11.4.5 Affordable housing for students

In 2025, Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) provided affordable housing for students at its Ongkharak campus in Nakhon Nayok. The university provides housing directly in its own on-campus dormitories, charges dormitory fees set by a university announcement issued on 8 July 2025, and allows lower fees to be approved case by case. A comparison with private rental housing near the campus shows that SWU dormitory fees are well below local market rents, so the housing is effectively subsidised for students. SWU also provides free dormitory accommodation at its Prasarnmit campus in Bangkok for students in the Phet Nai Tom Project, who come from rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

1) Providing housing directly

SWU has provided on-campus dormitories at the Ongkharak campus since the campus opened in 1996. In 2025, the dormitories comprised Buildings 1 to 11, with 1,183 rooms in total, and the new Buildings 12 to 16, with 100 rooms each. Rooms are shared by 3 or 4 students and are available with a fan or air-conditioning, and with a shared or en-suite bathroom. Each student is provided with a bed, mattress, wardrobe, study desk with a lamp and a chair, and the new buildings also have water heaters. First-year students and students in years 2 to 6 book rooms online through the dormitory office website.

Source: https://dorm.op.swu.ac.th/sample_room

Common areas in the dormitories include free drinking water points, microwaves, hot water dispensers and refrigerators, and Building 9 has coin-operated washing machines on every floor. Entry to the buildings is controlled by access gates. The dormitory zone is served by the university shuttle, a canteen and a central service building with a convenience store and a bank.

Source: https://dorm.op.swu.ac.th

2) Dormitory fees in 2025

Dormitory fees are set by the SWU Announcement on Criteria and Rates for Dormitory Service Fees B.E. 2568 (2025), issued on 8 July 2025 after approval by the university’s Finance and Assets Committee at its meeting on 23 June 2025. The announcement took effect on 9 July 2025, the day after it was issued, and replaced the previous announcement of 2023. Under this announcement:

Monthly fees: 910 to 2,135 baht per student for rooms with a shared bathroom, and 1,150 to 3,325 baht per student for rooms with an en-suite bathroom.

Fees per regular semester: 3,300 to 12,000 baht per student; summer semester fees are half of these rates (1,650 to 6,000 baht).

Electricity is charged by meter at 6 baht per unit. The damage deposit is 500 to 1,150 baht per student and the key deposit is 50 baht, and both are returned when the student moves out.

Source: https://dorm.op.swu.ac.th/service_fees

3) Providing financial support

Clause 8 of the 2025 announcement allows the University President to approve dormitory fees lower than the published rates, considering the reasons and necessity in each case. This gives students who need it a route to pay less than the standard fee.

4) Evaluating affordability against local rents

To evaluate affordability, SWU compared its dormitory fees with private apartments near the Ongkharak campus listed on the RentHub rental website. Private studio rooms within about 1.6 to 2.5 km of the campus cost between 3,000 and 6,500 baht per month:

Ongkharak Apartment (about 1.6 km): 3,800 to 4,300 baht per month

Vision 3 (about 2.5 km): 3,000 to 3,500 baht per month; electricity 8 baht per unit, water 25 baht per unit

S. Kanyanee Dormitory (about 2.3 km): from 5,500 baht per month

The Knight SWU Ongkharak (about 2.4 km): 4,900 to 6,500 baht per month; electricity 8 baht per unit, water 28 baht per unit; deposit 7,600 to 10,500 baht

Example of private apartment rents near SWU Ongkharak campus: Ongkharak Apartment, 3,800 to 4,300 baht per month (RentHub).

Example of private apartment rents near SWU Ongkharak campus: The Knight SWU Ongkharak, 4,900 to 6,500 baht per month (RentHub).

SWU dormitory fees start at 910 baht per student per month, while the cheapest private room near the campus costs 3,000 baht per month, more than three times the lowest SWU rate. SWU students also pay less for electricity (6 baht per unit, compared with 8 baht per unit in private apartments), pay a much smaller deposit (500 to 1,150 baht, compared with 7,600 to 10,500 baht at The Knight), and receive furniture with their room. Students therefore pay less to live on campus than they would for private housing nearby.

Source: https://www.renthub.in.th/อพาร์ทเม้นท์-ห้องพัก-หอพัก/ม-ศรีนครินทรวิโรฒ-วิทยาเขตองครักษ์

5) Free accommodation for Phet Nai Tom Project students at the Prasarnmit campus

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) is committed to reducing educational inequality and ensuring access to affordable student housing, particularly for students from rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. This commitment is demonstrated through the Phet Nai Tom Project (Diamonds in the Rough Project), an educational opportunity initiative associated with the Faculty of Education that supports students from underserved rural communities in pursuing higher education and preparing for careers in teaching.

Recognising that accommodation costs can create significant financial barriers for students relocating from rural areas, SWU provides free student dormitory accommodation for eligible participants in the Phet Nai Tom Project at the Phet Nai Tom Project Student Dormitory on its Prasarnmit campus in Bangkok. This housing support is an integral part of the University's commitment to educational equity, enabling students to pursue their studies without the additional financial burden of rental accommodation.

Through this initiative, SWU directly addresses three important dimensions of affordable student housing:

Housing affordability: The provision of accommodation free of charge eliminates rental costs for eligible students, particularly those whose geographical and socioeconomic circumstances may limit their access to higher education.

Direct housing provision: The University arranges student dormitory accommodation as part of its institutional support for students participating in the programme.

Financial support: Free accommodation represents an in-kind housing subsidy that reduces students' living expenses and helps ensure that financial circumstances do not prevent their continued participation in higher education.

Beyond meeting immediate housing needs, the initiative contributes to students' financial security, academic participation, and well-being. It also supports social mobility by enabling talented young people from rural communities to access teacher education and develop the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to their communities.

By integrating free student accommodation with a targeted educational opportunity programme, SWU demonstrates that affordable housing is not merely a welfare service but an institutional mechanism for reducing structural inequalities in access to higher education. This initiative reflects the University's commitment to SDG 11, while also contributing to SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).