If the number of applicants for student housing is any indication, Lander University will experience a significant enrollment increase when the fall semester begins on Sept. 1.
Randy Bouknight, vice president for Student Affairs, said Lander's housing office had received over 700 housing applications by early June, 21 percent more than at the same time last year.
The number of returning students who applied to continue living in university housing also contributed to the increase. Cindy Dysart, director of Housing and Residence Life, said between spring and fall semesters, about 52 percent of returning residential students usually ask for housing. So far, the total is 69 percent for the fall semester.
Some students will be placed on a waiting list for housing even though the university has increased the number of residential spots with the addition of leased and purchased property off campus.
Bouknight said Lander is leasing 49 units at Cokesbury Gardens on McNeill Avenue. The complex, renamed Bearcat Village, will be home to 195 students while private residents will occupy 54 units.
The university has purchased four buildings and is leasing two others at University Place at Felder and Willson streets, across from the campus, and 80 students will live there. Another 32 students will occupy apartments at McGhee Court, which the university has purchased.
Lander has renewed the lease for the former Inn on the Square in Uptown Greenwood for the 2010-2011 academic year. The former hotel, now called Lander on the Square, has space for 92 students.
Since last fall, Lander has increased its student housing capacity by 23 percent, from 1,216 beds to 1,495.
In September, the university will introduce a passenger shuttle to transport students between the campus and Bearcat Village, McGhee Court and Lander on the Square. Bouknight said a 24-passenger bus will operate on an hourly schedule between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Lander's Dining Services, operated by Aramark, will provide more meals because of higher enrollment, including a larger number of commuting students. The university will accommodate the increase by adding tables and chairs and using a meeting room in the dining hall for additional seating when needed.
Lander administrators are studying a consulting firm's report containing a number of recommendations for further increasing housing capacity. Bouknight said the proposal includes options for renovations and new construction but cost is an overriding consideration. "It is a matter of what we can afford," he added.
He said it is difficult to anticipate growth in student enrollment from year to year but added that Lander's Admissions Office staff has done a great job persuading prospective students and their families to visit the university. He said seeing the Lander campus and its facilities is a huge selling point.