STUDENT ACCOMMODATION: Recent years have seen major changes in student accommodation, reports Gráinne Faller
Students today are an independent lot. It used to be that when someone went away to college, for the first year at least, they stayed in lodgings, or digs as they were known. Digs were not so much a home away from home, as a Mammy away from Mammy. Meals were cooked for you and there was no bother about bills or cleaning rotas.
It was all quite nice, although of course you were in someone else's house, so third-level staples like late-night parties or staying in bed all day were not really possible. Naturally, parents were delighted with this and, since renting was a daunting prospect in first year, students were okay with it too.
The past five years, however, have seen the demand for digs in many colleges plummet. DCU, for example, no longer even supplies a list of lodgings for its students as it's not deemed necessary. This is not just a Dublin phenomenon either. Eugene McKenna of Waterford IT says, "I think digs have served their purpose, certainly in Waterford. They are no longer profitable really and students seem to like their independence."
The acceptable alternative to digs, for parents as well as students, is on-campus, or college-run accommodation, the supply of which has grown significantly. During the accommodation shortage of a few years ago, many colleges started building and now the new buildings have begun to come on stream.
Of course, not all colleges provide accommodation and some colleges have less than others so digs still have an important role to play. For many, living in a family home allows for a gentler transition. Having meals provided cuts out on extra budgeting, as well as time spent shopping and cooking. It can also be a bit cheaper than other options.
"Digs are actually extremely economical. You get your meals, your utility bills and you only pay for the time you're there as opposed to renting a place when you pay whether you're there or not," says Maura O'Neill, accommodation officer with UCC.
But despite that, where on-campus accommodation is available, digs are on the decline. For students, the on-campus option provides greater freedom and is often on the university campus, or at least very close to it. Rose Merrigan of the Campus Life Services in UL says, "You can roll out of bed at 10 to nine for a nine o'clock lecture, go to the gym or pool when it suits you, and enjoy all the clubs and societies' events taking place in the evening. There's no commuting and no long walk home in the rain." Meeting fellow students is an important part of on-campus life and some colleges have taken to actively encouraging and facilitating the social aspect of things for residents in their on-campus accommodation.
The real advantage of on-campus accommodation is that while students are enjoying themselves, their parents are safe in the knowledge that their offspring aren't shivering in some rat infested garret and know that if there are problems there are definite support structures for them to turn to.
The potential complications involved in renting off-campus accommodation means that accommodation officers generally discourage first-years from choosing that option. Agnes O'Farrell, accommodation officer in NUI Galway says, "On-campus accommodation or digs are by far the best options for first years. I really wouldn't recommend that a first year rent if they haven't been away from home before."
Although the rental situation is better than a couple of years ago - both in the standard of the accommodation being offered and the prices which have stabilised and even fallen from what they were - it doesn't provide the same opportunities to socialise and simply get used to college life within a secure environment.
But no matter what accommodation students decide to go for, the main difference now, as opposed to five years ago, is that they actually have a choice. On-campus accommodation, as well as a huge amount of building in the rented sector, has meant that competition in the rental market has increased and, as a result, standards have gone up and rents have stabilised and in some cases have even fallen.
Although things have improved, the ghost of the accommodation crisis still haunts students, and some seem to forget that the choice is there. Maura O'Neill of UCC recommends that people take their time: "Competition means that landlords now realise that their accommodation must be of a certain standard but there are some cowboys still in the system. There is no need for any student to take shoddy accommodation anymore."
All the same, to maximise choice the colleges recommend that students start looking for accommodation immediately. Demand for on-campus accommodation in particular is intense and although it is rare for a first year to be turned away, it can happen. Preparation is key, but this year is one where accommodation is no longer the worry that it once was and that has to be a good thing.