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In just weeks records will be set at Iowa State University for the fourth
fall in a row;
prompting a critical question. If we exceeded the forecast
what might we want to do. What to do with all the students wanting to live on
campus.
We typically house somewhere in the neighborhood of ninety two, ninety three
percent of all incoming freshmen. Yeah, last fall we opened up with nine thousand nine
hundred and seventy-six uh... right now we're on track to open at around ten
thousand four hundred.
More than ten thousand students will
live on campus.
Department of Residence Director, Pete Englin, says they have
ten thousand one hundred seventy permanent residence quarters available,
and they have have more than four hundred interim spaces ready for students. The uhÉ
offers of admission and acceptances were higher this year
than was forecasted and so we went through the same process, talked with our student
leaders and actually converted um wilson hall to double occupancy for this coming
fall. The same thing they did with Wallace Hall in previous years.
They are also in the process of converting several den spaces into housing.
Uh .. the students in the den den spaces are going to get a nice experience. There is a lot of um... square
footage in those locations. They'll have new furniture
uh... they'll have all the services that the regular residents have. I mean that's
the intent
make them feel
that they belong, that they are part of the community. All these changes and the need
for more space are constantly on the mind of Englin and his staff. Having an idea
of what our total capacity is and then what the future class sizes look like we
do a lot of modeling
uh... on return rates
and capture rates of new students
uh... we look at it by gender whether international students, out-of-state if
we continue to have the kinds of classes and have the first of all last couple
years
uh... the reality is we're gonna run right to the edge of our capacity and so
we've explored what kind of off-campus options might be available whether we do
some additional building there's lots of different umÉ avenues that you can
employ.
You have to think about what's Iowa State about and really it's a welcoming
caring
place.
We pay attention to students as individuals.
We want to serve them well. We're much more than a bed for a head.
much more than that. It's about helping students transition successfully. And
that means making room for everyone.
Saying no to students has not been Iowa State's umÉ history. I can't recall ever
telling a student that there wouldn't be place here for them on campus,
but that included they used the basement of Hilton Coliseum at one point. So
instead the Department of Residence works hard to provide the best possible
experience for each student.
We see it is a tremendous opportunity and
responsibility to give them that great for semester, first year.
UhÉ where they choose to live is up to them
but from that point forward, i mean, we really want them to
to know that Iowa State is the place for them and they have all the resources
and connections necessary so that they're going to be successful moving
forward. We really emphasize that this is their home. By doing so they try to keep
up with the students needs,
which include numerous upgrades. Changing out furniture in all of our student
rooms and
and uh...
it costs about two thousand dollars for each student to give a fully lofted
uh... wardrobe dresser. So that's just what they did investing more than one
point three million dollars on furniture. We realized if we bought sets for all the
dens for people that we anticipate being there,
we could,
when we don't need dens, move that and completely refurnish
Oak-Elm Hall or Linden Hall. We can
Reallocate it so that seemed to be a very smart
investment. But, that investment
isn't it. Throughout the summer it's not that we're
uh... idle. We're doing millions of dollars in projects,
life safety improvements. We've got two buildings reporting sprinkler building
and sprinklers in.
Larch Hall is getting all brand new windows. We're trying to make those
sustainable upgrades too that provide greater comfort. Greater comfort they hope
will pay off for the students. On campus students get
higher grades, they're involved in leadership activities. They're more likely to persist.
They express higher levels of satisfaction as being an Iowa State student.
They're more involved in learning communities. And those are just some of
the reasons why Adam Christian, a freshmen in aerospace engineering is looking
forward to living in the residence halls. Also, the student life, I want to get involved in
that
so it's a great way, living in the residence halls. We really talk about it as
being an experience. Not a room, not a bed.
It really is about being on campus, being connected to your fellow students
uh... being in involved in your learning
and uh... and having a great time.
If I lived at home, I wouldn't have the other kids you know to
share my experiences with and things like that; to study with. Besides getting
to meet many new friends, he says there are many
other perks to the living on campus. I'm so close to everything and i get the uh... student
life and the student activity
and also i have all the amenities. I don't have to cook my own food.
I get to live with a friend. And for the students starting out in dens,
they will likely be moved into regular rooms after the first semester
when hundreds of students graduate, find internships or study abroad. There's going to be
plenty of space to accommodate those students that are here in dens. Any new
contracts we get
and give our current residents some chances to move around. Englin says
welcoming a full house
isn't something new.
Enrollment has been growing at Iowa State for the past six years. It has taken a great
deal of preparation and planning from a dedicated team
and a little creativity to assure move-in
will go smoothly come fall.
We are prepared. We're ready for this.