CANTON – SUNY Canton is asking for help from the community to house some of the students who won’t find rooms in the college’s dormitories.

Residence halls at SUNY Canton are near capacity for the fall semester, prompting the college to seek assistance from area landlords to accommodate the influx of students.

“We have a large incoming first-year class and more returning students than ever before,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carli Schiffner, who will be the Interim SUNY Canton President as of Sept. 1.

“We are considering several options to help the college and the community continue to grow. Our first step is to ask the public if any additional housing options exist off-campus,” Schiffner said.

Families in the area who want to rent an unused room or landlords who expect to have vacancies should contact the college’s Residence Life Office at 386-7513 or reslife@canton.edu.

Last fall, the college added more than 300 new on-campus rooms with the opening of a new dorm, Grasse River Suites Residence Hall, with rooms in suite settings housing primarily upperclassmen and returning students.

“We’ll need to add even more housing as we continue our incredible growth,” noted SUNY Canton Director of Residence Life John Kennedy. “Our record enrollment growth has created a demand for more residential space, and it has combined with more students than ever wanting to live on campus.”

The college has broken its all-time record for applications for the third straight year and has received more than 6,500 applications for the first time in school history. As a result, officials are anticipating a fifth straight year of record-breaking enrollment.