After last fall’s rooming controversy due to an increase in freshman class size, some residence halls will be making changes to accommodate next year’s incoming class.

Jim McMahon, associate vice president for Student Affairs, said Marquette is expecting a class of about 1,900 freshman students along with an estimated 150 transfers.

In order to accommodate the continuing increase in the university’s population, the Office of Residence Life decided some dorms’ resident assistants will be moving into single rooms instead of doubles, which they now occupy.

These buildings so far include Straz Tower, Carpenter Tower, O’Donnell Hall and some floors of Cobeen Hall.

McMahon said current RAs may be disappointed, but incoming RAs should not be affected by the shift. The other option would have been placing RAs with roommates, he said.

RAs receive the benefits of free room and board from the university. A sophomore dorm RA, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said if the job is taken for the right reasons, the room size shouldn’t make a difference.

During the fall, some common rooms in McCormick Hall were converted into four-person rooms to help with the overflow in the dorm.

The quads in O’Donnell Hall were once the dorm’s study halls but were repurposed in response to increased residents.

The sophomore dorm RA said she believes the current solution is temporary until a new building can be acquired or built for future students.

It was speculated that the recent raise in tuition for the 2012-’13 academic year had an effect on this decision, but McMahon rejected that idea.

“There is no connection between the two,” he said.

A current RA applicant, who also spoke anonymously, said the situation is not ideal but is understandable considering the university’s recent swell in applications.

“Regardless of placement or selection, the benefits far outweigh the smaller room size for me,” the applicant said.

The changes to living arrangements will also vary according to building. RAs in Straz and Carpenter Towers still have the benefit of private bathrooms and larger facilities.

“Straz still has fantastic facilities,” the RA applicant said. “Other residence halls may be harder for RAs to be comfortable in.”

If the university would have limited acceptance letters sent or found a secondary location for incoming students, the problem may have been avoided, the sophomore dorm RA said.

ORL will be monitoring enrollment and occupancy over the course of next year and if things change then RAs will return to their old rooms McMahon said.

“I think with the housing issues last year they should have expected the same to happen this year,” the RA said. “It’s unfortunate, but not a deal-breaker.”