The University of Idaho has housed every single student on the housing waitlist for Fall 2023, thanks in part to the creation of the North Campus Communities facility at the former FairBridge Inn.
John Kosh, UI Auxiliary Services director of business development, marketing and communications, explained that there were many challenges for the campus housing team to overcome for this semester.
“In May, we were expecting a large class of freshmen, but we couldn’t build a dorm for them in three months,” Kosh said.
The University projected that housing enrollment would increase by 5%, and it had nowhere to put these students.
Returning and transfer students were advised to stay on the waiting list, but to also look for other options, such as Greek life or off-campus apartments in case housing could not be found for them.
For 2023, 60% of campus housing was reserved for freshmen, while only 33% was reserved for returning students and transfers. The remaining 7% was meant for freshmen, returning students, transfer students and ADA accommodation students. That is a total of 2,263 available beds on campus for students, with 200 of those beds coming from the new NCC.
The North Campus Communities residence hall used to be the FairBridge hotel before they were transformed into a student dorm earlier this summer. The University leased the hotel for one year, but if housing enrollment continues to increase, the university will keep the NCC to accommodate for that in the coming years.
Despite the uneven distribution of housing reservations, UI was able to house every single student on the housing waiting list, according to Kosh.
Even though the university had projected a 5% increase in housing enrollment, there was a 1.4% decrease. There was a 3% decrease in the number of freshmen in housing compared to last year, a 37% decrease for transfer students, and a 22% increase for returning students.
The solution to the problem was the addition of the North Campus Communities. Only transfer students and returning students are allowed to stay in the NCC. The only problem was, the University could not announce the addition of the NCC until the deal had been finalized, which didn’t happen until late July. “We knew we had it in July, we knew it was going to be open in the fall, but we didn’t know if it was going to be open on the first day,” Kosh said.
Before students could stay in the NCC, they had to be inspected by the fire marshal and several other agency inspectors before students could reside in them. The building had to meet the standards for a student dorm, and not a hotel. The last inspection was completed a week before move-in.
With the addition of the NCC, the campus housing team could then convert more parts of Wallace and the LLCs into housing exclusive to freshmen.
Many returning and transfer students on the waiting list for campus housing were not notified about their residence in the NCC until after Jul. 31, two and a half weeks before move-in day. Some students, such as Cody Gombos, did not wait that long to see if they could get housing, and removed themselves from the waiting list prematurely.
Gombos, now a sophomore at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, was a freshman at UI in 2022 and transferred to NIC after failing to find on-campus housing in Moscow. Gombos applied for housing in April and got put on a waiting list.
“It took so long to get a response, and I got put at the bottom of the waiting list. It was frustrating,” Gombos said.
Gombos spent the summer on the waiting list hoping for a dorm room.
“I made last minute decision to not attend and decided to go to community college,” Gombos said.
Kosh also encourages students who have difficulties with housing or finding housing to take their problems directly to the housing staff.
“They try really hard to find the most just and equitable solutions for students. They really are a great team.” Kosh said.
The housing team is always available to talk to if you have a concern or questions about campus housing.
Call one of the Housing Operations staff members directly at 208-885-6571. Students can also call the 24-Hour Information Desk which is always accessible, at 208-885-7379.