Oxford College will welcome around 75 to 100 more students than usual with the incoming class of 2025, Dean Douglas Hicks announced on June 1. To accommodate this “super-sized” student body, Oxford has created a multi-faceted plan that includes offering additional courses and housing communities.
“Oxford College has experienced a remarkably strong yield of incoming first-year students, and it looks like we will have an abundance of diverse, talented Oxford students in the fall,” Hicks wrote in the email announcement.
To allow for the addition of new courses and more sections of existing courses, Oxford will hire additional professors and staff members for the fall semester. Hicks said the school hopes to avoid raising the caps on classes beyond typical exceptions so that “the small-class signature of Oxford is maintained.”
Oxford plans to add modular housing units on campus to house the additional students. These structures will create 86 single rooms that come with a sink and a bathroom shared with one other student.
Each unit will have a large common space and a Residence Life Coordinator that lives in the community. The rooms may include amenities, such as microfridges, smart TVs and “special events” for community members.
Returning sophomores will have priority for choosing new rooms. Incoming first-year students requesting singles will also possibly be considered for the new housing units.
Oxford dining is also set to broaden their food offerings starting in the fall, Hicks wrote. The Oxford Dining Hall, Jackson Family Kitchen and Oxpresso will all expand their menus for the incoming class and returning sophomores. Students can expect more information on the updated menus in August.
The email also announced that the Humanities Hall renovation project is still set to be completed by the end of the summer. The project, which broke ground in fall 2020, is part of Oxford’s Campus Master Plan, which was created in 1988 and updated in 2006. Past projects have included the restoration of Seney Hall and the conversion of the quad to brick pathways in 2012, the building of the Oxford Library in 2013 and the building of the Oxford Science Building in 2016. The Humanities Hall will feature a film screening room and a film production classroom.
