— by Jonathan Cresswell and Jamie Freshwater
Around 200 new students have not been told where they will live for the year just 6 days before enrolment – and have been told that that they may be put in ‘short stay accommodation’ for a few weeks, but the university does not know exactly where those places will be.
The affected students have been told in an email to come to Lincoln on Sunday, September 18th but to only bring the bare essentials as “it is unlikely that we will be able to tell you whether you will be in temporary or permanent accommodation”.
Students could be left in the short stay residencies for “the first few weeks”, but the university will try to put people “all together as best we can as well”.
A message on the University of Lincoln’s official Facebook page on Tuesday, September 13th indicated that they do not yet know exactly where the students will be housed, saying: “It may be hotels but we’re also looking at other options which maybe very similar to halls of residence.”
Another post added: “We have found some accommodation that students will be able to move straight into. Though for most it will most likely be the temporary option depending how many accommodation options we can secure for you.”
In a statement, the University of Lincoln explained: “More people are asking for our help with finding accommodation this year, with fewer people living at home with their parents.”
“It is therefore taking longer than normal to find accommodation, but we are determined to help find places for everyone. The university’s accommodation team is working round the clock to do this. Every year we see students holding offers of accommodation that they then do not take up, so the team is reallocating places as soon as they become available to the next people on the waiting list.”
The room shortage is despite the University of Lincoln block-booking 2,500 rooms for new students, including around 50% of the rooms available in private developments in the city.
The move attracted criticism from many current students at the time as it meant many of them could not rebook, but it appears now that not enough rooms were reserved.
In January, the university told The Linc that approximately 75% of incoming students apply for halls-style residency, and were expecting “3,200 new entrant undergraduates in 2011/12, which would equate to an estimated 2,400 applications for accommodation”.
— Correction: This article has been modified to make it clearer that the students will not be without a home completely, rather that the students have not been told where they are yet.