A projected 8-10% increase in incoming freshmen could reduce room availability for returning University of Idaho students.
Housing and Residence Life has created 171 more beds to accommodate more freshmen and those returning students who wish to live on campus. The projected growth follows the largest freshmen class in UI history, which left over 100 students without on-campus housing. Most overflow students were temporarily housed at the FairBridge Inn, but some never made it into the dorms, living in Sigma Alpha Epsilon instead.
Housing is guaranteeing that every first-year student enrolled this fall will have an on-campus living space, according to John Kosh, the director of marketing and communications for UI Auxiliary Services.
Options for overflow housing are being explored, including Targhee Hall and local hotels that housed students last semester.
Housing has made additional bed space in existing residence halls, with limited single rooms. LLCs may open up to first-year students and have more beds per suite. Some currently unoccupied rooms will be renovated and made available for the next semester.
These changes have increased availability from 1,398 bed spaces in Fall 2022 to 1,569 bed spaces in Fall 2023, but this may not be enough.
Housing available to upperclassmen is decreasing from 642 bed spaces to 527, according to Kosh, with plans still being made.
Returning students who are unable to secure rooms can join a waiting list that Housing will use to determine overflow needs. Students on the waiting list “will be communicated every two weeks where you are on that (list) and where we are in numbers,” Kosh said.
This follows complaints of last fall, where overflow students cited difficulties in speaking with Housing and were not updated on how many overflow residents remained.
Kosh said students on the waiting list can expect communications regarding alternate housing options, including the Greek system and off-campus apartments.
“(Housing will) encourage them to stay on the waiting list even while they’re exploring other options,” Kosh said. “We will refund deposits. If you go on a waiting list, though I know we used to be non-refundable, you will be refunded.”
A large volume of students tried to reserve a room at the same time, too many for the portal’s bandwidth to handle.
“There’s a technical issue, fixed within hours, but then there was something assigned as a technical issue but it was not,” Kosh said. “It was just an actual logistics issue.”
With this resolved, any upperclassmen unable to reserve a room in not a technical issue, but housing being prioritized for freshmen. Living in the residence halls is a valuable experience for first-year students according to Alex Call, a senior resident assistant who has lived on campus for four years.
“I got to really be familiar with stuff like ASUI, Vandal Entertainment, other clubs on campus,” Call said. “I think there’s a really cool connection to living on campus and in the residence halls that I’ve really appreciated.”
Expanding current bed spaces and finding overflow housing are both short-term solutions, Kosh said.
Kosh said UI is exploring building plans to utilize property around the VandalStore as an opportunity for a combined retail and residential space. This type of housing would not only benefit undergraduate students, but also professional students, university employees and visiting faculty.
In the face of a difficult situation, Kosh commended Auxiliary Services’ staff.
“(They) are doing an amazing job and they’re working incredibly hard. I don’t want people to think they’re heartless,” Kosh said. “They are making hard decisions, but they’re doing it with a great deal of thought.”
Katie Hettinga can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @katie_hettinga