2025 ACUHO-I Conference
& Expo
At the 2025 ACUHO-I Conference in Columbus, Ohio, The Beck Team conducted a live survey at our Expo booth to better understand the most pressing challenges facing student housing professionals today. We asked attendees a single, focused question: “What are the top challenges you see in student housing today?” The responses revealed consistent themes across institutions—ranging from student well-being and affordability to aging infrastructure and capacity constraints. This white paper summarizes those insights and offers a snapshot of the evolving priorities shaping the future of campus housing.
July 2025
Ken Higa, AIA, IIDA, NOMA Principal / Higher Education Practice Leader KenHiga@beckgroup.com
Introduction
At the 2025 ACUHO-I Conference in Columbus, Ohio, The Beck Team engaged conference attendees with a focused survey centered on a pressing question: “What are the top challenges you see in student housing today?”
The goal was to gather candid input from professionals in higher education housing—those working directly with students, facilities, and strategic planning every day. The responses we received reveal a complex and evolving landscape for campus housing. Below, we share a summary of the findings, highlighting the most frequently mentioned challenges and offering insights into how they are shaping the future of student housing.
Key Findings
1. Student Well-Being (30%)
While “affordability” was a frequent concern, responses related to student well-being—including mental health and related issues— accounted for the largest share overall, totaling of the total responses when grouped together.
The most common theme across responses centered on student well-being, indicating a clear shift toward a more holistic understanding of what it means to support students where they live.
Attendees described well-being as encompassing mental, emotional, social, and physical health—elements critical to student success. John Terry, Residential Life Coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, shared that students often feel like they haven’t made any friends and lack a sense of connection. This, he noted, contributes to one of his top challenges: student retention.
“The first six weeks of school are instrumental to making sure someone wants to stay,” he said. “After that time, it’s more effort with less impact.”
Common concerns included:
• Increasing mental health needs
• Loneliness and isolation
• Feelings of safety and security, especially among international students
• The need to teach life skills and resilience
• First-generation student support
• A sense of mattering—students want to feel like they make a difference, not just that they belong
The data suggests student housing is no longer just about providing a place to sleep, but also about fostering environments that support identity, purpose, and connection.
Word cloud of responses to our survey question: “What are the Top Challenges You See in Student Housing Today?”
The Beck team disucssing student housing issues with John Terry from UNLV.
Student housing professionals today face growing pressure to support the total well-being of students—addressing not just physical health and safety, but also mental, emotional, and social needs. As students grapple with rising rates of anxiety, loneliness, and a desire for deeper connection, housing teams must create environments that foster a sense of belonging, purpose, and personal growth. This includes designing spaces that promote community, offering programs that build life skills, and ensuring students feel safe, supported, and like they truly matter. Adding to this challenge is the increasing diversity of the student population, including first-generation students, international students, and those from historically underserved backgrounds, each bringing unique needs and experiences. Housing professionals must navigate how to design and operate communities that are inclusive, culturally responsive, and adaptable to different definitions of well-being.
The physical environment plays a critical role—spaces must encourage connection while also offering privacy, promote healthy habits, and support academic success. At the same time, staffing, programming, and partnerships with campus services must evolve to proactively address student wellness, resilience, and life readiness. Balancing these demands within the realities of budgets, staffing, and aging facilities makes supporting total student well-being one of the most complex and urgent challenges in student housing today.
BREAKDOWN OF SURVEY FINDINGS
Key Findings continued...
2. Housing Affordability (22%)
The second most common concern focused on housing affordability, emphasizing the need to balance cost with quality.
Housing professionals voiced the challenge of delivering a strong value proposition—justifying rents and fees while maintaining a competitive amenity offering. This reflects growing scrutiny around:
• Rising costs of attendance
• Economic pressures on students and families
• The tension between enhancing facilities & controlling student costs
Institutions are being asked to provide more—more comfort, more amenities, more community—without pricing students out.
3. Aging Facilities & Deferred Maintenance (15%)
Respondents also highlighted the limitations of aging residence halls, especially those suffering from long-term deferred maintenance. Several noted serious outcomes such as mold, outdated systems, and persistent repair needs that disrupt the student experience. These responses underscore the growing urgency to:
• Modernize aging infrastructure
• Address life safety and health concerns
• Prioritize maintenance investments before they become capital crises
4. Functional Adequacy & Student Expectations (12%)
Beyond physical condition, many housing professionals described how older facilities often fail to meet today’s student needs and expectations. Specific issues cited included:
• Lack of privacy, especially in communal bathrooms
• Limited room types or configurations
• Inaccessible layouts for students with disabilities
• Insufficient options for single-occupancy units
Today’s students expect more autonomy, privacy, and flexibility—challenging older building typologies to keep up.
5.
Capacity Limitations (9%)
Another pressing issue is simply not having enough beds. Many institutions are facing enrollment growth or changing demand patterns that strain current capacity.
The lack of available housing can:
• Push students off campus
• Undermine first-year retention goals
• Lead to inconsistent student experiences
Campuses are grappling with how to grow quickly and strategically to meet this need.
6. Cost of Construction & Access to Funding (6%)
Even when institutions have the will to build or renovate, they often struggle with how. Respondents flagged escalating construction costs and limited access to capital as major barriers to delivering new housing projects.
This feedback points to a need for:
• Creative funding models (e.g., P3s, donor engagement, revenue bonds)
• Efficient design and delivery strategies
• Greater flexibility in long-range planning
7. Other Issues (6%)
Lastly, some other issues identified in the live survey included:
• Dealing with Bulldozer Parents
• Having to be the central campus resource for resolving / managing student issues
• The need for better collaboration / communication strategies between residence halls
“Dealing with Bulldozer Parents who hear problems from their child and go directly to the administration - especially when the problem could have easily been resolved if the student came to housing first.”
“It’s been challenging to be everything to everyone on campus - because we deal with a variety of student issues, we’ve become a key resource to everyone on campus, but we don’t have all the answers”
“Affordability on both sides - the cost to build new housing and the cost to the students - finding that balance is the biggest challenge on our campus”
At the 2025 SEAHO Conference in Huntsville, Alabama, our live survey revealed mental health as the top concern on campus.
Scan the QR code to read our whitepaper on Student and Staff Mental Health & Well-being.
Quotes from our conference conversations
Takeaways
These survey results reflect a sector in transition. Student housing professionals are striving to meet the rising expectations of a new generation of learners, all while managing the constraints of aging buildings, limited funding, and a deepened understanding of student mental and emotional needs.
For institutions and partners in design and construction, these findings call for:
• Student-centered planning that addresses mental health, community, and mattering
• Balanced affordability strategies that deliver value without overburdening students
• Renewal of aging assets with a focus on adaptability and health
• Capacity planning that anticipates growth and change
• Innovative project delivery that aligns with limited budgets and tight timelines
The Beck Group is a leader in higher education planning, design, and construction. We partner with colleges and universities to deliver studentcentered environments that enhance learning, promote well-being, and support institutional mission.
We’re grateful to the many housing professionals who shared their perspectives at ACUHO-I 2025. We look forward to continuing the conversation—and helping to shape the next generation of campus housing.
For more information or to explore how we can support your campus housing goals, contact kenhiga@beckgroup.com or visit beckgroup.com.
Special thanks to the ACUHO-I 2025 Conference attendees that visited the Beck booth and participated in the survey.
About The Beck Team