More displaced students waited in line to register for classes again Wednesday, but were warned in advance that no on-campus housing is available.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 2,800 displaced students had applied to the University and 1,800 had scheduled classes.
Residential Life reached maximum capacity Tuesday after housing 450 new students and stopped accepting applications for housing after there the waiting list reached 300 students.
The Daily Reveille incorrectly reported Wednesday that 450 rooms were available in campus housing. Those rooms were full.
Frank Cartledge, vice provost for academic affairs, said that while classroom space is becoming more sparse for upper level courses, the University will continue to enroll students until the end of the week.
Robert Doolos, University registrar, said procedures have been changed to make registration run more smoothly today after new students saw long lines and disorganization Tuesday.
“We’ve got a better handle on receiving students and finding out where they are in the process,” Doolos said Wednesday afternoon.
Doolos said the University continues to receive applications, but there are other obstacles for enrolling students.
“The first questions I ask them is ‘do you need housing?’” he said. “I tell them housing is full.”
Doolos said students on waiting lists will be helped if students with rooms cancel their housing contract due to the hurricane.
Mimi Lavalle, residential life communications coordinator, said all dorms that were closed for renovations have been reopened. Additional resident assistants were hired to staff the dorm.
Lavalle said there are 200 women and 100 men on the list to find housing. Residential Life conducted a census of current residence, Lavalle said, and any resident that has not returned will be personally contacted to see if they will continue to use their room.
Room cancelations will then go to students on the waiting list.
Lavalle said they are also in the process of trying to find volunteers off campus to house new students.
Cartledge said half of the students who applied were from the University of New Orleans and the remainder were mainly from Tulane, Loyola and Xavier.
“We’re getting students on every level,” Cartledge said. “It’s easier for us to handle the freshmen but it’s much harder to handle the graduating seniors.”
About three-fourths of the students who have enrolled are upperclassmen. Upper-level courses are becoming harder to schedule, and Cartledge said there are no more available lab classes.
Students who have enrolled are considered visiting students and Cartledge said he thinks most the New Orleans universities are going to wave residence requirements for graduating seniors.
Cartledge said he does not know yet how the University will handle visiting students who decide to remain at LSU past this semester.
Contact Ginger Gibson at [email protected]
On-campus housing full, classes still open
September 7, 2005