UHDS News

Never before has an Oregon State University student been able to wake up in their residence hall and walk a few flights of stairs to their first class. Such will be the case upon the development of the International Living Learning Center.

The ILLC will be having its grand opening Monday. The ribbon will be cut at 4 p.m., followed by self-guided tours and an open house from 4:30-6 p.m.

The ILLC is a brand new building that serves as INTO’s headquarters, a residence hall, classroom structure and business center. It is home to over 320 international and domestic students, offers 26 classrooms specifically for INTO-OSU academic classes, and houses INTO-OSU’s administration offices and international programs.

“The ILLC was built to accommodate an increased number of students that would be attending OSU through various programs offered by INTO-OSU,” said Operation Manager Joseph Evans.

The campus resource features a brand new Cascadia market right next to Arnold Dining Center as well as Peet’s Coffee. There is also an all-purpose auditorium that can be used as a lecture hall. The classrooms boast state-of-the art technology.

“The total cost of this building was $52 million. UHDS is carrying the debt on the facility, paying for it through the sale of public bonds,” Evans said. “In other words, paying the mortgage through generated revenue collected from student room fees, sales from Peet’s Coffee, and Cascadia market and the space UHDS leases to INTO-OSU and the University.”

The residence hall is easily one of the most expensive on campus. The facility offers student housing, but it’s by no means cheap.

Per academic year, the student will pay $10,080.  There are three types of rooms offered in the building: double-room with a dining plan for $4,753 per term, double-room with a private bathroom and dining plan for $5,260 per term and single room with dining plan for $5,793.  There are private restrooms as well as public restrooms situated in the halls like other resident halls on campus.

“I like the class so close; it’s very easy,” said Doo RT Kim, who arrived from Korea one week ago.

Some classrooms are right next to floor lounges, where a glass wall separates the class and the lounge.

“It is easy to focus. The lounge does not distract us,” said Teng Jim Yan, a Chinese student who arrived three months ago.

International students who have classes but do not live in the ILLC agreed with their peers.

“I like my listening and speaking class, but the building has bad parking and is too far away,” said Faisal Alshehli from Saudi Arabia.

Parking is a common complaint among the students, as well as there aren’t enough Americans to interact with. The best thing, students agreed, is the conveniently located coffee shop and market place.

“Students seem just as focused as in any other classroom,” said Melody Slothower, an INTO-OSU instructor of two years. “No one’s showed up in their pajamas at all.”

Though ILLC instructors are doing something that other professors on campus haven’t, the overall mood is one of enthusiasm.

“The best thing about teaching in this building is that there’s more room, and it’s a unique place to work,” said Randy Garver, instructor for intensive English and lower-level listening and speaking.

Main concerns have to do with classroom layout and technology issues.

“The rooms next to the lounges have been a concern, but no problems so far,” Garver said. “There might be a technology glitch too.”

Moving past possible distractions technological glitches, another concern stems from the lack of interaction that ILLC faculty, students and residents are experiencing.

“I can’t interact with my colleagues as much because we’re on different floors. It takes a lot more effort to keep up communication,” Slothower said.

However, teachers agree the new building has amazing views from the windows and every resource is state of the art.

To learn more, search International Living-Learning Center on the OSU website.

Read more from The Daily Barometer. (Published Oct. 7, 2011)