As predicted by school officials, Iowa State now has more students than ever before.

President Steven Leath announced Iowa State’s official enrollment of 34,732 students to the Board of Regents on Sept. 10.  

The 4.5 percent increase from 2013 is not only due to a large freshman class but also higher retention rates, which is nearly 87 percent, according to Leath.

Leath also expressed pride in Iowa State’s large international population. More than 8,000 international students attend Iowa State and currently represent 23 percent of the ISU population.

While higher enrollment has helped increase Iowa State’s 2015 fiscal year budget to $584.6 million, many departments have been forced to expand their services to serve more students.

The Department of Residence has seen an 11.8 percent increase in contracted housing on and off campus. The department now houses 12,237 students, 967 more than the 2013-14 school year.

“We’ve definitely increased [services] to accommodate growth,” said Brittney Rutherford, marketing coordinator for the Department of Residence. “Luckily, we’ve been able to respond and serve our students’ needs by leasing space, using dens and adding buildings.”

Rutherford said the Department of Residence has been preparing for more students for the past few years. Legacy Towers in Campustown, along with the Maricopa apartment buildings and 250 additional spaces leased in West Ames, have added 1,060 beds since spring 2013.

“Frederiksen Court was an 18-month expansion that added over 700 beds for us as well,” Rutherford said. “We’re also using our dens as well. That’s how we were able to accommodate an additional 950 students.”

Leath said the percentage of students living on campus is outpacing the overall population growth. 

“Demand for housing has increased 42 percent over the last nine years,” Leath said. “Enrollment has only increased 29 percent.”

Rutherford said more students deciding to live on campus after their freshman year coupled with enrollment growth has been the catalyst of the increased housing demand.

Rutherford and Leath both said housing was found for every new freshman and transfer student who submitted his or her housing application before the March 1 deadline. Around 200 late applicants were forced to find housing elsewhere.

Housing is not the only department affected by a growing student body. ISU Dining has faced tough decisions as well, especially after the fire at Union Drive Community Center in June.

Kyle Phillips, sophomore in mechanical engineering, has noticed campus dining halls are more crowded as well.

“It’s busier here this year than it was last year,” Phillips said of Seasons Marketplace. “Especially around noon and 6 o’clock.”

Long lines at popular campus eateries might be more common than in years past, but Nancy Keller, director of Campus Dining Services, said there are strategies students can employ to beat the rush.

“If students didn’t all come in at noon, there would be a better flow,” Keller said. “If you go there at the off times, if you came at 12:25 instead of noon, you could walk right in the dining hall.”

Keller said the increased traffic is not a new trend. The Global Cafe in Curtiss Hall was opened in 2013 and the ABE Cafe in Sukup Hall opened this year to give students options during the “lunch crunch.”

Keller also noted that students seem to be eating on different schedules than in years past, prompting ISU Dining to extend hours and increase staff.

“We are busier later at night now,” Keller said. “We have extended Conversations [dining center] to 11 o’clock and we’ve added some assistant managers in our late night time frames.”

Official numbers for meal plans and dining employees will be released Sept. 15.

ISU Dining has been given the go-ahead by the Board of Regents to begin planning a new campus dining hall. The project is currently in the early stages and will need further approval from the Board of Regents in the future.

While addressing the Board of Regents, Leath explained that Iowa State could not flourish without the help of Ames.

“Ames and Iowa State have an unusual and tremendous town and gown relationship,” Leath said. “It may be contributing to the overall interest of students.”