Housing coordinator breaking new ground
Larry Loften
is in uncharted waters, not in his career, rather in his new appointment as coordinator of off-campus student housing at the University of Colorado Denver’s downtown Denver campus. Housing is a key component in transitioning the downtown Denver campus from a commuter campus to a residential campus and Loften, who started Feb. 6, is jumping in feet first.
“I’m developing a relationship between the Campus Village at Auraria project and the campus,” Loften explains. “I’m working with student life and academics to make that successful.” Ultimately, as Campus Village gets up and running, Loften will outreach to additional student housing projects in the area.
Campus Village, the CU Real Estate Foundation project slightly west of the Auraria Campus, is already taking applications for the fall 2006 school year. With first-time freshmen and international housing requirements, Loften is confident the first phase, about 685 beds, will fill. “Never having anything like this near campus before, we weren’t sure what to anticipate,” he says. “So far we’re very pleased.”
In addition, although UCD students could get priority status, students, faculty and staff from all three institutions are welcome to make their home on campus. The proposed second phase could bring an additional 1,000 beds.
Backed by research, Loften sees the benefit of student housing as four-fold: -
Students living in student housing the first year have higher graduation rates than those living off campus.
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Students voice a higher level of satisfaction with their college experience.
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Students are more involved in clubs and activities on campus.
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More frequent interaction with faculty, staff and peers.
“The reality is, the closer you are to class the more likely you are to go,” he said. “Plus the sense of community and support is important.” Campus Village student housing also will bolster community with limited food service on site, live-in support staff and year-round and academic leases in the apartment-style living environment.
“This is an integral part in connecting the student housing component to the 24-hour-plus graduate experience,” he says.
Although Loften is coordinator of student housing, getting the word out to students near and far is the task of each individual at the university. “I encourage anyone interested in reaching out to students or interested in becoming involved in the student housing project to contact me,” he says.