Toroa College is putting on its Big Boy Pants this year, transitioning from your typical first-year hall to a self-catered accommodation option for international and domestic postgrads and mature students. There’s only so long a hall can cope with watching 17-year-olds slam two for $40 Tui's three times a week, apparently.
The revamp of Toroa comes at a pivotal time for the University. Arana College has reopened after receiving a summer glow-up, meaning the University has 320 additional beds for 2025. “This means Toroa’s 120 places can be made available for more senior international students and postgraduates while still allowing 200 growth in first-year student numbers in conventional colleges,” read an announcement on the Uni’s website.
The University's Director of Campus and Collegiate Life Services James Lindsay told Critic Te Ārohi that the decision to repurpose the hall was made shortly before the first college offers were made in October. Ultimately, it’s to “maximise occupancy” across the halls and diversify from the standard hall experience. In other words, mature students have somewhere to go that doesn't run rampant with students fresh out of high school.
“In particular, and over time, we would make it a base for incoming senior and postgraduate international students, which is a growing cohort for Otago. This will include students who study throughout the regular academic year timeline, but also those – like PhD students – who can start at any time of the year,” Lindsay explained. The revamp aligns with the University Pae Tata Strategic Plan for 2030, which aims to make Otago a more global and connected community.
Sandwiched between Queen Street and Night 'n Day George Street, the college will provide self-catered, flat-style accommodation. Notably, this will mean Toroa residents will no longer have to hike to the dining hall on campus in the Union Building. The Uni's website boasts that residents will share kitchen, living, and bathroom facilities with only four or six other residents.
First-year Commerce student Dom told Critic he could see the value in the decision. Money-wise Dom also hoped that it wouldn't be "a cost to the overall business of the University.” A quick calculation of Toroa’s $268 weekly rent over the course of a year is $10,184 for the academic year, plus a one-off utility payment of $550. Lindsay admitted to Critic Te Ārohi that, while they couldn’t give specific numbers, Toroa hasn’t met their target enrolment for 2025 given the rebrand is a “long-term shift,” meaning target enrolment is “not something we would hope to fully achieve in 2025.”
On the plus side, the University’s Operations Manager Stephen Willis confirmed in a mid-October information article that those who have been awarded the Fofoa Accommodation Award will “continue to live at Toroa as well, and are already self-catering”. This award allows for a select group of first-year Pasifika students to be provided subsidised accommodation at Toroa College. The changes were also confirmed to not involve any job losses, with staff being redeployed. Meanwhile, the two Kaiāwhina sub-wardens have been “deployed to other collegiate operations,” according to Lindsay.