SOUTHEAST LOOKS AT FULL HOUSE THIS FALL

If Southeast Missouri State University were a motel, the no vacancy sign would be out for the fall semester.

More than 2,000 students have signed up for campus housing, and the school plans to reopen a wing of the Dearmont building as temporary housing for 100 to 130 students.

Students will begin moving into the dorms Thursday. Fall classes begin Monday.

Typically, some students don't show up for school and others drop out early in the semester.

As a result, the students assigned to Dearmont should be moved to permanent housing within a few weeks, said Dr. SueAnn Strom, vice president of student affairs.

An increase in freshmen who enrolled is key to the campus housing demand, Strom said.

The school also has spent millions renovating campus housing in recent years.

School officials estimate freshman enrollment to be up 10 to 15 percent from last year's class of 1,200 students. That would mark the first major turn-around in freshmen enrollment since 1981.

The school might see an increase of 100 to 150 freshmen this fall, said Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president.

Total enrollment, however, might remain flat because of a lower freshmen enrollment the three previous years, Wallhausen said.

The school's decision to raise admission standards has attracted better students and should improve retention, he said.

The school has worked hard to boost enrollment. "We are just glad to see it turning around," Wallhausen said.

Only a few months ago, school officials were talking of empty dorm beds.

In March, the Board of Regents decided to close the 35-year-old Dearmont building as a residence hall for the 1995-96 academic year and use it only for offices.

At the time, much of the building was already home to the public safety department and other offices.

School officials had estimated that even with the closing of Dearmont, nearly one-fourth of dorm beds would be empty over the course of the school year.

But so far, the demand for housing has exceeded projections.

All four Towers residence halls, Myers Hall and Cheney Hall are booked solid.

"We have 308 contracts in Greek housing as compared to 200 or 214 last year," Strom said.

The increased demand for campus housing followed major renovations to Towers West and North residence halls over the past two years and $300,000 in improvements this year alone to other dorms, she said.