When Chippewa Valley Technical College freshman Laura Poast decided to attend college, she didn’t necessarily want to start out living on her own in an apartment.

But thanks to a new three-year contract UW-Eau Claire signed with CVTC in May, Poast is able to live in the Towers Residence Hall and purchase a meal plan, along with 18 other students from CVTC.

The agreement did not pertain to the fact that Housing and Residence Life had extra rooms, or because of the state budget problems, said Bill Harms, associate vice chancellor for student services.

The agreement had been discussed for the past few years, he said, and was finally put into action this year.

According to the contract, CVTC students pay $2,410 per bed for the 2003-04 academic year – the same amount Eau Claire students pay. All students are required to purchase a meal plan at the same costs.

Some additional residence life programs may be available to the CVTC students, such as intramurals, which are being worked out, Harms said.

The contract will expire at the end of the 2005-2006 academic year. At that time it can be extended for additional one-year terms, according to the agreement.

“This year is the test pilot to see how it works out,” Harms said. “Then we’ll meet with CVTC officials to evaluate and make adjustments for next year.”

The extra rooms available to rent to non-university students can be attributed to the smaller freshman class, Harms said. He added this is also the first time in three years that Eau Claire students did not need to be housed in area hotels because of overflow in the dorms.

“(The agreement’s) very good,” Harms said. “This has been a very positive venture, both for CVTC students and UW-Eau Claire students.”

He said there have been no negative comments; CVTC appreciates and is very positive about the situation.

All 19 CVTC students will be living in Towers’ double and overflow rooms for the full academic year. Under the contract, only CVTC students share rooms with other CVTC students.

So far, Poast likes the arrangement and said it made things a lot easier than getting an apartment.

“I’ve been able to meet a lot of people I wouldn’t have been able to meet if I would have lived in an apartment,” she said. “It’s a good experience to meet people and not jump into living on your own real drastically.”