Modernizing College Housing for Gen Z

New modern ideas of students’ accommodation

It’s no secret that college housing now looks absolutely not the same as it was some time ago. Bigger and more comfortable campuses mean better living conditions. They are created to meet the requirements of a diverse society we have nowadays. As a matter of fact, these necessities include laptops, universal Wi-Fi that can be adopted. What is more, the way we live, work, communicate, and play has been dramatically transformed.

Generation Z, or as it is abbreviated to Gen Z, comes to college campuses, bringing unique expectations and quite new experiences, since those who belong to this generation have been influenced by many mobile devices and modern technology from the very childhood. Social media have also influenced this generation significantly. Gen Z students prefer discussions about green design and they are better aware about environmental problems. As a result, these students have extremely different lifestyle preferences in comparison to any generation before.

Colleges and universities should consider creating residential facilities that would meet students’ needs and will be able to recruit and retain these high caliber students. Here you will find the trends that are influencing college housing today and will continue to do it in the future.

• Increase of privacy

Privacy is believed to be one of the most desired things after the amenities. Many freshmen have never shared a bedroom before coming to college campuses. Nobody can imagine a non-socializing campus resident. There is a slight possibility that a shared room will disappear, since institutions of education are trying to include various privacy levels that concern the issues of how many students can live in one room and how many of them can share a bathroom.

• A diverse range of unit types that appeal to all students with unique living preferences

Appropriate student residence facilities can satisfy lots of various living styles. If a dorm offers a range of different accommodation, from a single to four-person bedroom, all types of students can benefit from this strategy. Thus, students will be able to take the advantage of an opportunity to live alone or with other students.

• Development of dorm common spaces

Colleges and universities are looking for possibilities to make common spaces more attractive. They are doing that because they want to encourage social engagement, improve communication, help students in building healthy relationships and making new useful connections, and foster academic success. Students are welcome to visit such flexible and pleasant common areas.

• Going green

This doesn’t regard only LEED. Gen Z appeared in the era of constant and intensive discussions concerning the importance of being responsible for the environment protection. Outdoor classrooms, LED lighting, showerheads with low flow and many other newest inventions can contribute to influencing the environmental awareness of students.