Housing issues have plagued the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in recent years and with enrollment increasing, the problem doesn't seem to be letting up.

According to Stephanie Warner, assistant director of university housing for UWM, many students interested in dorm living are turned away each year because of limited space in campus housing.

"It is a problem because we don't even have enough housing to cover the freshman population," she said. "And in the last couple years the problem has been growing."

With an enrollment of more than 27,000 students in 11 schools and colleges, UWM boasts the second largest student population in the UW System. Yet campus housing there can accommodate only 2,700 students each year, according to Warner.

Students at UWM recognize the problem, some saying they anticipated it when entering the university.

"I was a relatively late applicant and I knew there wasn't going to be room for me," Megan Grundahl, UWM freshman, said. "I called to ask anyways but they already had people in single rooms who were doubling up."

Grundahl opted for an off-campus apartment relatively near to campus, but said some friends did not have such luck in finding a place so close.

Learning the bus routes is a must, she said, as that is often the easiest way to get to campus.

Grundahl noted that UWM's Neighborhood Housing program was integral in her search for an off-campus apartment.

Neighborhood Housing is a resource for students looking to rent or list an apartment or house; the service also offers roommate-matching services.

Lisa Sarnowski, Neighborhood Housing coordinator, said many first-year students at UWM access this service after not receiving on-campus housing. In fact, roughly 30 percent of first-year students end up living off campus in some capacity, she noted.

"I think at first, they're kind of shocked," Sarnowski said of first-year students who are turned down for on-campus housing and look to the nearby community for housing options. "Especially because it's an urban institution. But 90 percent of the student population lives off-campus."

Most students who do end up living off campus, she continued, live very close to where their classes and extracurricular activities meet.

Besides off-campus housing, students turned down for dorm living sometimes decide to live at home until openings become available.

Anna Waite, currently a sophomore at UWM, was denied housing for her first semester at the university; she chose to live at home and commute 30 minutes via park-and-ride to campus for classes.

"It's a pretty common thing," Waite said of UWM students being unable to secure campus housing. "My sister just got denied for next year. [T]hey put you on a waiting list, and then sometimes there's openings for second semester."

Waite did receive a spot in on-campus housing for her second semester at the university, and said she is living there again this year because "once you're in, it's pretty easy to keep your spot."

According to Grundahl, living off-campus has been a very positive experience. She said she would rather live off-campus than in the dorms, noting that non-residents have access to some dorm facilities, including the gym there.

Whether on campus or off, student housing demands continue to be an issue at UWM. According to Warner, there has been talk of the university purchasing a nearby hospital for housing purposes, but said the plans are not concrete.