The two buildings, one for women and one for men, will hold a total of 92 students. They will have a number of amenities, like air conditioning, a kitchen and in-apartment laundry. They are scheduled to be finished by the time school starts in August.

Greg Vetter, the executive vice president for the university, said the student population has been growing steadily in recent years. For the upcoming year, the school saw about a 3 percent increase in incoming students.

The increase in the student population has led to a need for more residential housing. This has been particularly evident in the past couple of years with affordable housing becoming harder to find in Bismarck, said Lynn Geary, University of Mary’s director of student life.

The extra space was obviously needed. The two buildings had more applications than could be filled by the housing deadline in March. There are close to 35 students on the waiting lists — mostly women, since the campus has a larger female population.

The apartments were given out in order of seniority: graduate students first, then seniors and finally juniors. Only a few juniors managed to get a spot in the apartments, Geary said.

Vetter said he thought the apartments were so popular because they offered a sort of “in-town living” while still on the U-Mary campus.

“It’s a more attractive living arrangement than a residence hall,” he said.

With more students needing or wanting on-campus housing in recent years, the school has worked with Expressway Inn to book extra rooms, if needed.

Within the next three years, U-Mary also is planning to build a new campus center — the “campus living room,” as Vetter calls it.

The university’s increasing population is exciting, Vetter said.

“How cool is this?” he said. “We’ve got growth, our students are excited about it.”

“There’s good things happening up here,” he added.
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/education/u-mary-building-new-on-campus-housing/article_cd77ac22-c32b-11e2-b97a-001a4bcf887a.html