With the University of Minnesota Duluth student population reaching an all-time high this year, nearly 40 incoming freshmen will be calling the Edgewater Motel on London Road home for part of first semester until beds open up on campus.
UMD hasn't had to use the Edgewater Motel for student overflow in two years.
Griggs Hall dormitory, completed last fall, made another 256 beds available on campus. It was assumed the additional dormitory would take care of the housing needs for all incoming students, but as UMD prepares to open its doors to 10,350 students, administrators and officials are finding out they were wrong.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Support and Student Life Bruce Gildseth said the goal for this year was to maintain enrollment. Instead, enrollment is up 250 students from last year.
"The fact is it is well distributed," Gildseth said. "There will be some increase in activity, but graduate students and pharmacy students have their own areas. Returning students are more come-and-go. If we had 250 more freshman, then that would be a different story."
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The rise in student population is also a result of a change in student enrollment trends.
"You look at your trends, and then you admit what you think based on past experience," Gildseth said. "We ended up having fewer cancellations this year."
Gildseth expects most students in Edgewater to be living on campus within the first few weeks, because a number of students inevitably leave the campus early in the year.
Last year, Housing Office administrative director John Weiske said only 23 students left housing within the first two weeks of school, which would only account for half of the students in Edgewater.
To open up campus beds for the other 20 students in Edgewater, Weiske said the office will allow on-campus students to move off campus if they wish to do so.
"Typically we don't do that. Only if we are in an overflow situation" Weiske said. "We'll send out an e-mail to all residents after the start of school to let them know, and we've done that in the past. It seems like there is an awful lot of rental property available."
Weiske said UMD currently has 38 rooms reserved at Edgewater. Students will pay the same rate as if they were in a suite on campus and will have one roommate. A busing service will provide transportation to and from UMD.
The rise in student population also required Vice Chancellor for Academic Administration Vince Magnuson to add additional freshman-level classes.
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"We were preparing for a certain number of students, and this was a few more than we had expected," Magnuson said. "We added a few classes in terms of freshman composition classes."
Magnuson said some classes were added in the later afternoon and morning time slots, which are not the most popular times among students.
"Not everybody can take classes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.," Magnuson said.
New faculty members were also hired to teach the additional classes.
Magnuson says the high number of students this year is simply a normal business cycle, and UMD does not see it as long-term growth.
