Last fall, the University faced an unexpected housing shortage, displacing students. Some University Resident Advisers were forced to live with first-years, and other students were temporarily placed in off-campus apartments. The issue stemmed from a larger-than-anticipated number of students accepting University offers, resulting in a significantly oversized first-year class.
University officials said they were unaware of the drastic enrollment increase until the summer, which gave them limited time to implement housing solutions. The situation pressured University Housing to act quickly and creatively to accommodate every student.
“We did not know the true size of the class until summer — this left us little time to come up with options for how we would house the unexpectedly large class,” said Chris Axtman-Barker, associate director of communications and marketing for University Housing. “Unfortunately, one of those solutions was to house students with RAs — along with changing the occupancy of some room types, offering incentives to cancel and our expanded housing option, which placed students in private apartments.”
Though unconventional, these emergency strategies allowed the University to house all first-year students in time for the fall semester. With another large incoming class expected in Fall 2025, University Housing is working to prevent another housing scramble. Several proactive measures are already underway.
“University Housing has taken several steps in collaboration with our campus partners,” Axtman-Barker said. “We have a limited number of new and continuing upper-class students in dorms, changed our priority deadline to May 8 and are working closely with Enrollment Management to track the expected size of the new first-year class.”
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One of the most significant long-term solutions to housing issues is the development of a new residence hall. According to Axtman-Barker, the planning process is still in its early stages, and no final details have been released.
In the short term, several existing residence halls will undergo upgrades over the summer to improve students’ comfort and livability, according to the University Housing’s website. Barton and Lundgren Halls will receive long-requested updates, including air conditioning and enhanced lounge spaces. Additionally, Snyder Hall will split its substance-free special living option on the first and second floors, making the third and fourth floors open to the general student population.
While the physical changes are significant, University Housing is also looking inward. Housing officials are reevaluating how the group will communicate with students and families.
“I think that our process can appear confusing and opaque to many students — this is not our intent, and I always try to explain as much as possible,” Axtman-Barker said. “One thing I like to share, though, is that the complexity of the housing process is a direct result of providing students with choices.”
With new measures in place and lessons learned from last year, University Housing hopes to deliver a more streamlined and transparent experience for students seeking to live in dorms this upcoming year.
