Some floors at Carman Hall will be closed this fall because of low freshmen enrollment.

Certain floors of Carman will be closed in order to try to lead freshmen into living into the more clustered residence halls.

Mark Hudson, director of Housing and Dining, said that even though there are no specific numbers for the upcoming semester, previous years have started to show that the extra floors may not be necessary.

“We do know that the last couple of years we’ve had shrinking freshman classes,” Hudson said. “Universities certainly go through ebbs and flows. It’s a result of the economy. We just happen to be in a low spot rather than a high spot right now.”

The good news for students is that the lower enrollment will not be changing tuition rates.

Hudson said states do not allocate funds to universities based on enrollment, therefore, the budget is not tied to enrollment.

Brenda Major, the director of Undergraduate Admissions, said the faculty has been working hard to make sure that the enrollment doesn’t get any lower.

“We have been working feverishly to make sure that the number of freshmen is higher than last year,” Major said. “Last year was extremely low.”

Major said the goal of the university is to have around 1,900 freshmen. Last year, there were only 1,469.

Major said she has staff that goes out and tries to recruit new students every year.

They do things such as visit community colleges and surrounding high schools beginning right after Labor Day, Major said.

“Our mission is to bring as many qualified applicants as we possibly can,” Major said. “We now have the opportunity to recruit students in neighboring states. We are doing a lot more in terms of publications and enhancing strategies that we are going to be using.”

It took research and looking at numbers to come to the conclusion that Carman Hall would be the best choice for closing floors, Hudson said.

“We have been studying for years the freshman and sophomore retention rate because if (the students) stay on campus longer, they have a better chance of graduating,” Hudson said.

Hudson said 42% of the students in Carman come back for a second year, while 60% of the students living in residence halls in the South Quad come back for a second time.

“That doesn’t mean that people aren’t living in Carman,” Hudson said. “You have to look at the number collectively.”

Major said Illinois can be seen as one of the most impoverished states in the nation. She said Eastern is funded by some of the lowest amounts from the states.

Many of Eastern’s students need financial aid which comes from the state. Because of Illinois’ financial condition, competitors may have a leg up when recruiting students.

According to Major, President William Perry has been doing his best to try to get more students to be able to come here by trying to assist them financially.

“President Perry tries to help as much as possible,” Major said. “He has directed $750,000 to impact students who enroll. (It is to) help students to stay and new students to come. (Financial assistance) is a major factor that is not totally beyond our control, but it’s difficult.”

Major said $750,000 is not a lot when looking at the number of students that the university is trying to serve. However she said President Perry’s efforts are “tremendous.”

The residence hall, which was built in the 1970s, making it the newest, will have floors that will be closed on both the female and male towers, Hudson said.

“We have upcoming open houses for students that are looking at us for the fall of 2012,” Major said. “We’ve got some challenges ahead of us for the class of 2011, but we are optimistic for what we are able to do for the upcoming years, as well.”

Melissa Sturtevant can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected]