Clemson University says renovations and expansion will add roughly 800 beds in coming years

Doug Hollandback, Clemson University’s vice president for student affairs, briefed the council on May 4 about enrollment trends and university housing plans.

Hollandback said fall 2025 enrollment was roughly 29,545 students (about 27,119 on the main campus) and that the university continues to target modest annual growth. He said the first-year class for fall 2025 was 5,082—about 32 over the stated target—and that the first-year-to-second-year retention rate is 94.1%, up from 92.4 four years earlier.

On housing, Hollandback said renovations to existing high-rise residence halls will add about 427 beds next fall and that an upcoming phase of a residence project (referred to as Dood Hills expansion in the presentation) would add approximately 372 beds, meaning nearly 800 beds total across the two projects. "Our goal is to have at least 25% of the undergraduate student population live on campus," he said.

Hollandback also noted operational changes tied to housing, including restrictions on first-year student parking on campus to reduce congestion and continued partnership with the CAT bus. He emphasized that the university and city maintain a joint university–city committee to coordinate planning.

Council members asked whether Bridge Clemson students were included in first-year counts; Hollandback said Bridge students are counted in addition to the 5,050 target and estimated the Bridge cohort at about 1,500.

Ending: The university offered to return with feasibility studies and more detailed planning data as projects and timing are refined.