AMHERST — In order to house the steadily growing student population, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is offering students $1,000 toward on-campus housing next spring if they choose to commute from home during the upcoming fall semester.

Over recent years, the state’s flagship campus has grown significantly, with the most recent class of 5,010 first-year students being the largest in the school’s 156-year history. From 2017 to 2018, the incoming class grew by nearly 300 students.

“As we move forward, we are actively exploring ways to add to our housing stock to accommodate our growth,” said spokeswoman Mary Dettloff.

Students may commute if they live within a 40-mile radius of campus. This area covers parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and much of Massachusetts.

Detloff said seven students have indicated they will take the commuter option so far. The deadline for students to sign up is Sunday.

UMass Amherst will welcome commuters back in the spring semester due to a predicted decrease in the number of people living on campus. Students may study abroad, transfer, choose to live off campus or graduate, leaving more available spaces for the commuters, Dettloff said.

Aside from the commuter credit option and traditional living options such as a single room or a shared room with two or three roommates, three new options are available to first-year students. They were outlined in an email to all first-year students on May 28.

The McNamara Suites in the Sylvan Residential Area will house six to eight students with a combination of single and double rooms and a shared living room. A single room in a McNamara Suite will cost $4,245.50 per semester. A double will cost $3,225.50, about $300 less than a standard shared room.

Expanded quads, which were offered last year, are former lounges in residence halls altered to fit four students. They will cost $3,019.50 per semester.

Economy triples are converted double rooms redesigned to fit three students. It is the cheapest of all housing options at $2,599 per semester, nearly half the price of a standard single room at $4,655.50.

Each year, 43% of students live on campus, including 98% of first-year students. The 52 halls and apartments on and around campus offered by the university may not be enough to fit the incoming class, causing UMass to offer the nontraditional options. Meanwhile, UMass is considering new housing for the future.

“The University has been planning for modest growth over a number of years,” said Dettloff. “The University is currently in the exploratory phase of addressing our housing needs going forward.”

This year’s additional housing options are the latest in a string of renovations and construction projects to address the housing shortage. Last year, UMass Amherst introduced converted lounges and rebuilt graduate student apartments to fit 1,000 undergraduates.