Demand for housing swells at UA campus

So far, contracts to fill 99.5% of slots

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Demand for student housing has just about matched the supply of on-campus beds at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, with early-arriving students set to move in next week for the fall semester.

As of Friday, student housing contracts totaled 5,709, which would fill more than 99.5 percent of the campus housing slots in UA's 17 residence halls and one apartment complex, said Scott Flanagin, executive director of communications for the university's student affairs division.

There are nearly 350 more student housing contracts than this time last year, Flanagin said.

In fall 2013, the university opened two new residence halls to accommodate growing enrollment and demand for on-campus housing. The newly constructed six-story Founders Hall added beds for 214 students, while the renovated Hotz Honors Hall added 416 beds.

The university offers assistance to students moving in on Aug. 20, but earlier move-in dates are available. Classes begin Aug. 25.

The university doesn't include the roughly 1,000 students housed in fraternity and sorority residences in its tally of available space or student contracts, Flanagin said.

"We had a few more upperclassmen wanting to stay on campus," Flanagin said to explain the increase in student housing demand.

Freshmen under 21 generally must live on campus, according to university rules.

With the added beds last year, the university avoided placing students in temporary overflow housing as has been done in recent years.

This year, "it's very possible we could be in an overflow situation," Flanagin said.

The university doesn't have a cutoff date for students seeking on-campus housing contracts, as Flanagin noted that there may be last minute cancellations freeing up additional housing slots. Students assigned temporary housing receive assistance from the university with moving during the school year, he said.

With more students living on campus, there may be increased difficulty in finding parking spaces, said Gary Smith, UA's director of transit and parking. However, "even last year, at the busiest time of the day, we had about 1,000 empty parking spaces on campus," Smith said.

The campus has 13,348 spaces, he said.

Students living on campus can pay $582 for a "resident reserved" nine-month parking permit. About 85 percent of those already are assigned for the coming school year, Smith said.

Others may choose a permit that allows them to park in on-campus parking garages.

"Our garages were fairly close to full last year, so we'll probably fill our garages this year," Smith said.

Another type of permit allowing students to park in general student lots or remote lots remains available regardless of demand, Smith said.

Metro on 08/09/2014