FAMU announces plan to assist students’ on-campus housing
Photos by St. Clair Murraine
By Andrew J. Skerritt
FAMU Office of Communications
First-time-in-college and transfer students who could not secure on-campus housing will get priority based on a plan that FAMU has announced.
Students under 18 and those with disabilities or who require ADA assistance will get priority.
The plan is designed to assist the 506 students who are attending college for the first time and are on the waitlist to secure some of the 2,450 on-campus beds. Those students are eligible to receive $4,000 ($2,000 per semester) for the school year for off-campus rent assistance and the on-campus Gold 400 meal plan valued at $5,716 for the 2022-2023 school year.
The first 200 AA transfer students and transfers with fewer than 60 hours who are currently on the waitlist also are eligible for this package.
The first 400 upperclassmen assigned on-campus housing who indicate their desire to move off campus by 5 p.m. Friday will receive this package for the 2022-2023 school year as well. The university hopes that enough upperclassmen will accept the offer and thus create vacancies for FTIC students who can move on campus.
The relief will serve as a $1,079 average monthly room and board subsidy to ease the financial burden of the additional cost of off-campus housing for the nine-month 2022-2023 school year.
“FAMU maintained these funds to address issues such as this. Our plan provides some relief for our students and their families,” said President Larry Robinson. “This action is consistent with what we have been doing to promote student success. We have heard the concerns of parents and students, and we developed this plan to assist them.”
The university experienced a spike in demand for on-campus housing due to a larger freshman class as well as a jump in the number of transfer students. At the same time, inflation has made off-campus housing options less attractive. University residence halls – FAMU Towers, Polkinghorne Villages, Sampson & Young, Palmetto and Phase III – were 90.5 percent filled this spring semester.
On campus lodging costs range from $2,828 per semester for Palmetto apartments to $3,770 per semester plus the cost of the meal plan for students living in the newer FAMU Towers.
Vice President for Student Affairs William E. Hudson Jr., said the University is currently updating its master plan to address future student on-campus housing needs.
“We are also evaluating options with community partners as we review the ratio of students on and off campus,” Hudson said. “As we implement the FAMU strategic plan 2022 -2027, “Boldly Striking,” our focus on student success includes increasing on-campus residency to support the needs of both returning and new students.”
