Universities are spending millions on new commercial property buildings as they compete to attract students – including an overseas student village, campus commercial property hotels and improved bedrooms, says a study.
Commercial property building firm Wates says 79 per cent of them have building plans costing more than £5m planned for next year.
It reports that two-thirds of commercial property Universities have planned to improve services for postgraduate and overseas students.
Ian Vickers of Wates said the increased fees for attending university meant higher demands from students.
The shake-up in higher education funding means that commercial property universities face increasing competition, with the financial practicality of degree courses depending more than ever on their capability to recruit students.
Consumer demand
It means that commercial property Universities are having to pay more attention than ever before to the so-called “student experience”.
And this takes into account the sleeping experience, with the quality of bedrooms recognised as one of the facilities needing to be upgraded by one commercial property university.
The survey suggests that many universities are extending their budgets to build image-boosting new commercial property buildings and to improve the quality of lodgings.
The money-spinning overseas student market – where fees can be more than the £9,000 higher level for domestic students – appears to be a particular target.
Among the plans underlined by Wates were one for a purpose-built “overseas student village” and an “international feeder collage”.
A third of commercial property Universities were making an allowance for much bigger plans, such as putting a commercial property hotel on the campus and partnerships to set up science parks.
The survey, with 52 replies, allow the commercial property institutions to remain unknown, however Wates said it was a representative sample of different types of commercial property university. There are more than 160 commercial property higher education institutions across the UK.
The plans included those of a university considering a joint scheme which would see it sharing university grounds with a commercial property hotel, private housing and commercial property offices.
Another had turned down a plan for a commercial property hotel because it would have been at the university entrance and might not have projected the sought after image.
Because of the anonymised study, Wates says it is not possible to say whether these are commercial property hotels targeted at a university market, such as family visiting students – or whether they are simply commercial projects making use of a historic setting or a campus.
Mr Vickers said that such commercial property building plans were taking place even with the hard-hitting financial circumstances facing higher education.
He said: “Students are being asked to pay more than ever before for a university degree. That means they expect a quality experience that reflects the high price they are paying.”
Vickers further added: “In order to remain competitive, universities are therefore looking to deliver modern facilities that have the ‘wow’ factor while also encouraging more efficient and collaborative use of space.”
