Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include more details about the year-long partnership.
Emerson College will provide housing for Boston Architectural College students in the Little Building for the upcoming academic year as part of a year-long partnership between the colleges, according to an announcement posted on Emerson Today.
The partnership is in response to a housing shortage at the architectural college and Emerson experiencing an enrollment decline, which it says was caused, in part, by negative press as a result of ongoing campus protests in the past semester.
The Little Building, a 13-story and 1,035-bed residence hall on 80 Boylston Street, has single, double, and triple dorms, in addition to suites that also have single, double, and triple dorms and a shared bathroom. There are between 85 to 95 beds on each floor.
The residential building has housed first year and transfer students for the past several years, but a mix of undergraduate students from BAC will live in the building, according to Christie Anglade, interim vice president and dean of campus life. BAC does not have its own residential halls and partners with other colleges to provide housing for its students.
President Jay Bernhardt and BAC President Mahesh Daas could not be reached for comment.
“This initiative aligns with Emerson’s commitment to support the broader educational community in Boston, and ensure that all students have access to safe and comfortable living arrangements,” the announcement said, adding that the partnership will “alleviate” BAC’s housing shortage while “optimizing Emerson’s campus resources.”
The architectural students will not have a separate billing method to pay for housing. BAC will transfer housing costs directly to Emerson, Anglade said.
Students from the architectural college will be given an Emerson ID with BAC labeling, which will allow them to access the Little Building, the dining hall, the deli, the lion’s den, and the max, she said. They will also have Emerson College cash on their IDs to pay for laundry and dining services. Those students will not have access to other locations on campus.
The architectural college will have student leaders to support students living on Emerson’s campus, the announcement on Emerson Today said. The student leaders will not live on Emerson’s campus and their positions will not be overseen or compensated by Emerson’s Housing and Residential Education, Anglade said.
The students will have Emerson emails to communicate with resident assistants.
In response to the partnership, some Emerson students have expressed concerns over the college denying students on-campus housing, but Anglade said the college has met every request for student housing.
There are still some dorms available in other residential buildings, Anglade said, but availability is limited.
BAC is nearly two miles away from Emerson in Back Bay. The architectural college has an estimated 300 undergraduate students enrolled as of 2022.