The Department of Residence is nearing its goal for residence hall contracts for 2005-06 with a charge led by students returning to the dorms.

As of Monday, just more than 3,500 returning students had signed up to live in the residence halls again — more than 400 more than the department’s goal for that demographic, 3,097.

The department said it is about 800 contracts short of its goal of 7,179 on-campus residents next year. That’s a slight decrease from the fall 2004 total of 7,410 residents.

“The numbers are looking very positive, but we are very cautiously optimistic,” said Heather Phillips, residence life coordinator. “A lot of things can change over the next few months.”

The department’s decision to discontinue the Fresh Start program has helped add to higher return rates, although that can’t be proven statistically, said Greg Lee, associate director of residence halls. Fresh Start included several programs and policies that some students found restrictive, like community service requirements and visitation policies.

“I think we’ve also sent the message to our current students that we want them to stay,” Phillips said. “Hall directors have also made a lot of contact with students. We’ve also increased our marketing to our current students.”

The Department of Residence divides contract figures into three sections: one for returning students, one for incoming freshmen and one for transfer students.

Occupancy rates for incoming freshmen have the department about 700 residents short of its fall 2005 goal of 3,303. As of Monday, 2,601 incoming freshmen had signed with Iowa State to live in the residence halls.

The department is below its goal for transfer students, as well. Only 223 transfers have contracts with the university to live on campus. The department’s goal is 779.

“It’s a long time from now until fall count,” Lee said. “There still is a lot of time to go.”

A lot of application activity happens in the summer, and Todd Holcomb, interim director of the Department of Residence, predicted there will be a substantial increase in occupancy rates come opening day for classes this fall.

“We saw a few students moving off campus the last three years,” Holcomb said. “This is a dramatic increase and turnaround to have this many students at this time.”

The closing of Wallace and Wilson halls at the end of this school year will decrease the department’s capacity as the demand for rooms increases. But Holcomb said their closings will benefit the department.

“Really, what happened with closing Wallace-Wilson will make us more efficient because we will also be closing the dining hall,” Holcomb said.

Phillips said the department has increased its awareness of students’ needs, and it has seen positive benefits in the number of contracts that have already been filed.