The spring semester will be over before you know it, and ETSU Housing is gearing up for the upcoming academic year with assignment changes, building renovations and new projects.
The reapplication process consists of two phases. Buc Ridge residents can request to return from Feb. 10-13. Residence hall residents wishing to return in the fall should reapply between Feb. 17-20.
Dr. Joe Sherlin, vice president for student life and enrollment, emphasized the university’s goal of nurturing student success through residential life.
“The Housing and Residence Life team really wants to provide support and focus for new students to the university and returning students,” Sherlin said.
A key change in housing assignments will focus on class-based dorm halls. New students will primarily be placed in Governors, Lucille Clement, Stone and West halls, while returning students are expected to reside in Buc Ridge, Centennial Hall, Davis Apartments and Luntsford Apartments. This structure aims to enhance support tailored to student needs at different stages of their academic journey.
“Having residential communities where new students are primarily assigned and then other communities where upper-class students are primarily assigned allows us to provide more support for the issues and needs that those communities have,” Sherlin said. “The goal is really to connect them to each other and also to work with them and to support them on their interests and needs based on where they are at the university.”
The first semester is a critical period in determining whether students remain at the university. Sherlin said this adjustment intends to create a stronger sense of connection within students, which can positively impact student retention.
Living Learning Communities (LLCs) are a perk to living on campus, which blend students of different class levels in the same area of focus to encourage academic growth. Returning residents in these communities can also serve as mentors for newer students.
Housing and dining prices are expected to increase for the 2025-26 academic year due to rising costs in utilities, maintenance and renovations. The proposed increase will go before the ETSU Board of Trustees for approval this semester.
“ETSU has been recognized nationally as a low-debt institution because we work hard to keep our tuition and our cost at a rate that students and families can afford,” Sherlin said. “We work to keep our increases at affordable rates and rates that are consistent with our peers.”
Sherlin emphasized that affordability remains a priority.
“We’re always going to keep housing and food as a major priority to keep as reasonable as we can and to have price points at various levels,” he said.
With off-campus competitors like Student Quarters and University Edge, ETSU regularly evaluates the housing market and its impact on students.
“We have to be reasonable and affordable relative to the market we’re in,” Sherlin said. “There’s benefit to being on campus because you can connect with your friends, you’re able to be more involved and students who live on campus generally do better academically.”
Sherlin said that on-campus housing is not for everyone, but the needs of students and families vary from case to case. Additionally, ETSU supports agents who assist students in navigating the off-campus housing market.
In recent years, ETSU has faced major housing complications due to high demand, leading to some students being placed in hotels and outdated dorms. With demand continuing to rise, the university is preparing to accommodate what is expected to be its largest freshman class this fall.
Last year, ETSU added around 400 beds across campus, and Sherlin remains confident that housing space will remain stable for both incoming and returning students.
Future housing plans include adding 80 beds to Yoakley Hall, which is expected to open in fall 2026, and the renovation of Stone Hall, scheduled to reopen in fall 2025.
For more information regarding the reapplication process, visit etsu.edu/students/housing/returningstudent.php.
