixed emotions on the issue.” I believe students would like the idea of it, because like I mentioned before, the experience of being on your own attracts students,” he said. “The downfall is that it’s very expensive. One of the main reasons why students attend a community college is because of its affordability.”
Indeed the expense is an issue. The average cost of a semester at CCC is $2,700.00, comparing to a $7,753.00 at a public college. The average cost of housing at a public college can cost up to $10,000 to $15,000 per semester and that’s without including a meal plan.
The Community College Times has stated that community colleges in Washington, Florida, Nebraska and New York are making good progress with plans to construct housing on their campuses. The expenses vary from school to school but students said they find it convenient and still affordable while gaining the college experience.