TAIPEI: A university in Changhua City is cooperating with police to ensure the safety of off-campus student housing, university officials said yesterday.

Chienkuo Technology University has also asked prospective landlords to allow police to certify that rooms for rent are free of safety hazards.

Rooms verified as safe by police are posted on the university's website. More than 130 landlords, whose accommodations were accredited by police, have been listed so far.

Huang Yei-fei, president of the university, said the school takes in about 5,000 freshmen every year, about one fifth of whom come from other counties and are in need of local accommodation.

"However, our dormitories can only accommodate 500 students," the president said, adding that about 500 freshmen will have to find accommodation off campus.

Rooms are ranked in three grades. Landlords' addresses are published on the school's website for student reference.

Liu Bing-lin, dean for student affairs at the university, urged would-be-landlords to take part in the program, seek police accreditation and use the school's website to offer rooms to students.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 07/29/2009 page2)