First-Years and sophomores will soon begin selecting housing and roommate groups for the upcoming school year. Housing applications are due March 29, and roommate group selections are due by April 7. With the construction of Erickson ongoing and the large size of the First-Year class, many on-campus students are curious about what dormitories will be allotted to each class next year.
Current sophomores live in a variety of different places across campus. Andrea Guzman, the Area Coordinator for the second-year experience, oversees the entire sophomore class and said there are several areas available for rising sophomores next year.
“We have Erickson, and we have half of Swannie [Swanson],” Guzman said. “We also have the fourth floor of Andreen and the basement for suites. We have the 11th Avenue flats, Andy Bart, and then we have House on the Hill and the Esbjorn International house.”
According to Chris Beyer, the director of residential life and the assistant dean of students, all of these options for sophomore housing will remain available, but the 11th Avenue flats are not officially available for the rising sophomores yet. According to Beyer, whether this option is available or not will depend on the number of students filling out the housing application due at the end of the month.
“It’s going to depend on how many people apply for housing. And based on our projections, we are right on the line and it could go either way,” Beyer said. “Depending on the size of how many sophomores versus juniors [there are], there is always that group of students who return to commuter status, or decide not to return or study away. It could go either way, and we will know at the end of the month.”
The 11th Avenue flats used to be junior housing before it was given to the sophomore class last year.
“We are going to use everything that we are currently using for sophomores, in addition to the C-wing [in Erickson] being opened up from renovation. The only part of that still that is not completely certain is whether or not the 11th Avenue flats will be sophomore or junior housing,” Beyer said.
For the 2024-2025 school year, Erickson’s C-wing will be available for students to live in. According to Beyer, the renovations will include new flooring, paint, a new AC system and an upgrade to the bathroom.
“Rather than a large communal bathroom, it’s going to be a pod-style bathroom, so there’ll be six single-occupant bathrooms with a shower, toilet and sink for one person at a time which allows us to make this a mixed-gender floor,” Beyer said.
All prices for student housing have been released and are available on the Augustana website. The newly renovated wing of Erickson will remain the same price as the other two wings. For the 2024-2025 school year, the cost of an Erickson room will be $3,134 per semester for a standard double or triple room.
“C-wing will not cost more. It will be the same price as any standard residential hall room. The only cost difference is whether you’re in a single or a double, but that’s the case in Andreen, Westerlin and Seminary,” Beyer said.
The renovations for Erickson C-wing are on track to be completed for the upcoming school year, and the wing will be available for students this upcoming fall. Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Admission, Kirk Anderson, has been heavily involved with the Erickson renovations.
“Everything is staying on the same timeline– it’s not a situation where we have a lot of flexibility. The school season is going to start in the fall, and we have to be done by then because we anticipate using the new rooms for incoming students,” Anderson said. “If it does change, that could be problematic in the sense that we would have to figure something out. There is nothing right now that is keeping us from finishing it for the fall of 2024.”
