AGS Council Legislation 

Resolution 17-38 Solutions to the Graduate Housing Shortage

Sponsored by:  Connor Strobel, Social Science Representative
  on behalf of:     
 Date of Presentation: November 21, 2017
 

WHEREAS UC Office of the President (UCOP) and UCI have a shared goal to increase the overall size of the graduate student population;

WHEREAS UCOP did not give the UCI administration or graduate students enough advance notice to increase the infrastructure and support services necessary for the successful growth of the graduate student body;
 
WHEREAS there is an on-campus graduate student housing shortage, wherein the supply of affordable housing does not guarantee housing to all graduate students, nor through the entire duration of the program;
 
WHEREAS UCI Housing has been an active partner with AGS in trying to find affordable, quality solutions to ameliorate the housing shortage;
 
WHEREAS AGS representatives have been involved in the building plans for future graduate housing;
 
WHEREAS building housing takes time, serving only to hopefully address housing demands in the distant future;
 
WHEREAS there are limited quantities of quality, affordable housing options that can be made available to graduate students;
 
WHEREAS fully converting Campus Village (CV) to graduate housing has been previously discussed and considered;
 
WHEREAS CV is currently in use to house undergraduate students during the Middle Earth Housing Expansion Project and some of the Los Angeles Rams team during the summer;
 
WHEREAS the full conversion of CV to graduate student housing can be made attractive, but would not help reduce the graduate student housing shortage until Fall 2019;
 
WHEREAS current summertime use of CV by the Los Angeles Rams will likely end by Fall 2019, but can be easily relocated if not;
 
WHEREAS the UCI campus lacks other existing housing that can be converted to graduate student housing that does not simply shift the burden onto undergraduates;
 
WHEREAS the cohort of admitted students in 2017 was larger than targeted by UCI and exceeded the average rate of growth needed to satisfy the five-year benchmark set forth by UCOP;
 
WHEREAS the cohort of admitted students in 2018 could be smaller, averaging out with the cohort in 2017, so as to stay at pace with UCOP and UCI targets;
 
WHEREAS a smaller class size for one year would meaningfully dampen the housing shortage until CV and other housing opportunities are made available;
 
Whereas current graduate students in good standing who are beyond the 18 quarter TA cap can
resolve some of the variance to fill TA positions;
 
WHEREAS admitting fewer students in 2018 would also enable UCI to continue hiring tenure-track faculty, and allowing new faculty time to familiarize themselves with UCI and UCI policy prior to advising students;
 
WHEREAS reducing the graduate student guarantee does not solve the housing shortage, it makes all current and future students and their families suffer as a result;
 
LET IT THEREFORE BE RESOLVED that AGS strongly urges the UCI Provost's Office and Graduate Division to set lower enrollment targets for programs wherein students are eligible for the UCI housing guarantee;
 
LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the cohort of admitted students of 2018 should be reduced to a number that keeps UCI at pace with, but not exceeding, the UCOP five-year benchmark;
 
LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that AGS representatives will individually communicate these views with their respective dean and the department chairs from the schools they represent;
 
LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that AGS representatives will make this position known at all committees pertinent to this issue;
 
LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that AGS strongly encourages UCI Housing to convert CV to full graduate housing for the incoming cohort of students in 2019 and to collaborate with AGS representatives in order to make CV a welcomed and viable housing option for graduate students.
 


 
Vote Required: Majority

FINAL VOTE: Pass 

YEA: 22 

NAY: 3  

ABS: 2

 
December 11, 2017