Record freshman enrollment may force UI to lease apartments

Expected record numbers of new freshman at the University of Iowa may force the university to lease private apartment space to meet housing needs, officials told the state Board of Regents here today.

The UI expects a new freshman class of 4,475 direct-from-high-school students this fall, a big jump from the previous record new class of 4,289. It's mostly due to an increase in out-of-state and international students, UI officials said.

UI officials presented plans to the regents today for a new residence hall on the west side of campus, though that facility likely won't be completed until fall 2013. To fill the housing needs in the meantime, UI officials are negotiating to lease private apartments to be used in the coming year by returning students.

The UI hopes to lease an entire building or buildings that would be used to house upperclassmen, and the housing would be run like a residence hall, with programming and dining plans, officials said. About 175 to 225 students likely would live in those leased apartments in 2010-11, and they also would be used again in the 2012 and 2013 academic years, Tom Rocklin, interim vice president for student services, said.

The agreement is still being negotiated, so Rocklin said he couldn't discuss the location of the apartments. The students would pay the housing costs to the UI, just as they do for residence halls, he said.

The UI will move forward with plans to build at least one new residence hall on the west side of campus, after getting the green light from the regents today. The university may eventually build a second new residence hall on the west side, depending on the needs.

The current thinking is the UI will build two new residence halls on two of the three west campus sites that have been identified as possible locations, Rocklin said.