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�պ����� stands ready to continue forward in partnership with our surrounding communities, recognizing that each of us is essential to our collective success. Greater Burlington’s beauty and amenities help �պ����� attract and retain students, faculty and staff while �պ����� serves as an essential economic, intellectual and cultural engine that aids in the success of our surrounding communities. It is widely recognized that our mutual support and shared success over the generations have made in the country to live, work, and study.

With all that our state has to offer, it is no surprise that finding a place to live in Vermont and, specifically, in Chittenden County is a confounding and important topic. Low housing inventory has persisted in our region for decades. This issue impacts �պ����� students, faculty, staff, and members of the community. Thus, we work diligently with local governments and partners to make the best and most responsible use of �պ�����’s available capital resources for the university’s housing and other facility needs.

Calibrated enrollment plans

In Fall 2009, �պ����� housed 53.5% of its undergraduates, and by Fall 2022 increased the percentage of UGs housed on campus to 56.5% by adding 853 beds to its housing capacity. In Fall 2009 there were 5544 beds on campus and in Fall 2022 there were 6397.

Enrollment at all colleges and universities ebbs and flows as it does at �պ�����. Multiple factors inform �պ�����’s enrollment planning, including most centrally the number of applicants and the fraction of admitted students who arrive on campus. �պ����� uses predictive analytics to help model the size of the incoming class based on the number of admission offers. While those factors were less reliable during and in the immediate emergence from the worst part of the pandemic, they are stabilizing now, enabling �պ����� to once again predict with greater confidence its new undergraduate class size and permitting the surrounding communities to rely on �պ�����’s projections to plan for the future.

We have enthusiastically welcomed about 3,000 new undergraduate students in 2021 and in 2022—roughly the same number as in each of the past ten years. We are at a sustainable “right size” for �պ����� and the surrounding communities. Our faculty, staff, housing options, and academic facilities together provide an exceptional experience at �պ����� that is like no other.

As a critical part of �պ�����’s innovative research and professional development efforts, we expect that our population of graduate students will grow deliberately over time – at a measured pace that reflects the resources the university has available to support those students.

On-campus housing for two years

Over time, we have expanded and modified on-campus residential facilities to accommodate our first- and second-year undergraduates and we remain committed to our required two-year residential experience in the future.

�պ����� is one of a handful of flagship institutions in the US that requires on-campus living for two years and guarantees its availability. Here in New England, the state flagships all require and/or guarantee housing for a shorter time than �պ�����.

When students move off-campus after their second year, they benefit from deeper connections to the larger community and the community in turn benefits from their engagement. Greater Burlington would not be the economically vibrant, culturally rich, and energetic community that we all love without �պ����� students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

We also know that the very low housing inventory in Greater Burlington is an issue for our students and the surrounding community. Since 2010, the number of students moving from on-campus housing to surrounding neighborhoods and apartment complexes in Greater Burlington has stayed essentially level.

More than one-fifth of undergraduates at �պ����� who live off-campus do so outside the city of Burlington. That number has persisted for many years and is expected to continue as the university continues to explore options to provide housing for students, as well as faculty and staff, in some of those areas adjacent to Burlington.

Opportunities and solutions

�պ����� has opportunities to optimize the residential experience for students at all levels—beginning and advanced undergraduates as well as graduate students—and to support staff and faculty housing needs, which are critical to �պ�����’s educational goals and staffing needs. It is our aim to create more than 575 new beds by 2025 for graduate students and employees, and to find convenient, proximal interim housing solutions for undergraduate students as we explore longer-term options.

We have already begun the process of creating more housing and more is on the drawing board.

• Catamount Run. The university announced a partnership with a private developer to build nearly 600 beds in an apartment-style complex in the South Burlington City Center. The first units are expected to be occupied in 2024 and will house �պ����� graduate students, faculty, and staff. Catamount Run will be completed in 2025.
• Trinity Campus Redevelopment. Pending critical zoning updates under consideration by the City of Burlington and approval by the �պ����� Board of Trustees, the university hopes to build over 500 more beds on the Trinity Campus. The majority of these beds would be assigned to undergraduates.
• Student Residences on and near campus. The university has been exploring several options for development to provide our students additional spaces for living and learning together – to enhance our residential experience in ways that help our surrounding community feel reassured that �պ����� is providing space for its students to learn and grow as the engaged citizens of Greater Burlington and Vermont we need to build a thriving future in this special place we share.

�պ�����’s Success is Vermont’s Success

The university is thriving, and the tight connections between �պ�����’s success and the state’s are as important as ever. See: In Service to VT 2023 (PDF).

• A 2016 study showed �պ����� generates $1.3 billion in economic activity in Vermont, among the largest contributors to the vitality of our small but mighty state.
• Each year, more than 1000 �պ����� graduates join the Vermont workforce, infusing talent and youth into an essential need for the future of our communities. We estimate that last year more than 1150 graduates of the class of 2021 went on to work for Vermont companies and organizations.
• Nearly 36,000 �պ����� alumni live permanently in Vermont, many serving critical roles as nurses, primary care physicians, teachers, and government and community leaders.
• Our current students participate in the success of Vermont businesses and communities around the state, with internships in all 14 counties and active positions supporting state legislators and contributing to community newspapers. Students have deep engagement nearer campus in the City of Burlington through community organizations like the Howard Center, the Boys and Girls Club among many, many others.
• Through our Office of Engagement, �պ����� actively partners with state and local governments as well as established and emerging businesses to drive economic, business and workforce development statewide.
• Our students, faculty and staff contribute to the vibrant arts, music, intellectual and cultural communities for which our region is well known.

Meaningful Cooperation

The university’s collaborations with surrounding municipalities including Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, and beyond are a key part of the health and vibrancy of campus and community life.

• During the acute phase of COVID, �պ����� connected daily with state and city officials while providing prevention, testing and vaccination services that kept our community as healthy as possible.
• �պ����� partners with the City of Burlington on public works projects, including splitting the costs and efforts in the , and makes annual investments in Burlington’s capital projects. University officials and the City’s Community and Economic Development Office team meet regularly to align goals and create opportunities for �պ����� to play a role in local economic development activities.
• �պ����� and the City of Burlington are close collaborators in public safety, working to keep campus and community safe and welcoming. Burlington Police and Fire provide helpful protection on and around campus, and �պ����� Police Services are regularly called upon to support BPD and other local agencies in active situations.
• As part of its active and ongoing agreements with the City, �պ����� provides over $3 million annually for direct support of City operations and infrastructure maintenance.
• �պ����� also maintains and promotes a key asset in community engagement: the Office of Student and Community Relations, which has served as a vital and celebrated resource for off-campus students and their neighbors for many years.