Campus dorms not so ‘dungeon-like’ as Princeton deems.
This summer the Princeton Review released its most recent report on campuses throughout the country and rated the University of Oregon number one in the category “Dorms Like Dungeons.” The “Dorms Like Dungeons” rating is neither accurate nor deserved.
The Princeton Review survey instrument contains 73 questions, two of which have to do with residence halls. (Those two questions have to do with “dorm comfort” and “residence hall Internet connection.”) No survey with two questions about residence halls is adequate to determine whether or not any campus has the best or worst residence halls in the country.
We have not been unable to
ascertain how many surveys they
received from University students or even if any residence hall students completed their survey.
In addition, they apparently only survey students every three years, so the data this year’s ratings were based on what was collected in 2001. They claim that student ratings don’t change very much from year to year.
Most important, however, is that these results are inconsistent with information University students report when we survey them about their residence hall experience. Students tell us that they particularly appreciate the quality, variety and long hours of our food service, how quickly maintenance requests are fulfilled and the friendliness of the custodial staff.
The one thing they would change is our older facilities. They would like larger rooms and rooms that are better at accommodating their modern needs and keeping out unwanted noise. These findings are not surprising and the University is addressing them in two ways:
1. We are building a Living Learning Center, the first step in updating all of our residence halls. The Living
Learning Center will have rooms that are 50 percent larger than the rooms in most of our residence halls. The rooms will also have better sound-proofing than our current residence hall rooms. After completion of the Living Learning Center we will move on to renovate or replace existing residence halls.
2. We have created several prototype rooms to get feedback from
residents about modifications we can make in existing residence halls to maximize the effective cubic footage in each room. Feedback on these prototype rooms has been positive.
The University clearly has work to do with regard to updating our residence hall facilities. However, existing facilities have been well-maintained and the public areas are cleaned regularly and diligently.

Mike Eyster is assistant vice president for student affairs and director
of University housing.