83 Freshmen Start the Year in Style
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Some of the fifty-one Bison Buddies who are helping |
In September, eighty-three Nichols College freshmen will be living a life of luxury until three new modular residence facilities are ready to handle the record enrollment. The College has secured space in two of the area's highest quality hotels -- the Sturbridge Host Hotel, in Sturbridge, Mass., and the Southbridge Conference Center, in Southbridge, Mass. -- and students will have access to a host of amenities, including: internet access, a fitness center and pool, daily room cleaning, free parking, and a shuttle service to campus.
"It's our goal to accommodate the needs of each student who chooses to reside at Nichols," says Dr. Brian McCoy, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. "We are attempting to keep roommates together or at least in connecting rooms."
Both hotels have provided the College with office space for representatives from the Public Safety and Residence Life offices, with Public Safety staffed 24/7. For students, there will be hospitality and study rooms and evening programs which include first-run movies, game nights, and barbecue dinners with Nichols faculty, staff, and alumni. In addition, each student is being contacted by a Bison Buddy to help make the transition from home as seamless as possible. "The level of support these students are getting is unprecedented," notes Dean McCoy.
It's not uncommon for residence hall construction projects to fall short of the opening date for classes. As a contingency, other Massachusetts colleges have temporarily housed freshmen in hotels, including Boston College, Stonehill College and Emmanuel College. The contractor working on Nichols' three new halls estimates that all work will be completed by Sunday, September 23rd, if not sooner.
The residence halls were purchased from Vanguard Modular Building Systems of Malvern, Penn., a company known for its award-winning educational space solutions. The "North" and "Center" residence halls will be located between Remillard and Budleigh Halls, and "South" residence hall will be located in front of Kuppenheimer Hall. "The residence halls are all male or all female," says Pat Allen, director of residence life & judicial affairs. "In total, the three buildings will provide one triple, two quads, 39 doubles for first-year students and four single rooms for the resident assistants."
In addition, Nichols is in the process of building a new 60-bed apartment-style residence hall for upper classmen on the existing lacrosse field. It is scheduled for occupancy prior to fall 2008 and will feature apartment-style accommodations in two layouts: 2 bedroom/1 bath or 4 bedroom/2 baths. Each suite will have a full kitchen and living area.
While Nichols has plenty of classroom space, the large number of applicants, 97% who wish to live on campus, has pushed Nichols campus housing to its capacity. "Obviously, we are pleased with this increased interest in our career-focused business education," says Vice President of Enrollment & Marketing Thomas Cafaro.
| THE STURBRIDGE HOST HOTEL | |
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