Iowa State University (ISU) is paying $1,000 incentives to students who are willing to vacate their dorm rooms in an attempt to provide traditional housing accommodations for incoming freshman.
The university is expecting another record enrollment of more than 32,000 students for the academic year (2013-14), up from 25,462 in 2005. The officials are also anticipating around 11,300 of them opting for campus housing, nearly 1,000 more than last year.
"As we looked at re-contracting rates and the rates in which we were getting new contracts from new high school students, we really saw a mismatch. We have enough spaces on campus, we just had more upper division students who chose to live in our residence halls," said Peter Englin, Iowa State Director of Residence.
In June, the university announced $500 as prize money to 1,800 upperclassmen who were prepared to move out of their dorms. Dorm residents unhappy with the offer protested and forced the officials to increase the compensation to $1,000, which 95 students accepted.
ISU is urging its senior students to make room for freshers in campus dorms because studies have shown that newcomers living with other first-year students in on-campus quarters are more likely to complete graduation from the institution.
For other on campus students, the university is converting lounges and study rooms into student housing; adding space in on-campus apartments and has even leased two apartments off campus for students.
"It really is one of those circumstances that each and every space is pretty precious," Englin said.
According to Huffington Post, apart from urging returning upperclassmen to give up their dorms, the university is offering $500 to about 100 students, 'who are still waiting for a room assignment, for their inconvenience.'
