Plans for a new residence hall on the South Mall have recently been in the works, and construction has already begun on the privately owned University Village, a housing and retail complex on University Avenue just east of campus. The need for student housing has become a special priority since this year's freshman class enrollment rose 10 percent above initial estimates. Retention of on-campus housing has also risen to further complicate the shortage. This fall, more than 75 percent of the freshman class applied for on-campus housing. Because the University officials guaranteed housing to freshmen who applied by May 1, it will be forced to house about 500 students in nearby hotels until space in residence halls frees up.
Officials hope to have the displaced students into permanent housing before winter quarter.
But the University's on-campus housing shortage is not unusual. The article stated that students are swaying toward public institutions because these schools are advertising themselves better. Parents are also taking into consideration the cost of schools and the financial aid limits that don't quite cover the costs of more expensive private institutions.