Flathead Valley Community College has begun to collect applications for its first on-campus student housing. At the same time, the college has recorded another slight enrollment increase this spring.

The community college recorded 2,447 students taking courses this spring — that’s 14 more students compared to last year. The number of full-time equivalent students reached 1,344, which is 10 more than last spring. Both those numbers represent roughly a 1-percent increase over the previous spring.

In order to help some students find affordable places to live, this winter the college unwrapped its student housing web page, roughly a year after the FVCC Board approved the project.

“Student housing is a very exciting next step,” said President Jane Karas in a recent interview. “The option for individuals to live on campus and to have that access is very critical.”

FVCC is scheduled to offer the on-campus housing for students beginning in the fall of 2017. The college has worked with contractor CTA Architects Engineers since last year to design the buildings that will provide lodging for 124 students.

According to the web page, students can rent a single studio apartment for $3,240 per semester, and $2,160 during the summer. A two-bedroom shared apartment would cost $2,678 per semester and $1,786 in the summer. The price includes all utilities including Wi-Fi.

The units include kitchens, laundry facilities, study and meeting areas and free parking. Walking paths will allow residents easy access to the rest of campus, as well as to nearby stores and restaurants.

As of this month, the college had received 28 applicants for the campus housing so far. Of those applications, 10 are from Flathead and Lincoln Counties, 14 are out-of-district and four are from out-of-state students.

Two-thirds of the applicants are freshmen with majors ranging from nursing to goldsmithing.

While FVCC is seeing a recent increase in students, over the last decade the state’s three community colleges have seen a 10.6 percent overall decline in enrollment, according to Montana University System data. Those numbers include reports from FVCC, Dawson Community College in Glendive and Miles Community College in Miles City.

During that time, FVCC is the only community college in the state to see an overall student enrollment increase.

For more information about FVCC’s student housing, visit https://www.fvcc.edu/campus-guide/student-housing/.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at [email protected].