(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)September 8, 1999

(Mahwah) – Despite last month’s completion of a new residence hall on the campus of Ramapo College of New Jersey, nearly 100 students are being housed in a nearby off-campus motel. Rising enrollments among first-year students and increasing numbers who choose to live on campus have put a squeeze on residence hall accommodations, beyond the capacity of the college’s residence halls even though one, Bischoff Hall, was just opened last month. First-time full-time freshmen are increasingly opting for the complete college experience, which means living on campus. At Ramapo this year, 82 percent of that population chose campus housing.

“This is the fifth phase of residence hall construction for the college,” noted Richard Roberts, the college’s contracting officer, “and represents a significant addition to our existing inventory of 1,200 beds. Because of the strong interest in on-campus housing on the part of incoming freshmen and transfer students, we are already planning to construct a ‘twin’ of this hall for completion by the fall of 2000.” The new five-story residence hall will house 250 students in 126 rooms and includes a two-bedroom apartment for a residence director, laundry, vending and mail facilities. Each floor contains a study facility/multipurpose room for social activities. Highly functional individual double rooms provide a bedroom area, bath with shower, and study station: a desk with computer space, task-lighting unit and bookshelves. One of the most frequently asked questions at Ramapo College open houses is, “What is the port-to-pillow ratio” In Bischoff Hall, the voice/video/data to pillow ratio is 1 to 1, meaning, a room set up for two students has two ports.

A separate, single-story, 8,500 square foot dining/fitness center facility contains a state-of-the-art kitchen/food preparation/service area, seating accommodations for 170, and a fully-equipped exercise room for students. The building has been designed for expansion to double dining service capacity and the addition of meeting/conference rooms. When not being used for dining purposes, the pavilion may be utilized as a center for seminars and/or conferences.

Designed by Commero Coppa Architects of Totowa, and overseen by construction manager Damon G. Douglas Co. of Cranford, Bischoff Hall was constructed by Century 21 Construction of Clifton.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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