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High Demand for Village
Apartments Prompts Expansion
By Kyle Huneycutt
On Campus
Phase II of The Village, Young Harris
College’s new residential apartment
community for upperclassmen, is on
schedule to open in August for the
beginning of the Fall 2012 semester,
when enrollment is expected to break
records for the sixth year in a row—this
time surpassing 1,000 students.
The completion of Phase I added to
campus eight three-story townhomes,
each containing four private-bedroom
apartments that give 148 students the
opportunity to enjoy an independent
living experience right in the middle
of campus. Phase II will add five more
houses, which will add another 100
beds just in time as demand for this
residential option is growing.
“We had a large number of students
choose The Village as their top housing
preference at Housing Selection in April,
and students that lived in The Village
this past year selected it again,” said
Director of Residence Life Stuart Miller.
“Overall, The Village received high
praise from our students—especially
in the amenities provided in each
apartment and the ability to have a
single-occupancy bedroom.”
Construction on Phase II began in
fall of 2011 shortly after the opening
of Phase I. Both phases have been
designed and constructed to LEED Silver
standards, and with the completion of
Phase II, The Village will be positioned
to become the third LEED-certified
facility on YHC’s campus.
“I know a lot of students are going
to want to live in The Village since we
get private bedrooms and huge porches
with great views,” said Aaron O’Tuel, a
sophomore business and public policy
major from Hartwell. “I was afraid they
would run out of space for next year, but
since they are building more, I’m not
worried.”
In addition to private bedrooms, The
Village apartments have a living room,
kitchen and front and back porches.
Each apartment is equipped with a
washer and dryer, and residents can
also enjoy areas designated for grilling,
abundant green space and majestic views
of the mountains.
“The mountains make YHC special. It’s
nice to be able to look out my bedroom
window and be reminded of why I came
to Young Harris,” said Jessie Ryals, a
junior music major from Blairsville. “The
Village provides us with so many great
opportunities—a means of learning
how to live independently and an
opportunity to be a part of a beautiful
community that was designed perfectly
for this area.”
Summer School
Gets Web Savvy
Following a highly positive response
of last year’s pilot program for online
summer courses, Young Harris College
will offer 10 online courses during
this year’s Summer Session, including
Elementary Statistics, Communication
Theory and American History.
“The online courses are a great
solution for students who do not live
in the area and must return home
for the summer to work or to meet
other obligations,” said Associate Vice
President for Academic Affairs Keith
DeFoor, Ph.D. “These students are able
to return home but at the same time
earn credit at YHC. The great majority
of them had a positive experience last
year, indicating that they would choose
to take another online course at YHC in
the future.”
This summer’s online courses were
selected based on a review of past
student enrollment in YHC’s Summer
Session, as well as a review of summer
courses transferred from other schools
to ensure that students have the greatest
opportunity to enroll in a course that
will benefit their individual endeavors.
“Summer Session can benefit students
in several ways,” said Dr. DeFoor.
“Taking a course at YHC during the
summer has the potential to raise your
GPA, unlike taking a course elsewhere
and transferring it back to YHC—which
only gives more credit hours. Also, many
students benefit from being able to focus
their efforts on only one or two courses
over several weeks.”
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