West Virginia University Housing and Residential Education officials are preparing for another large freshman class plus a record number of upperclassmen opting to live in on-campus housing.
As a result, Amir Mohammadi, associate vice president for Student Affairs, said WVU has leased rooms and floors in two privately-owned residence halls in Morgantown, as well as made provisions to house a limited number of students temporarily in a local hotel or extended housing. All locations will be administered by WVU housing staff and resident faculty leaders.
“Due to the success of Operation Jump-Start and the integrated services we offer, WVU is experiencing another year of record growth and success,”Mohammadi said.”Im excited to be part of a team that draws a record number of students into University housing.”
He expects both the total number of students living in residence halls and the number of upperclassmen returning to WVU residence halls to be record numbers.
As of the first week of August, Mohammadi said 4,287 students were signed up to live in University housing; WVU residence halls can accommodate 3,627 students.
About 420 of those students will be housed in privately-owned residence halls such as Pierpont House and Summit Hall. An additional 200 will stay temporarily in a local hotel (Holiday Inn) or extended housing areas (in the Evansdale Residential Complex and downtown halls) until they can be moved to permanent rooms.
These rooms, Mohammadi said, usually become available during the first few weeks of classes when some students return home due to home sickness, health or other unforeseen reasons.
All students assigned temporarily will be moved to permanent residences by WVU Housing at no cost. In addition, students housed temporarily in the hotel will receive complimentary breakfast and long-distance phone calls so they can be in touch with family and friends. They also will be transported between the campuses approximately every half hour.
Last year, Mohammadi noted, all students were moved to permanent locations in less than two weeks.
WVU residence halls open at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 16.