SEMO announces plan to defer admissions; residence halls overcrowded

Southeast Missouri State University has finalized plans to defer admission for certain applicants as the institution confronts student housing constraints in the face of another year of projected record enrollment.

Beginning July 11, admission is being deferred until spring 2012 for applicants living outside a 50-mile radius of Cape Girardeau and applying for fall 2011 admission, according to a Southeast news release.

The deferral was announced in light of a large anticipated beginning freshman class, said Debbie Below, assistant vice president for enrollment management/director of admissions.

Below says the admissions deferral applies to students who have already applied as well as future applicants, including traditional, new first-time applicants outside the 50-mile radius and new transfer applicants outside the 50-miles radius who do not meet the residency requirement.

The deadline for these students to complete the admission process and submit their $150 housing deposit and contract is July 8.

"We are expecting a large freshmen class of approximately 1,900 students this fall," she said in the news release, and Southeast's residence hall system is at its capacity. "This is the second consecutive year the University anticipates enrolling 1,900 freshmen and nearly 700 new transfer students."

To date, the university has 2,981 housing contracts in place for this fall, said Bruce Skinner, director of Residence Life at Southeast. He says Southeast currently has 120 more housing contracts than it had at this time last year.

Southeast had 2,937 students living in its residence halls on move-in day in August 2010.

Beginning freshmen or new transfer students with fewer than 57 completed credit hours, who are under 21, unmarried, not supporting dependent children, not a veteran and not living with a parent are required to live on campus at Southeast.

Below said Southeast will continue to accept admissions applications for the fall 2011 semester for students within commuting distance of Southeast who are not requesting on-campus housing.

Pertinent address:

One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO