Local housing facilities find more business from Wofford students amidst the coronavirus pandemic

Traditionally, Wofford has been a school proud of its ability to keep students living on campus. You may remember the boast of 98% of students living on campus when you were touring. That was true, for the most part, up until recently.  

It seems to coincide with the basketball team going to March Madness in 2019, that Wofford’s enrollment has increased significantly. We faced this problem for the first time in fall 2019, whenmany students did not have secure places to live until late July and early August. During this time, a stipend was offered for any students who wanted to give up their place on campus and live somewhere else. As a result, off campus living became more normalized.  

With the hit of the coronavirus pandemicstudy abroad cancellations as well as more over-enrollment, Wofford had an even bigger issue with housing its students than it did last year. Many students, myself included, either opted, or had no choice but to live off campus.Several other students live in my relatively-new apartment complex as well.  

When speaking to the leasing agent of Church Street Lofts, Todd Barker, he agreed that the over-enrollment has definitely helped the business. He said, “Before the housing issue at Wofford started, we didn’t have any Wofford students. I believe we have about 12-14 students currently.”  

With so many students off campus, and no sign of the coronavirus pandemic letting up anytime soon, what’s to come next? 

Dean Lemere provided some insight into the future of Wofford housing. . He said that an increase in the number of students was calculated into the five year growth plan set back in 2014. As for the policy changing to being more lenient, Dean Lemere said, “The specific policy has not dramatically changed, but we have become more flexible over the past 15 years.” 

 In addition, he stated, “Residence Life staff have always tried to be supportive of students and families who have felt it was in the student’s best interest to commute.” 

 He concluded by saying, “Wofford is a special place and I think this is an exciting time to be a part of the community and for years to come.”