The university hopes that a new level of residential comfort will foster student retention

ASHLAND — With private rooms, secluded baths and some stunning views of the Cascade foothills, the first dorms built in nearly 40 years at Southern Oregon University aren’t anybody’s idea of austere.

Indeed, the Madrone Apartments in the hills above the school are as comfortable and elegant as $7.2 million could make them, the better to attract — and retain — successful students, officials say.

"Statistics show that students who stay on campus actually get to graduation," said Ruth Stoddard, SOU’s director of housing and residential life.

To that end, the first of 80 students are scheduled to move today into the glass-and-brick complex two-thirds completed at the corner of Indiana and Madrone streets.

Another 16 will move in when the complex is finished, probably in two to three weeks.

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Upperclassmen only — no freshmen — will settle into the new units, which feature four private bedrooms, two shared baths and a central kitchen and living room.

Painted in muted shades of caramel, brown and teal, the new "quad units" are more like upscale apartments than traditional shoe-box-style dormitories.

They’re designed so that four roommates can comfortably share amenities such as a stove, refrigerator and double sink, as well as a bathroom with a separate, secluded toilet area.

"One can be in the bathroom and another can be brushing their teeth," Stoddard said. "It’s set up so four roommates can all be using plumbing at once."

Financed with 30-year construction bonds approved last year by the state Board of Higher Education, the 39,000-square-foot center will be paid for through student rental fees.

Cost for the new units includes meals, if desired. Students who choose a "light" meal plan will pay $7,887 for the year; those who choose a full plan will pay $8,637.

That total includes telephone, cable television and Internet service, Stoddard noted.

"It’s the highest price of what we offer, but we’re going in brand new," she said. "It is basically $1 more a day than Susanne Homes, which is $1 a day more than Cascade or Greensprings."

Stoddard is referring, of course, to the other SOU dormitories, which typically house about 1,000 of the school’s approximately 5,000 students. This year, 947 students are registered to live in the residence halls; 321 are upperclassmen and 45 are student staff members living on campus.

Most of the dorms date to the late 1940s and mid-1960s. Susanne Homes, the oldest, was built in 1946 for female students and remodeled in 1951.

Before the Madrone complex, the most recently constructed dorm was the Greensprings Complex designed and built in 1966, Stoddard said.

So far, the newest dorm has been popular, despite the variability of construction schedules.

"Once we finish, I have no doubt we’ll have waiting lists," Stoddard said.

The complex was designed by the local architecture firm OgdenKistler and built by Adroit Construction.

The new units are part of SOU’s housing master plan, which calls for renovation of most existing dorms as well.

Creating attractive, affordable housing, especially in Ashland’s accelerated market, will be a way to ensure that students come — and stay, Stoddard said.

Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail jaleccia@mailtribune.com.

Officials predict enrollment decline

"We could be down from last year as much as 3 percent," said SOU Provost Earl Potter.

SOU’s confirmed enrollment last fall was 5,161, down about 6 percent from the previous year. Oregon University System officials don’t release final enrollment counts until the fourth week of the fall term.

This year’s probable decline can be attributed to lower-than-expected enrollment from students in the Portland area, Potter said. Applications from students in Multnomah County, for instance, fell about 18 percent, from 210 to 173, he said.

"People are staying closer to home," said Potter.

In addition, budget cuts prompted SOU to scale back marketing efforts in the Portland area and Portland State University is gaining cachet as a center for innovative "service learning" that pairs formal education with community engagement.

At the same time, SOU saw gains in applications from out-of-state, graduate and transfer students, Potter said.

About 800 non-Oregon students, mostly from Washington, California, Hawaii and Alaska, planned to come to SOU this fall.

"It’s the highest number of out-of-state students we’ve had," Potter said. "It represents a strengthening of the university’s reputation."

Still, overall enrollment could dip below 5,000 students, a significant psychological hurdle for the university, Potter conceded.

He emphasized that numbers released now are only preliminary.

"The message is there’s a lot moving forward and some areas we need to shore up," he said.