Rachel Coyne is concerned about her upcoming semester at Chatham University’s Eden Hall campus in Richland.

The school announced it is closing the sole dormitory on the branch campus, and students instead will be housed at the university’s main campus in Pittsburgh. Coyne, like other students who planned to live on the Eden Hall campus, now faces a lengthy shuttle ride to get to her classes.

“Almost 40 students are displaced by the (university) board’s decision and last-minute notice, a portion of whose jobs are now insecure. Students scheduled classes around living here and found jobs for their time there,” Coyne wrote in a change.org petition aimed at getting Chatham officials to change their minds. As of Monday, the petition had surpassed its initial goal of 1,000 signatures.

The university announced July 1 that it is closing Orchard Hall because not enough students are living at the residence hall.

“Opened in 2015 with the capacity to support 60+ residential students, residency has hovered between less than 15 and, at its peak, 40 students, compared to over 160 students enrolled in the Falk School this past fall. These results are far from the occupancy we hoped and budgeted for,” said an official statement from Chatham on the matter.

The university reports its overall enrollment this year at more than 2,300 students.

The dorm closure is a setback for the university, which last year launched a universitywide reorganization aimed at tackling a reported budget shortfall of up to $12 million.

The 338-acre Eden Hall campus is home to the university’s Falk School of Sustainability and Environment and almost all of that school’s classes are provided at the campus, which is a sustainability model, with most of its power derived from solar panel arrays on its buildings.

“We had always been told that our schedules revolved around being at Eden Hall. So, it was easier if we just lived at Orchard, since all of our classes would be there,” Coyne said.

Nearly a decade ago, Chatham Eden Hall had “a plan for two residence halls with a capacity of 60 each. One was built (Orchard Hall), and the other was not. It was to be built when/if demand warrants it,” according to Bill Campbell, the university’s vice president of marketing and communications.

Coyne, a rising sophomore, is one of 70 students who formed Chatham Students United, a student coalition formed in response to Orchard Hall’s closing. She said the closure of the residence hall is more than just a travel inconvenience for students.

“(Orchard Hall) is a really central portion of the Falk School, which houses environmental science, sustainability and food studies majors, which is home on the Eden Hall campus. So, Orchard was like the place for us to have that. I think, since that’s the best part, we want to preserve that.”

Along with creating a petition, Chatham Students United wrote a list of demands for the administration to consider, including keeping Orchard Hall open and providing more open communication between university officials and students.

“I believe that this would also benefit the administration because, if students are able to share what they want out of their administration, then it’s a happier campus for the students,” Coyne said.

“While I wish we had more time to phase this in, the analysis and inability to achieve full occupancy at Orchard Hall again this fall requires us to make this difficult decision before the start of the academic year,” said Chris Purcell, Chatham’s dean of students, in a statement about Orchard Hall’s closing.

“As with any change in strategy, it creates an opportunity for us to come together as a community to discuss and envision new approaches for Orchard Hall and the Eden Hall campus experience.”

Students are not as confident, according to Coyne.

“The Board of Trustees has made this decision without any notice to the student body that the closure of Orchard was being discussed. The lack of transparency from administration decisions has continuously been an issue universitywide among students, even being pointed out during the most recent university town hall meeting.”

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