ORANGEBURG, S.C. — South Carolina State University is once again facing an issue with student housing heading into the 2023 fall semester. Students arriving at the Orangeburg campus are reporting no room being available.
Sam Watson, Director of University Relations at SC State, said -- at over 1,200 students -- the university has the largest incoming class in more than a decade and total enrollment should be between 2,900 and 3,000 students this fall. Watson said the university is taking the following steps to alleviate the situation:
- SC State is doing its best to place all students who requested housing this fall, but with limited capacity and record growth, the process is taking longer than we anticipated. We are amid the process of confirming whether no-shows -- students who were given room assignments but did not check into their rooms – still intend to reside in SC State housing. As those situations are resolved, we are placing students from the waitlist in those rooms.
- By the end of business today, we anticipate housing all students who paid their enrolment/housing application fees by the June 12 deadline. We will continue to place other waitlisted students as available spaces are confirmed, but we cannot guarantee housing for students who applied after the deadline.
- Anticipating the growth, we asked the SC State University Real Estate Foundation to lease additional off-campus housing to house upperclassmen.
- SC State is renovating four residential complexes in hopes of bringing 100 more rooms online in the spring semester and adding another 300 in fall 2024.
In addition, Watson said the administration is exploring options for increasing university-affiliated housing, including the construction of more living-learning communities on the campus and working with developers to increase off-campus offerings.
The university is currently undergoing renovations to Truth Hall, a freshman dorm that was originally constructed in 1972. The $10 million project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2024.
Earlier this year, SC State had requested $209 million in state funding to go toward five capital projects to replace outdated facilities, including $54.7 million to reconstruct Turner Hall, $40 million for a new health and wellness facility, $30 million for a new library, and $45 million to replace the Smith Hammond Middleton Memorial Center with a larger convocation center.
