A steady annual increase in student enrollment at Queen’s and the fast-approaching double cohort year has prompted numerous plans to increase current accommodation facilities.

At present, Queen’s does not have the resources available to provide this influx of students with housing and food services, but this problem will be solved before the class of 2007 arrives. Bob Crawford, dean of student affairs, explained.

“There are residence housing, food service, and housing issues to resolve. This is fundamental, if we can’t expand housing we can’t have more students,” he said.

Crawford said that the University established an Enrollment Planning Task Force two years ago, and has been preparing for the enrollment surge since the task force’s inception. He outlined several initiatives that have been discussed that are now in their preliminary stages, including plans to construct a new residence on campus.

“A project to build a new residence is underway. We’ve done a lot of preliminary work, and discussed issues surrounding the traditional dorm, up through suites, and up through apartments… We’ve hired a project manager, and an architect,” he said.

Crawford said that the planning stage involves considering both location and style of accommodation.

“We also feel that today’s student has a strong preference for single rooms,” Crawford added.

Since the project is in its infancy, the precise number of students the proposed residence will house remains unclear.

“We can use more than 400 beds, so if the project turns out to be larger than that, that’s fine,” he said.

Although several possible locations for the new residence have been discussed, the University has not chosen a definite site. Crawford indicated that the new site will be convenient and accessible to students. “We haven’t decided where it’s going to go and what it’s going to look like, but there are plans in the works. We’re looking in the areas that would be served by the current Ban Righ and Leonard dining halls. We know that it will be a residence that would still be based on people using these dining halls.”

Crawford said that current renovations to Mac-Corry, as well as impending renovations to the Leonard dining hall, are all being made in preparation for the enrollment surge.

Aside from on-campus preparations, the University is also looking into housing for students beyond their first year at Queen’s. Since most students move out of residence after their first year, plans are being considered for adding off-campus accommodations close to campus. It is still unclear whether or not this will be a project coordinated by the University or by an outside group.