A need for more phone numbers on campus and confusion about on- and off-campus numbers led to a new phone number prefix at Iowa State, said the director of Telecommunications.

ISU started using the 572 prefix this summer to replace many of the 296 phone numbers on campus. John Kingland, director of Telecommunications, said the university was running out of telephone numbers available to it for expansion.

Willow, Larch, Helser and all of Towers residence halls switched to the 572 prefix at the end of the spring semester. Kingland said the remaining residence halls will make the switch next summer. The University Student Apartment Community also is gradually changing to new phone numbers.

“USAC is being changed as the residents move out, and when new residents move in,” Kingland said. “The [residents] that are there keep their same numbers.”

When the university needed to open a new extension, it decided to change all residence halls to the same prefix to eliminate some of the confusion of having both on- and off-campus phone numbers with the 296 prefix, Kingland said.

“People were confused whether to dial five numbers or seven numbers,” he said.

Kingland said the decision to open the new exchange and switch only on-campus student residence halls was made jointly by Telecommunications and the Department of Residence.

“After [next summer], all student residences will be 572,” Kingland said. “There will be no 572s anywhere else in the city.”