After spending a year remotely through digital learning, many colleges open back up and welcome students back into dorm life. With that comes the process of moving students back into dorms fit for studying. This also comes the need to make adjustments to meet the changing needs of students during the pandemic. In short, colleges may need to consider post-pandemic student spaces a bit clearer, creating areas where there is less congregating. 

How Colleges Need to Change Post-Pandemic

As universities begin to welcome students back in for tours, it’s important to showcase the school’s efforts to accommodate a post-pandemic world where COVID-19 remains a threat. Student housing used to be at high occupancy when students shared spaces. Now, there may be a new demand for more single dorms and more distance in shared areas, like lounges. 

Some colleges are working to de-densify their properties and reduce bed counts in most housing facilities to help create more separation. Converting unoccupied spaces on campus into dorms to fill the growing need for more single-use spaces may be a necessary investment for many universities. In some cases, this comes with the need to use off-campus student housing to help supplement the needs of students living on campus. 

What About Furniture?

Not only are student spaces flexing to meet post-pandemic needs, but furniture needs to make some changes as well. Instead of furniture that meets the needs of large numbers of people in smaller spaces, creating seating areas designed for more single-use may be helpful. Some colleges have moved towards furniture pieces that are more cubby-like. For example, they have enclosures or sidewalls to have a level of protection from being too close to each other. 

College classrooms that may have used larger tables to meet the needs of several people may need to make significant changes as well, moving towards desks for single use. Spreading them out may be an option if there is enough room in classrooms. If not, partitioned spaces may be an option. 

Key Trends in College Furniture for 2022 and Beyond

There are a few other ways colleges can meet the changing needs of students.

• Provide desks and workspaces in dorms that allow for technology – such as wider desks to hold laptops along with papers. 
• Ensure connectivity is easy in these spaces, providing more than one outlet. 
• Modular furniture may also be ideal, as it offers more flexibility to students. One piece of furniture can meet several needs, keeping costs down while ensuring more availability to unique needs. 
• Studio-style living has become a popular option for some doors as they work well to save ground space while using airspace instead.
• With spaces becoming smaller – as double dorms turn into single dorms – furniture has to be modified to fit the new dynamics of college housing. 

Many furniture manufacturers, like Dickson Furniture, work closely with college campuses to create exceptional solutions to each of these needs while also keeping restricted budgets in mind as they do so. If your college or university is looking to revamp student housing needs to meet post-pandemic student spaces expectations, Dickson Furniture offers an extensive catalog of student housing furniture options. 

Contact Dickson today to discuss how your student housing expectations can be met as students are returning to campuses.