UTM’s Student Housing and Residence Life have doubled the number of students living in residence rooms that would normally only have an occupancy of two students per room.
According to the Student Housing and Residence Life’s Community Development Coordinator Jenna Menzies, UTM has offered double rooms in MaGrath Valley since 2015. This year, Erindale Hall has been fully doubled to accommodate the demand for housing from first-year students.
The second and third floors of Erindale Hall, which were previously being used as faculty office spaces, have been returned into residence units which gives the residence hall an additional one hundred beds for first-year students in need of housing.
Some rooms in Erindale Hall have bunkbeds to accommodate the influx of first-year students.
In an email correspondence with The Medium, Menzies stated that, “students have appreciated the lower cost option that double rooms offer and we have been able to better accommodate the increasing demand for residence spaces.”
When asked if they have received complaints from students about the doubling, Menzies stated that “overall, the feedback we’ve received about the student experience in double rooms is not dissimilar to students living in our other housing options.”
Communications coordinator for the Student Housing and Residence Life Curtis Nelson told The Medium, “As our campus here at UTM continues to grow we expect the demand for housing to do the same, as a result we will continue to explore options and alternatives to provide an excellent housing experience on campus for all students who may need it.”
Menzies expects that the existing double rooms will remain in future years to respond to the demand for spaces in residence.
