DU undergraduate tuition this year for 12 to 18 credit hours was $49,392—paying this much in tuition makes it important to see what one’s investment goes towards. DU has announced Impact 2025, a plan to modernize campus as a hub for community, innovation and convenience. In the plan, students can expect three new buildings.
During winter 2019, North Driscoll will be closed off for construction. It will transform into the Community Commons—a center for classes, programming and studying, and equipped with a central dining hall. This $72.5 million-dollar building hopes to centralize campus. Student Services staff will be in one location rather than spread throughout campus. The new dining hall in Community Commons looks forward to being more sustainable.
DU says, “With input from our community members, we’ll explore a variety of options including the feasibility of a greenhouse where we grow and preserve foods that could be used throughout the year.”
This building does directly affect tuition, as whatever is left over from the $45 million of donations, which is also paying for the upcoming Pioneer Career Achievement Center, will be funded by a $6.50 fee per credit hour. Tuition will increase by about $300 yearly depending on how many credits a student takes and DU will earn about $3,430,200 more to pay for construction.
Also breaking ground in winter 2019 is the new First-Year Residence Hall. This building costs about $55.5 million, to be paid for by room and board charges; however, DU says, “Room and board charges are determined annually, at the same time as tuition and typically based on the rate of inflation. These construction projects will not impact those rates.” This new building should optimize its location as well as provide comfort in a newer design.
The third building in the plan is the Pioneer Career Achievement Center which will cost $15 million and is paid for by philanthropy and partnerships of $45 million. The center will provide opportunities for students to attend workshops geared towards helping reach out to alumni and other influential figures. Construction is set to begin in spring 2019.
In addition to these three buildings, DU plans to completely remodel the entirety of campus over the next 20 years. The full plan can be found on DU’s website on the page, “The Denver Advantage”. All construction will be completed with sustainability in mind. Solar panels and green roofs will be equipped to every new building, and the acres around DU will be landscaped to minimize water usage. DU currently uses more than a million gallons of water each week for irrigation; the plans hope to impressively reduce this number. DU is taking advantage of Denver’s growing economy; in 10 years, the quiet brick buildings blended with large, glass monuments will represent DU’s convergence of history and development.
