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Kisher Canady of Gastonia says N.C. A&T is helping students by providing off-campus housing. Her daughter Brielle, a junior, got a spot in one of the furnished apartments.
GREENSBORO — With affordable housing in high demand, colleges across the Triad are responding to more requests from students to find their next home away from home.
N.C. A&T has found success in meeting that growing need by securing more off-campus housing around the university’s perimeter in east Greensboro.
Sebastian Village and University Landing apartment complexes are in the foreground beside U.S. 29 with N.C. A&T in the background. The N.C. A&T Real Estate Foundation manages five apartment communities for university students and expects to close on two more apartment properties in September.
Brielle Canady, a junior at A&T, expressed relief as she held tight to the key to her new off-campus, furnished apartment. She was among the students who applied through the university for housing.
“I’m so glad I have a place,” she said Tuesday as she prepared to unpack her car.
Her mom, Kisher Canady of Gastonia, was with her for the move and believes the burden of finding housing in this competitive market shouldn’t be placed on students.
“This is perfect. For A&T to offer this is wonderful,” Kisher Canady said. “We’re thankful she was able to get into an apartment.”
Brielle Canady, a junior at N.C. A&T, said she feels fortunate to have secured off-campus housing easily through the university. The apartment she moved in to on Tuesday is furnished and does not require a year-long lease.
Kim Cameron, executive director of the N.C. A&T Real Estate Foundation, said the foundation is a partner to the university and has been strategic about acquiring additional apartments for students.
Brielle Canady was among the nearly 1,800 students moving into five apartment communities managed by the foundation, which expects to close on two more apartment properties in September to add another 350 beds.
On Wednesday, an N.C. A&T student crosses Dewey Street near Aggie Pointe, one of the off-campus housing sites made available to students.
Cameron said A&T provides housing for almost 50% of its students, which is significantly higher than the national average of 35%. In addition to providing furnished apartments, the foundation also does not require year-long leases.
N.C. A&T sophomores Renee Robinson and Cassius Saul walk along Dewey Street in front of Aggie Pointe near the school’s campus in Greensboro on Wednesday.
“It is a huge convenience,” she said, noting that each apartment also has its own washer and dryer and each bedroom has its own bathroom.
Cameron said there are surveillance cameras at the properties and that the foundation plans to increase exterior lighting for additional security. Providing safe, affordable housing for students, she said, continues to be a priority.
“There is such a need to provide affordable housing for students at all colleges,” not just in Greensboro, she said.
Several other universities in the area say they are prepared to assist any students who request housing, but some schools are in a better position than others.
A spokeswoman for Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem said the private school has enough housing for students who want to live on campus.
“We have a three-year residency requirement and the majority of our students do live on campus,” said Cheryl Walker, executive director of strategic communications at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest renovated two residence halls — Bostwick and Johnson — this year. At this time, the university does not have plans to build new residence halls.
“Wake Forest is committed to housing students who request to live on campus even after fulfilling the residency requirement,” Walker said.
At UNCG, the university guarantees housing to all students who apply by the posted deadlines, according to Timothy Johnson, UNCG’s executive director of Housing & Residence Life.
“In recent years when the freshmen class or number of transfer students admitted is larger than expected, housing is certainly impacted,” Johnson said. “Likewise, if there is pressure on the off-campus housing market, students may also return to living on campus. We are fortunate to have ample housing options for students, so inventory is not an issue.
As UNCG’s students return to campus, the university’s total housing capacity is now around 5,700 beds with a mix of options including traditional residence halls primarily for first-year students and suites and apartments for upperclassmen.
“If students apply after the deadlines, we start a waiting list and place students in temporary housing on campus and then reassign them to regular rooms as soon as they become available,” Johnson said. “In some cases, we have provided premium housing to students who applied for a less expensive option and honored the lower price point.”
UNCG housing rates range from $2,940.50 to $4,553.50 per semester. This fall, new students receive a $1,500 housing discount, Johnson said.
UNCG does not own any off-campus housing. However, between 2011 and 2021, UNCG completed a master housing plan to increase the number of beds on campus and also to diversify housing options.
Over that time, UNCG built seven new buildings, adding almost 1,500 beds. That plan also included major renovations to 11 older buildings (1,300 beds), including a complete rebuilding of the Historic Quad in 2012, Johnson said.
Between 2011 and 2021, UNCG completed a master housing plan to increase the number of beds on campus and also to diversify housing options.
UNCG’s total housing capacity is now around 5,700 beds with a mix of options including traditional residence halls primarily for first-year students and suites and apartments for upperclassmen.
At Winston-Salem State University, the school has experienced an increase in students requesting on-campus housing, especially from male students, according to Shawn D. Odom, director of Housing & Residence Life.
“On-campus housing is very tight right now,” Odom said. “We recently sent out a letter to inform our students that we have very limited housing accommodations due to an increase in demand for on-campus housing accommodations.”
Odom believes that the reason for the increased demand for on-campus housing is due to increased enrollment, as well as the elevated cost of alternative off-campus housing.
“Housing & Residence Life works to assign our students based on the submission dates for their application,” he said. “If a student is experiencing extenuating circumstances, we do our best to work with that student and provide them with available resources.”
The university’s housing accommodations are more economical than some off-campus alternative housing choices, Odom said. The university offers students a variety of housing options, which range from traditional housing to apartment-style housing.
WSSU currently leases one off-campus location for students called “The Flats @ WSSU,” which was added to meet the increased demands for on-campus housing. “The Flats @ WSSU” is managed by Housing & Residence Life and students apply for their housing through the department, Odom said.
As WSSU grows, Odom said they are discussing plans to accommodate the increased demand for on-campus housing. To some degree, enrollment may outpace available on-campus housing, he said.
“However, we are working hard to update our facilities and are looking for opportunities to increase our bed space capacity, so that we can meet the increased demands for on-campus housing,” Odom said.
He said the university is working to establish a strategic plan to outline and detail summer projects and renovations within some residence halls.
Appalachian State University in Boone has its own hurdles to make housing more accessible to students — and to make it affordable for those who must live off campus.
Housing in Boone has long been affected by many different factors, according to a university spokeswoman, but the national trend in rising housing prices and the continued transition of rental properties from full-time to short-term vacation rentals is making it even more challenging.
The presence of a major university, the region’s appeal as a tourism and second home destination, and a lack of developable land due to local topography are among the ongoing factors affecting housing, university spokeswoman Anna Oakes said recently.
An aerial view of Appalachian State’s four newest residence halls, including New River Hall, pictured at far left, center, which has opened for the fall semester. Shown at right, center, are Laurel Creek Hall (opened August 2021); Thunder Hill Hall (opened August 2020); and Raven Rocks Hall (opened August 2020).
ASU will have about 6,150 beds this fall semester, which is 30% of the fall 2021 enrollment of 20,641, Oakes said.
All first-year students are required to live on campus. The university also reserves housing for transfer students, as well as sophomores, and juniors and seniors whose scholarships cover housing or who have other needs or requirements that make them eligible for on-campus housing, she said.
Once those slots are filled, the university fills the remaining beds with other students who have applied for on-campus housing. As of Friday, a small number of beds remain open for the fall semester, and University Housing is continuing to offer them to any students who need housing, Oakes said.
There was an increase in reapplications for on-campus housing from current students for this year, which the university’s housing staff believe is influenced, at least in part, by the easing of COVID-19 restrictions compared with last year, Oakes said.
Despite this increase, no students remain on the waiting list. University Housing was able to offer a bed to about 1,800 students who had reapplied, and the rest, Oakes said, declined on-campus housing due to making other arrangements.
Chancellor Sheri Everts identified housing as a challenge when she joined the university in 2014, Oakes said. ASU committed to replacing 1,800 beds, and ensuring 500 additional beds — and more parking — with the phased replacement of six residence halls recommended for removal due to extensive deferred maintenance needs.
The $191 million project to build four new residence halls was completed this summer with the opening of the 750-bed New River Hall, Oakes said.
For students wanting to live off campus, Appalachian Student Housing Corp., an affiliated corporation of Appalachian State University, owns and operates University Highlands apartments in Boone. Two-bedroom units are $610 per month (per person) and four-bedroom units are $550 per month — which are below market price for the area. Students can apply for housing through University Highlands, which filled up in February for 2022-23.
To further help students, the university’s Office of Off-Campus Student Services provides a searchable database of available rental properties, which includes listings by rental companies and posts by students who are looking to sublet or need a roommate. They also organize a housing fair and provide additional educational resources, including free legal counsel for students, about student housing.
In July, another university in North Carolina found itself dealing with an unplanned housing issue when about 440 UNC-Charlotte students still needed university-run housing ahead of the new semester that begins this month.
“It’s an unexpected number” that still require such housing this time of year, Christy Jackson, the university’s senior director of communications, told The Charlotte Observer at the time. She said more students who applied for housing decided to stick with it than the university had anticipated.
The university has about 6,000 beds and about 8,000 housing applicants, she said. About 1,560 of those applicants later told the university they found other options or dropped out of the housing process, Jackson said. Or some may have applied too late for a June 1 deadline to be guaranteed housing.
It’s common for students to change their minds about housing plans after they apply to live on campus, she added. Still, the lack of housing availability left some students and parents fuming.
Ibrahim Khan, whose daughter, Fizza Ibrahim, is a sophomore, felt helpless in the face of the school’s housing bureaucracy.
“Why are you overbooked? That’s your fault, not my daughter’s,” he told the Observer. “The school should be providing accommodation.”
When asked if all 440 students would have university-run housing either on- or off-campus by the time the semester starts on Monday, Jackson told the Observer, “that is absolutely our goal.”
The Charlotte Observer contributed to this report.
Contact Annette Ayres at 336-3730-7019.
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Kisher Canady of Gastonia says N.C. A&T is helping students by providing off-campus housing. Her daughter Brielle, a junior, got a spot in…
On Wednesday, an N.C. A&T student crosses Dewey Street near Aggie Pointe, one of the off-campus housing sites made available to students.
Between 2011 and 2021, UNCG completed a master housing plan to increase the number of beds on campus and also to diversify housing options.
Brielle Canady, a junior at N.C. A&T, said she feels fortunate to have secured off-campus housing easily through the university. The apartment she moved in to on Tuesday is furnished and does not require a year-long lease.
As UNCG’s students return to campus, the university’s total housing capacity is now around 5,700 beds with a mix of options including traditional residence halls primarily for first-year students and suites and apartments for upperclassmen.
N.C. A&T sophomores Renee Robinson and Cassius Saul walk along Dewey Street in front of Aggie Pointe near the school’s campus in Greensboro on Wednesday.
An aerial view of Appalachian State’s four newest residence halls, including New River Hall, pictured at far left, center, which has opened for the fall semester. Shown at right, center, are Laurel Creek Hall (opened August 2021); Thunder Hill Hall (opened August 2020); and Raven Rocks Hall (opened August 2020).
Sebastian Village and University Landing apartment complexes are in the foreground beside U.S. 29 with N.C. A&T in the background. The N.C. A&T Real Estate Foundation manages five apartment communities for university students and expects to close on two more apartment properties in September.
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