COLUMBIA — An increase in student housing demand has prompted MU's Residential Life to continue to lease housing from Campus View and Campus Lodge apartments, said Frankie Minor, director of Residential Life.
The university will lease nearly 400 beds from Campus View, also called Tiger Diggs, and 200 beds from Campus Lodge, also known as Mizzou Quads, Minor said.
This fall, the Office of Admissions anticipates that 5,700 freshmen will enroll in classes, a number slightly lower than the 2008 class of 5,782 freshmen, Director of Admissions Barbara Rupp said earlier this summer.
Residential Life stopped accepting housing contracts from transfer and returning students in April to ensure enough space for incoming freshmen, Minor said.
Demand for housing has increased from all groups of students, Minor said. Even with new campus housing projects completed, making 350 additional beds available for students, additional off-campus housing is still needed, he said.
This year, Residential Life will lease 100 fewer beds on the “extended campus” than last year, Minor said.
“For a few years, we were seeing less students interested in coming back," Minor said. “I think we are seeing this turnaround because more and more of our housing is new or renovated. The quality of the housing is going up.”
Many parents are also concerned with security or their student’s academics and want them to stay on campus, he said.
“Extended campus is a good compromise — we still have our staff, programs and services,” Minor said.