Good housekeeping

Low admission rates will prevent overload

This year, the University accepted 475 fewer students than last year's record incoming class. The stresses of last year's class size led to many overburdened University resources, particularly room availabilities in residence halls. This year, the administration has responded to calls for change and taken action to prevent a housing and class-space crunch.

Some of last year's incoming students spent their first week at the University in residence hall lounges instead of the rooms that Housing promises to all first-year students. This was due to a miscommunication between the various University divisions that interact directly with first-year students. Class sizes have grown steadily for years, and University Housing could no longer could accurately predict the number of rooms needed until it was too late, and students found themselves sleeping in the commons.

To alleviate burdens on housing facilities for the 1998-99 academic year, a policy preventing upperclassmen from returning to traditional residence halls - those that have a cafeteria - was instituted. This action outraged many students at the University, who cited the benefits first-year students receive from living with experienced students. Also, many upperclassmen were upset that they were notified of the policy too far into the academic year, after much of the best off-campus housing had already been taken. As Michigan won national championships in football and hockey, increasing popularity and publicity for the University, it appeared the housing crunch might worsen.

Things turned around in April for the upperclassmen as many juniors and seniors who wanted to live in residence halls were accommodated - some in traditional residence halls.

The national recognition the University gained through athletic accomplishments did appear to be a factor in the number of applications received. More than 21,000 applications poured in, but the University learned from its problems a year ago and accepted only 12,351 of those applications. Administrators expect the actual class size to number around 5,200.

This was an important action on the University's part to benefit its students. First-year students are often away from home for the first time when they arrive on campus. The first weeks at the University are a difficult period of adjustment for many, as they experience the demands of University life. To smooth out such times, it is important that each student has a comfortable place to call home - one that can provide him or her with a place to study and relax. Living in lounges leaves new students with even less of a firm center to stand on as they have to move a second time in addition to acclimating to the University lifestyle. For the 1998-99 year, no students should have to put up with this inconvenience. Only a small number will live in overflow triples - a better option than lounges, but still an uncomfortable situation at best.

By accepting fewer students, the University has improved the conditions under which thousands of new students will enter this year. The University did a good job in assessing student needs and then taking actions to meet those requirements. Such student-administration interaction greatly improves the quality of the University as a whole and should continue in the future.

09-08-98