UW’s Orr Hall is now Upperclassman Hall at Orr, which will offer all double rooms as single rooms at a double room rate of $3,225 per semester for qualifying students. (UW Photo)
To better serve the needs of its returning students, the University of Wyoming Board
of Trustees has authorized UW’s Housing and Dining Services to create Upperclassman
Hall at Orr -- and will offer all double rooms as single rooms in Orr at a double
room rate of $3,225 per semester, which is the price of a double-occupancy room in
the newly constructed North and South halls.
Trustees approved the creation of Upperclassman Hall at Orr last week. Students must
meet one of these eligibility guidelines to qualify:
-- Student has lived in a UW residence hall for at least one academic year.
-- Student has sophomore or above status with a minimum of 24 credit hours earned
post high school graduation.
-- Student is 21 or older.
“With this Upperclassman Hall, we will be able to offer increased privacy, flexibility
and independence, all while maintaining the kind of residential life support our students
are accustomed to with our Residence Life staff,” says Eric Webb, associate vice president
of business enterprises at UW. “What’s more, this will give our returning students
an annual housing savings of $2,578.”
Upperclassman Hall students also will have the option to purchase a flexible meal
plan for $3,479 a semester that includes 225 meals at the new Dining Center at North
Hall, plus $500 in Dining Dollars that can be used across UW’s campus dining locations,
including all coffee shops, Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, Bucking Horse Bakery, Einstein
Bros Bagels and CJ’s Convenience Store.
The idea is to create a new sense of community on campus, says Kim Zafft, UW’s director
of housing.
“The goal with Upperclassman Hall at Orr is to gather like-minded individuals and
give them their own space based on status,” she says. “This could include a 21 and
older floor, a section for transfer students or a section for our returning students.
We are really excited to offer this and believe that this will help our students succeed
by retaining everything they’ve learned to love about living on campus.”
Those benefits include:
-- Being close to classes and campus events, the Wyoming Union and Half Acre Recreation
and Wellness Center.
-- A built-in community of students in a safe and secure environment.
-- Eligibility for fall semester release for graduation, study abroad and student
teaching.
-- One easy, all-inclusive billing each semester.
-- Free Wi-Fi and Steamboat Cinema.
-- Twenty-four-hour emergency maintenance and custodial services.
Students interested in this new housing opportunity should complete the online UW housing application and select the “Sophomore/20+ Living Learning Community” preference. Questions can
be emailed to the UW Housing Office at living@uwyo.edu.
“This has been a dream of mine for a long time,” UW Board of Trustees Chairman Kermit Brown says. “Upperclassmen should have a place of their own, and my hope is that, with a place of their own, more will choose to live on campus. Living on campus relieves a lot of stress and strain and really should be optimal for students who want to devote their time to studies.”
