EWING — Some upperclassmen at The College of New Jersey may be trading in their metal dorm keys for hotel room swipe cards come September as part of a plan to shrink a deficit of on-campus beds.

The chronic bed shortage at TCNJ will be even worse than usual next year because one of two freshmen dorms will be closed for maintenance.

“Our students very much want to live on campus, more than we can house, and we are looking for ways, short- and long-term, to solve that problem,” TCNJ spokeswoman Stacy Schuster said.

An e-mail sent to students Tuesday detailed the shortage of beds on campus and the process of finding more accommodations that will take place over the coming weeks.

“We are issuing a request for proposals for local hotels that may be able to issue housing to our students,” Schuster said. “It is probably the option that would be most desirable.”

The school hopes to secure at least 310 beds in a hotel within 10 miles of campus to compensate for the loss of Cromwell Hall, a freshman dorm that will be closed for repairs next year. The housing would be reserved for upperclassmen and treated “as though it were one of our operating buildings,” Schuster said.

Some of the details, such as whether the rooms will have maid service and room-service meals, have yet to be determined and will be negotiated after a hotel is chosen, she said. The college is also considering whether and how to provide a shuttle service to campus.

The plan replicates housing strategies used at other schools, such as The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey near Atlantic City, which houses students in hotel dorms.

“I know that this is something not only colleges in the state have done but colleges across the country have done,” Schuster said.

Cromwell Hall will be closed so the college can replace its antiquated plumbing system, the roof, some mechanical systems, and furniture. New bathroom fixtures will also be installed and the building will be painted.

In their e-mail, administrators said they would have preferred not to shut the entire building for the year, but they had no choice.

“The extent of the problem is deep within the concrete block of the building and is protected by an asbestos insulation (a standard of the time the building was originally constructed),” the message read. “An attempt to stage a renovation is not a feasible alternative because all asbestos must be removed prior to the renovation, separate from any other construction work, and with special air monitoring procedures.”

TCNJ has transitioned to a “primarily residential campus,” the message said, and the construction of additional residential halls has brought on-campus capacity to nearly 4,000 beds.

Yet the school has experienced housing shortages for 12 years, and it uses a lottery to determine who will be housed on campus. Dorm space is guaranteed only for freshmen and sophomores, forcing many juniors and seniors to live off campus.

The hotel plan, if implemented, would likely be temporary, as Cromwell will be open again for the 2013-14 academic year. Also that year, administrators are hoping to open up to 400 new beds as part of Campus Town, a $50 million project that aims to bring restaurants, retail space and apartment-style student housing to campus.

Senior psychology major Christopher Lombardi, a house assistant in a townhouse dorm on campus, said he would prefer on-campus living if given the choice of that or a year-long hotel stay.

“It would not be ideal, but it would be liveable,” he said. While he likes the possibility of maid service, he said life on campus is more convenient. Students can walk to classes, dining halls, study sessions and late-night hangouts, he noted.

Contact David Karas at (609) 989-5731 or dkaras@njtimes.com.

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