OSU tempting students to live off campus due to record enrollment

STILLWATER, Okla. ( KFOR ) — Students are heading back to school in a few weeks and Oklahoma State University is seeing another year of high enrollment. This year, they’re offering students an incentive if they choose to live off campus.

“Currently we have a little over 5700… Approximately 5700 students wanting to live on campus. And our capacity is a little over 5600,” said Karen Chen, the Vice President of Enrollment Management at Oklahoma State University.

There’s a housing problem with record enrollment as there isn’t enough room for students to live on campus.

“With high enrollment — record enrollment going on for new students and overall students, we have a high demand of our incoming students wanting to live on campus,” said Chen.

To combat the crisis, the university sent out an email to incoming freshman and students on campus.

It offers those who agree to not live in a dorm a free meal plan worth $3,400 and a one time $1,000 scholarship.

“When I first got it, I was like they’re bribing us to live off campus…why. Then I realized they just over admitted everybody once again,” said Delaney Scott who’s a junior at OSU.

Delaney Scott said she had plans to live with her friends on campus, but after the email came through, her plans quickly changed.

“They jumped and signed that email saying hey once you sign this, you’re kicked off the dorms good luck. Before they even got the lease for the apartments and I was like guess we’re doing this, so we’re winging it,” said Scott.

News 4 talked to an incoming freshman who’s living in a dorm, but has a friend who took the offer to live somewhere else.

“She didn’t want to live in a dorm. She didn’t think they were the cleanest. And she just thought she’d have more, like, fun on her own,” said Ruby Smith, who’s a freshman at OSU.

The university said while they’re excited for higher enrollment, they are aware there’s a housing crisis on campus and hope the incentive to not live in a dorm will help.

“We understand that families, students are anxious to hear their housing assignment and to know that we are working diligently to let them know what that looks like,” said Chen.

This is also the first year where it’s not required that freshman live in a dorm.

News 4 asked the university if they have plans to build more housing in the future or come up with other ways to combat the crisis as enrollment seems to be going up each year.

The university would not directly comment on the future of housing on campus.

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