Ohio State to subsidize off-campus for living for about 100 students because of residence hall overflow

Some third- and fourth-years seeking on-campus housing for this school year recently found out they won’t have that option.

As reported on Monday by The Columbus Dispatch, about 130 students who applied for on-campus housing recently received notices from Ohio State offering them housing options in three nearby apartment complexes — The Doric on Lane, Norwich Flats and Fisher Commons.

About 14,500 students will be living on campus this year in total now that new construction has added more residence halls, said Dave Isaacs, spokesman for OSU’s Office of Student Life, in an email to The Lantern.

Isaacs said that OSU would be spending about $1.2 million to lease the units, depending on how many students accepted the offer, which is not mandatory. Those students would then pay a standard flat housing fee to OSU, with OSU covering remaining costs in the leases.

Isaacs told The Lantern that the number of students accepting the deal is “still fluid,” but could safely estimate it would be slightly more than 100.

“(The second-year living requirement) is not particularly a factor,” Isaacs said of the shortage, “because the North District Transformation Project is complete this year, adding approximately 3,200 beds to our residence hall inventory.”

Instead Isaacs attributed the housing shortage to an atypically large amount of third- and fourth-year students applying for housing, and cited the this year’s first-years as “one of the largest incoming classes in recent years.”

Isaacs also pointed out what he considered a silver lining to the housing shortage: Applications and enrollment are up.

“We are gratified that so many students see the great value in an Ohio State education and have applied to the university in record numbers this year,” Isaacs said, although exact numbers for enrollment and applications have not been finalized.

Displaced students will have the option of purchasing a meal plan, but unlike those living on-campus, it will not be required, Isaacs said. Resident Advisers will also be living in the apartment complexes, with housing provided by OSU, just as if they were in a residence hall.

Correction, 7/21: Originally this article incorrectly attributed quotes from Dave Isaacs, spokesman for the Office of Student Life, to Dan Hedman, spokesman for the Office of Administration and Planning.