With enrollment surging above pre-pandemic levels, Kenai Peninsula College is reopening its dorm next semester. College staff say they’re excited to welcome students back to the building.
On Friday afternoon, the dorm on the college campus in Soldotna is quiet, with few cars in the parking lot. But Hunter Moos is ready for that to change.
Moos is the college’s residence hall coordinator. He’ll help manage the dorm’s day-to-day operations once students return. Right now, he’s the only one living in the building designed for almost 100 students.
“This building is divided into two wings, a short wing and a long wing,” he says, walking through the main lobby and up to the second floor. “We’ll go down the long wing because that’s where the suite that’s open for us to look at is.”
It closed in 2020 with just 15 residents, due to declining enrollment and budget cuts. Students moved out about four months ahead of schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s changed since then, but Moos says the dorms haven’t much. Four-person suites branch off from the main corridors. Alcoves with picture windows and beanbag chairs break up the long hallways. There’s a free laundry room, a gym and study areas with tables and whiteboards.
The building can house up to 96 students. But when spring classes start Jan. 12, Moos says they’ll cap the number of residents at around 25 to start, then reevaluate based on demand. Seventeen of them will receive $1,000 housing scholarships that will cover about a quarter of the cost next semester – $4,305.
“Every unit in this building is a four-bedroom, two-bathroom unit,” he said. “ … There are four bedrooms in each apartment. And each of those bedrooms are private, so every student will have a private bedroom, and then they'll share a bathroom with one of their roommates.”
The suites also have a common area with a full kitchen and living room space. Each room has a bed and a desk.
Kenai Peninsula College has more than returned to pre-pandemic enrollment. That’s according to data from the University of Alaska system, of which the college is a part. In 2020, about 1,700 students were enrolled for the fall semester. This year, more than 2,500 full- and part-time students are enrolled.
Moos says the proximity to campus and the opportunity to build community with other students are the biggest perks of living on campus. The college's academic and administrative buildings' are a short walk away; the paved path wends under an arch with red panels that hang vertically overhead, like strips of smoked salmon. Moos says it’s an opportunity to get a traditional big school experience at a small college.
For now, Moos says doesn’t mind being the building’s only full-time resident. But he says he’s also excited for things to pick up next semester.
“This is the quietest it'll be for a long time, and … I'm okay with it getting a little noisier in the future, because that'll mean there's people here and people getting to experience life on campus at KPC,” he said.
Kenai Peninsula College is still accepting housing applications for next semester. Students who’ve already applied won’t receive room assignments until at least November. That’s when the college will be able to verify a student’s housing eligibility using their spring course load.
If more students apply for housing than the college can accommodate, they will be put on a waiting list. More information about living on campus, and the housing application, is available on the college’s website.
