UNC's Department of Housing and Residential Education has canceled its plan to stop reserving space for freshmen on North Campus, the department's director Larry Hicks said today.
The plan, which would have moved 200 to 250 more freshmen to South Campus housing next fall, elicited complaints and confusion from some students early this week, including from members of the Residence Hall Association.
Hicks said student reaction caused the department's leadership to reconsider the change.
"There were several questions that were raised and comments and concerns so we felt we had not fully vetted it as much as we should have," Hicks said.
Hicks said the department will incorporate the freshmen housing issue into a larger discussion about overall assignment already scheduled for the spring. Several groups, including the RHA and the admissions department, will be included in the discussion, Hicks said.
Housing assignments will be conducted normally for fall 2012. The earliest any change in freshmen assignment could be implemented would be fall 2013, Hicks said.
The proposed change was made to encourage more non-freshmen to stay on campus. The hundreds of unused beds in UNC residence halls have cost the University more than $2 million in wasted space, housing officials have said.
