Enrollment rates are on the rise for N.C. A&T, but the amount of space on campus steadily decreases by the year. 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, A&T’s enrollment has grown about 26% from 2012 to 2022, maintaining its status as the most prominent HBCU in the nation.

In 2018, A&T announced plans for Bluford Residence Hall. Those plans have now been set in motion after five years. 

The North Carolina General Assembly has approved the project, which will cost about $64 million. The dorm will be located across from Harrison Auditorium. 

It will have 405 student beds, including amenities such as a gaming room, full kitchens on each floor, on-site laundry, proximity to academic classrooms, Williams Dining Hall, F.D. Bluford Library, and student gathering spots.

Housing Crisis 

The recurring housing crisis is reflected year after year as college students, particularly juniors and seniors, struggle to find housing for the coming semester.  

Considering that first-year students get housing priority, the rule to get on-campus housing is first come, first served, and options can be limited. 

Students demonstrated their protest in 2022 by congregating around Holland Hall, a classic dorm on the campus’s southern edge.

 Protesting students carried posters that said, “Decrease the admissions rate” and “1/3 of NCAT students don’t have housing.” 

The protest’s organizer, junior Haleigh Aldridge, told ABC 45 that she believes the university is accepting too many applicants.

“The school is admitting too many students and securing housing for incoming students coming in and not current students that are already here that need housing,” Aldridge said. 

“I’m a current student that’s here that needs housing and I don’t have housing, I don’t know what I’m going to do for the next semester,” she concluded. 

While housing issues at HBCUs are particularly pronounced due to having older buildings and their funding, this will be the first time in at least 16 years the university will be building a new dorm.

Staci Manter, the Interim Director for the Office of the University Engineers, says that the University recognizes the growing issue around on-campus housing. 

“Originally, this project was a Foundation project to which the drawings were completed to 80%,” Manter said.

“The University took over the project and has brought the design to a 100% completion rate. The project will begin construction in the coming months and will be complete in 2025,” Manter concluded. 

Ground-Breaking Event

Local dignitaries joined A&T and officially broke ground on the project on Feb. 22. 

Jazlyn Smith, senior psychology student and president of the Resident Hall Association (RHA), joined Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. in the groundbreaking ceremony. 

She says that she is very “excited about this new residence hall, and can’t wait to implement new programs.”

“I believe this new residence hall will foster community within the dormitories,” Smith said. “The RHA cannot wait to implement new programs within those dorms and connect students.” 

New Students Anticipating the Future

Incoming Aggies are ecstatic about the possibility of being able to live in Bluford Resident Hall upon completion. Cyrean Jasmine, a senior at Northeast Academy, will be a freshman in the fall. 

“I think this new dorm is needed based on enrollment numbers because we have so many students wanting to attend, but there simply isn’t enough space,” Jasmine said. “I am super excited to see how this plan for the dorm will unfold.” 

Chancellor Martin said this will be A&T’s “most dynamic construction area over the next 14 years.” 

“A new complex will join Bluford Hall for the John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences – which continues to grow,” Martin said. 

“The facilities in Precinct F will support our university for many generations to come and create an exciting new dimension of North Carolina A&T that signals to the world our focus on the future and that this university is here to stay.”

In the wake of A&T’s steadily increasing enrollment and the persistent challenge of limited on-campus housing, the approval and imminent construction of the $64 million Bluford Residence Hall stand as a significant milestone for the university.

The completion of Bluford Hall in 2025, signals a solution to the university’s housing woes and a commitment to fostering community growth.