COLUMBIA — Low enrollment and more dorms open than needed has caused the University of Missouri to add Respect Residence Hall as an option for graduate students for fall semester.

"Normally we would have used the hall for undergrads, but because we are not going to need it for that, we decided to see if there is an interest in using it for graduate housing," said Frankie Minor, the director of residential life.

The university offered three student apartment facilities for several years, but graduate students will soon have two other options to choose from.

"We also entered into an agreement with the Reserve, to offer a small set of apartments out there specifically for graduate professional students as well," Minor said.

Graduate student Sintia Radu said she doesn't think grad students would benefit from living on campus.

"We choose a place based on the level of comfortability, so how quiet it is and, even though this place would be entirely for graduate students, it would be surround by other undergraduate places," Radu said.

Radu said Respect Hall may be a better option for first year graduate students who don't have a car.

"I think that might be an option, especially international students prefer to live on campus where it's close to the school that they are studying in," Radu said. 

Residential Life has had some calls from people interested in Respect Residence Hall, but no one has signed a contract yet.

"We think the interest is going to grow over the course of the summer, how much its going to grow were going to continue to see, but again its all about trying to make use of our resources," Minor said.

He said he hopes enrollment will go back up for the fall of 2017. If that happens, the university will go back to housing undergraduates in Respect. If not, the university may offer graduate student housing on campus for an additional year.