University of Arkansas expects record enrollment, plans to build dorms

• The largest freshman class was in 2022, with about 7,100 students.

State of play: The 6,200 on-campus beds are not enough to house all students who want to live there, so the university has contracts with off-campus apartment complexes, Thomas said in an email.

• About 1,200 students will have university housing contracts but live at The Cardinal, The Locale, The Marshall and College Town Fayetteville.
• Freshmen are required to live on campus, with some exceptions — like living nearby with parents.

What's next: The U of A will spend the entire academic year designing two new dormitories to be constructed in the parking lot north of Hotz Hall and the open space south of the Maple Hill communities.

• The board of trustees in May approved the projects and expects one of the residence halls to cost $127 million to $135 million, and the other between $117 million and $129 million, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.