At a Glance

Constructed in 1922 as MSU's original state-funded and physical education building, Romney Hall became obsolete and was in need of a complete renovation.

Romney Hall had four marginal classrooms with 140 classroom seats. Thousands of square feet in the building were unusable. Post-renovation Romney Hall will have 17 classrooms with more than 1,000 seats – this is a 12% increase to the campus’ classroom seat inventory. Those 1,000-plus seats will be used at least nine hours a day, which means the building will be providing 9,000 to 10,000 classroom-seat hours for students per day, or more than 1 million classroom-seat hours per academic year.

The renovation of Romney Hall is improving programs that directly serve students by adding classrooms, a new veterans’ center, new disabilities services center, new writing and math centers and new student study rooms. MSU currently serves 9,200 Montana residents, coming from all 56 counties of the state.

The Need for Romney Hall

The renovation of Romney Hall will repurpose a nearly 100-year-old nonfunctional gym into much needed instructional space, benefitting students that come to Montana State University from every corner of Montana. Romney Hall’s renovation is focused on adding classrooms and space for three high-impact centers with a demonstrated record of helping students stay in school and graduate.

Record Student Enrollment

MSU is the largest, fastest growing university in Montana. The traditional fall headcount in 2020 showed that 16,249 students are attending classes at MSU. The enrollment is the fifth highest in MSU’s 127-year history. MSU’s retention rate – the percentage of first-year students returning for their second year – hit its highest mark in more than 30 years of modern record keeping at 78.2% percent.

Veteran enrollment at MSU is 526 students. MSU’s current Veterans Center is a 750-square-foot room in the basement of the Strand Union Building. The center is so heavily used by veterans that at peak times many are turned away because of crowding.

Emphasis on Student Success and Graduation

MSU has the highest retention and graduation rates in the past 30 years. At MSU, we know that our job is not only to recruit students, but to help students stay in school and graduate.

The renovation of Romney Hall will offer students dedicated services for math, writing and veteran’s centers. The data clearly shows that these three centers help students improve their academic performance and graduate on time; the data also shows that these services have met and exceeded their capacity due to space constraints.

The MSU Math Learning Center attendance has grown. We know success in math courses is a key factor in students staying in school and graduating on time. MSU’s Math Learning Center in Wilson Hall can’t meet the demand. For example, calculus review sessions are attracting 100 to 180 students in a room that has a seating capacity for 50 students.

The demand for the MSU Writing Center has grown. This fall demand grew so much the center extended its hours until 8:30 p.m. The center has no room to handle walk-in appointments or group sessions. Faculty have reported that students using the Writing Center score a full letter grade higher than their peers who did not use the center.

Last updated: June 21, 2021