ODU sheds commuter school tag as on-campus ranks swell

NORFOLK

In the past few years at Old Dominion University, surface parking lots have made way for dormitories. Restaurants and shops have moved nearby. Autumn Saturdays have been dedicated to football.

It's a far cry from what life was like a decade ago at ODU, when the school catered mostly to commuters who lived at home or miles from campus.

The change is being noted nationally. This month, a national research foundation is expected to reclassify ODU as "primarily residential," putting the school among the ranks of such universities as Michigan State, Clemson and James Madison.

"It's an affirmation of what we've been pursuing as a university for the past decade or more," said Jennifer Mullen, ODU's vice president of marketing and communication.

Since 2005, the school has opened six dorms, boosting its on-campus population to 5,000, from 3,000. Another 1,000 live in The District, a private student housing complex that opened last fall, and 500 to 1,000 students live in other rentals nearby, Mullen said.

"It's really added an air of 24-7 to our campus," she said. "When students are looking at a university, there's so much more to college life than inside the classroom."

It's one reason Nicole Perry transferred to ODU a few years ago. Perry, from Northern Virginia, started college at a small, private North Carolina school. After visiting friends who lived in ODU's University Village complex of dorms, restaurants and shops, she decided to transfer.

Since then, the university has opened a recreation center, added student housing and in 2009 fielded its first football team in more than 60 years.

"Just the time I've been here, it's really changed," said Perry, a political science major set to graduate this spring. "Before, I thought I'd move back home right away after graduating. But I'm pretty happy here now. It grew on me."

A school's residential status is one of a number of rankings determined by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which has created a classification system for higher education. The foundation's classifications were last revised in 2005.

Old Dominion University isn't the only Virginia institution to see a shift. George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth universities also are expected to be reclassified as "primarily residential," which means all 15 of the state's four-year public institutions will be considered primarily or highly residential.

This year, ODU's enrollment is about 24,000. A few years ago, plans called for that number to rise to 30,000 by mid-decade, but the university shelved that to concentrate on improving facilities and services, Mullen said.

Students have taken notice.

Senior Katie Cook said upgrades to buildings and campus life - "making everything look better and nicer" - have been a big improvement. Along with new dorms, University Village and renovations to the football field, ODU is expanding its library, renovating classroom buildings and planning to open a performing arts center.

As she sat outside the student center, Cook and fellow senior Kevin Wu said the rec center and emphasis on campus events such as Homecoming have changed the way they see their school.

"After four years, I feel like part of the student body," said Wu, who lives a short walk from campus. "A lot of that is they have the programs here to get you involved with the school."

The football program has been a major part of that change.

"I think that was what we were missing," Cook said. "Every real college needs a football team."

The growth hasn't come without pains. Residents in nearby Lamberts Point and Larchmont have complained of an increasing number of off-campus parties. Several businesses south of University Village have fought the taking of some properties for the Village's expansion.

A rash of high-profile crimes on and around campus has worried students and prompted the city to propose a new police substation in Lamberts Point.

But overall, Old Dominion has seen SAT scores and incoming grade-point averages rise in recent freshman classes, Mullen said. More students from across the state are naming ODU as their first choice, rather than their fallback plan.

"People have ... seen the dynamic changes on our campus," Mullen said. "That has changed opinions within our state considerably."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com