The profile of the average community college student is changing. While two-year institutions still have significant populations of adult students and people desirous of enhancing their career options, there is a growing number of first-time college students, age 18 to 22, that are seeking a traditional college experience.
Joshua Reda
Community colleges around the country are exploring residential options, developing housing for the first time, or partnering with organizations such as Educational Housing Services (EHS), a New York City nonprofit group that houses students from colleges throughout the city.
“As of now, we have over 300 applications for next fall from students that have applied for housing,” says Nicholas Hamel, vice president and dean of student services at Central Maine Community College (CMCC). “Another 100 more have indicated on their admissions application that they may have interest. This is a growing interest, it seems, every year.”
Established housing
CMCC opened in 1964. Its first dormitory opened in 1968, which housed 60 students. In 1974, CMCC built two small apartment buildings that added an additional 42 beds to campus. With housing requests growing in the late 1990s/early 2000s, double rooms became triples, and half the single rooms became doubles to the point where it wasn’t sustainable. That led to the 2007 opening of Rancourt Hall, which added 152 beds. The college also leases a motel, which is called Mustang Hall, with 126 beds.
Presently, about 10% of CMCC’s student population reside in residential housing. The college has slightly over 3,000 degree-seeking students and a total of 4,000 students. The average age of the students has decreased to 23. Hamel notes that the residential students are a mix of Maine locals, people from other states in New England, and international students. The dormitories are currently at capacity.
