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Kwantlen Polytechnic University wants to bring student housing to their campuses over the next 30 years.

 

Potential student housing is part of the KPU2050 campus master plan created by the campus master plan team and DIALOG Design. The plan outlines a shared vision for the development of KPU’s campuses, creating an institution that reflects the following goals: a vibrant campus life, being connected, keeping green and being resilient.

 

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The plan includes access to on-campus student housing, more green space, improved parking, better food options, the wellness of students and staff, and fostering a sense of community.

 

“Once complete, the campus master plan will provide a comprehensive and flexible framework to guide how campus buildings, open spaces, and mobility networks will grow over the next 30 years,” Brent Elliot, the director of campus master planning, said in an email.

 

According to a 2017 survey by KPU’s institutional analysis and planning department, 68 per cent of KPU student housing needs are met, with the majority of those students being domestic. Results also showed 49 per cent of students are interested in student housing. The majority of these students are international.

 

KPU currently has no on-campus housing. The Kwantlen Student Association has partnered with Off-Campus Housing 101 to provide a website for students to find homes.

 

Arshdeep Singh, an international student from Punjab who graduated earlier this year, rented a basement suite with four other students in Surrey during his time at KPU. 

 

“If (KPU student housing) is cheaper, I would definitely go for it,” Singh said in an interview. “(The Surrey campus) has a market nearby with Punjabi food and there is a Sikh temple, so things would have been very interesting and easier for me if I would have lived there.”

 

The only post-secondary institutions in B.C with student housing are the University of British Columbia, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, Simon Fraser University, Capilano University, the University of Victoria, the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the University of the Fraser Valley.

 

“From the conversations we have had with students throughout the process, we understand that if housing is developed, it would likely look more like apartments than a dormitory and dining hall, as many students have expressed an interest in private kitchens, bathrooms and laundry facilities,” Elliot said in an email.

 

The campus master plan team engages with KPU students, staff, faculty, administrators and First Nations to ensure their voices are heard and applied to the plan.

 

“To this date, we have had more than 530 visitors to our mobile booths, more than 360 interactions at our ideas fair, more than 200 participants in stakeholder workshops, more than 380 online survey results and the incoming feedback from the student satisfaction survey,” Elliot said in an email.

 

Last month, KPU sent an annual satisfaction survey to students describing the KPU2050 masterplan. This gave students an opportunity to share their thoughts on housing.

 

“I think that taking this survey was helpful to see if students are interested in the plan because if you find that students aren’t interested, then you don’t really want to waste the resource,” KPU business student Natasha Grewal said in an Interview.  

 

KPU hosts an average of 20,000 students annually. Of those, 29 per cent are international students from India, China and Saudi Arabia. The institution offers 120 programs on its five campuses in Surrey, Richmond and Langley.

 

For more information about the KPU2050 Campus Master plan visit kpu.ca/kpu2050.