A proposal making it mandatory for first-time freshmen to live on campus has been scheduled for the UH Board of Regents meetings next week.
According to the presentation, waivers to appeal the mandatory housing will be available to freshmen that demonstrate financial difficulty, medical or ADA need or have a reason that deems it counterproductive for them to live on campus. The requirement would not apply to students who live with a legal parent or guardian within 20 miles of campus or to students who are married or have a child.
First-time freshmen cannot opt out of the on campus housing proposal, regardless of whether or not they are coming in with prior college credit. The presentation cites sources that mandatory freshman housing increases academic success and participating students are more likely to graduate within four years.
UH has 8,008 beds on campus, more than any university in the state except for Texas A&M.
Other universities that require freshman to live on campus include Texas State University, University of North Texas, Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University.
The proposal is on the agenda to be discussed and debated by administrators and regents during the Board of Regents meeting on Aug. 19 and 20.
*freshmen
You’re a newspaper writer; learn the difference between “freshman” and “freshmen”.
freshman= 1 individual
freshmen= multiple individuals
man= 1 person
men= many persons
As a graduate of this university and former contributor to the paper, I strongly recommend that someone look over the spelling/grammatical mistakes before publishing any article.
Articles from the Cougar aren’t only a reflection of the writer but are also a reflection of our university.
Please FIX these ASAP or find someone that knows what they’re doing.
College students in a breaking news scenario are allowed to make mistakes. It’s fine to point it out to them and I’m sure they know that it’s not acceptable but “find someone that knows what they’re doing” just means replacing educational programs with professionals.
You guys are doing fine, just look out for the little stuff
I hope you never have to intern at a real newspaper. The “little stuff ” ignored gets reporters sued, newspapers into legal hot water, and editors fired.Just a tip from a retired reporter.
Terrible idea. UH needs to improve housing before implementing this ridiculous policy. As someone who stayed in the dorms for a year, I absolutely hated it and many people I’ve met that also lived on campus hated it too. Towers are moldy and depressing, CV is too expensive for what it offers, and any of the apartments are generally terrible too. Don’t force incoming freshmen into your jail cells.
Obviously you haven’t been on campus lately. Pretty much all dorms are either new or have been remodeled. And for the apartment off Cullen towards the bayou, they are getting demolished and new dorms are replacing them.
While there have been remodels and new dorms up, you have to look further into them to see the underlying issues. Bad piping, bad ventilation, roaches etc. And then management issues, of course.
I think that it’s a great idea. I hadn’t realized that so many other schools have the requirement. The statistics should prove it hard to argue the benefits.
It’s a good idea, I hope the Board of Regents passes this measure. UH has been making huge strides the past 10 years to be something different, something better than it was previously. A couple more items that need to be addressed. Culture change is necessary in order for the university to see more dedicated students and eventually more dedicated alumni.
Speaking of alumni, that’s the second item that needs to be addressed. Making the incoming freshman live on campus should increase their emotional investment, attracting similar students in the coming years and should help in a unique way in improving graduation rates.
UH is moving ahead, and it may not be able to be be everything to everyone like it had been. This is where UHD and UHCL come in. Those two system schools will be able to continue the original charter of the University of Houston. If UH wants to compete for the best students in Texas and regionally, culture change needs to happen.
The administration has not admitted to it, but I think there is a plan to create a 2-tier university system to serve the Houston Metro region. Once upon a time the Central Campus was just that, “central”. It was convenient and could serve the entire community. But as the urban area has grown the “Central” campus is now relegated to a corner of Southeast Houston and is not convenient to a population of almost 4 million people spread over the vast urban area that is Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and other counties. Thus the push to upgrade the “system” schools including DT, Clear Lake, Sugar Land and other satellite locations. No doubt there will be other 4-year campuses added to this collection.
These will provide the same educational opportunities as the Central Campus has traditionally provided. But without the insane commute. They will serve that population that is commuting, older and returning to school, part time and working, etc. The Central Campus is quickly beginning to morph into a more traditional university which also serves the needs of the Greater Houston Metro Area by providing a Tier One academic and research university with more demanding academic requirements.
UT and A&M simply cannot continue to hog the best students in the state. Emerging universities in Houston (UH), San Antonio (UTSA) and the Dallas Metro area must be allowed to grow to meet the demands for a tier one education for those students who don’t want to attend an A&M with 75,000 students. I kid you not. One official publicly disclosed that it is the ambition of that school to become that large. And the motivation isn’t so much to meet the needs of students. It is about building an ever larger alumni base to ensure a steady cash flow of donations back to the Mother Ship as well as to provide financial support for the Aggie Athletic machine. Insane!
So the Houston Metro area will be well served by two major public institutions. One will be the UH System schools strategically located around this vast urban area. My guess is that they will operate at about the same level as the State University schools such as Texas State, Sam Houston or SFA. The other will be a Tier One academic and research institute tucked away in a corner of SE Houston. This institution will serve a more traditional population of primarily residential students seeking a more rigorous academic experience. This institution will also meet a need of Houston in strengthening its position as a research and scientific community. That’s win-win.
Get it done! This requirement is long overdue. If you wanna be a freshman and commute, then go to UHD or UHCL.
Get a clue. UH is called a commuter school for a reason; always has been. Adding expensive housing that is pretty on the outside and a slum inside and rigging numbers in marketing studies does not a sensible housing plan make.
Considering how expensive on-campus housing is compared to similar apartments close to campus, coupled with the Administration’s constant struggle to fill existing housing (like the Lofts), this seems like a naked grab for more fee money.
As a reminder, UH is the second most expensive public university in Texas, as per USNWR.
If people wanted to live on campus, they would have already chosen to do so. Simple as that. Living on campus does not impact HOW a college student learns. It is whether the students themselves are able to learn efficiently. As students, we should be given more choices since we have paid them for our education. Do they really have to dictate where we sleep every night?
1) The housing facilities at the Quad and Towers are horrible. AC issues all the time, bathroom issues, mold, and I’ve spent time trapped in the elevators. The new facilities have had on-going issues as well with leaks and AC, just horrible construction all together and they won’t last long. …and buildings without cable?
2) I’m surprised no one has realized that they are proposing this because they need the money. Occupancy #’s have been WAAAAAAYYY down and they are desperate for housing. Everyone arguing for this is ignoring the fact they’re doing it for money.
3) UH draws most of its population from….Houston. It is different from the other schools listed; they have a larger out of town student population, so it makes sense to have live-on requirements. In fact, I think it will be interesting to see how many students are still required to live on-campus because of the 20 mile buffer zone.
4) This is a HUGE expense to the students. Live-on housing also REQUIRES that you have a meal plan; which rapidly increases how much money is being spent out of pocket. They will say that it is a bargain, blah, blah, but as a poor college kid, I’d rather eat at moms, eat Mac & Cheese, or actually, some of our students even qualify for Lonestar cards. Instead, it’s forcing a raise in tuition in a round about way. Oh and where are all the students going to park? …that’s right, in lots that they have to pay for in ADDITION to what they are already paying.
Think about it, this isn’t a good idea.
Occupancy is not way down. In fact, this coming semester UH will have more people living on campus that at any other time in its history and will have a higher occupancy rate than ever before.
Hopefully they have more people living on campus than ever before, they have added 4,000 beds in the last year.
UH has always had the potential for 100% occupancy, which it has achieved before, actually exceeding due to putting people in common areas and lobbies. Turning double rooms into singles is not “at capacity” because they have manipulated the numbers.
Also, if they were at capacity, wouldn’t they be the first ones to say this is a horrible idea because they cannot house these new students?
For those of who think is a good decision, may I ask if you are paying for it or your PARENTS is paying for it?
Me.
As a senior who has struggled with balancing part-time jobs with school, I feel terrible for the students with whom this requirement will be applied. Academic success can be achieved whether or not you live on campus. The school need not interfere with that.
Love this presentation. Some numbers on a really exaggerated graph without error bars.
$6k a year to commute to school? What are these people driving, Ferraris???
Obviously the $6k stated in the presentation is referring to rent. Hence the not living with parents line.
Many but certainly not all of the “commuter students” do not live “at home” with Mommy and Daddy. They work and live in apartments all over town. Many are married and have families of their own. “Living at home” has become a stereotype that is sometimes even used by other institutions to bolster the claim that UH is more like a high school than a real university. That is pretty much pure BS.
Can I ask where you get 6k from??? I commute 46 miles a day (23 one-way) and only spend about 1.5k, at the most.
I ask because if that extra 4.5k is from living expenses then you should abandon this idea. Most students who go to UH are locals who cannot afford to spend that much money to live on campus, that’s like doubling our payments for class. We commute because it is cheaper to live with our parents and go to school, as a result, we do find more stress. But there are pros and cons to commuting and living on campus, we (the commuters) do not want to have more debt coming out of school.
Not to be a negative, but one of UH’s appeal is your location; it is relatively close to the students who come from low-income families.
We’re talking about one year as a freshman. If you want to save money to the extent that you’re willing to sacrifice your freshman experience for it, then it would be wiser to spend that year doing basics at community college anyway. Cheaper, less commuting, smaller classes.
Besides, the rule makes exceptions for students with financial difficulties.
Forcing someone to live on campus is WRONG. U of H is on the list on my son’s list because he can live in my home, We are not interested in incurring another 10,000 dollars debt. If we have to pay room and board he can choose any other state university. UH will be losing an honor student with internal academic motivation if this is approved. We can’t afford to pay for the new football stadium.
Keep in mind that there are exceptions for people living in Waller, Montgomery, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Harris County. Their is also an exception for students with financial difficulties, and a scholarship fund is being created to encourage students who might otherwise not be able to live on campus the opportunity to do so.
The exception is that it’s already too expensive. The administration ought to be figuring out how to make on-campus living an economic attraction; instead they’re threatening kids with holding them hostage to a housing plan that will insure they HAVE to take out loans (perhaps more so than they already necessary,) and be tethered to debt — unless they have a rich uncle who doesn’t mind supporting them in substandard housing for an entire year. You’re boosterism is misguided and fiscally irresponsible.Chaining someone to a housing plan is absolutely NO guarantee of campus club participation.
This helps the university in so many ways. It changes the perception of the school regionally and will increase revenue. The value of a UH education has been undervalued since forever. It’s about time we start taking advantage of opportunities to increase the value of a UH diploma.
Also, this would contribute to increased attendance to sporting events across the board. Making decisions that increase the value of education at UH and continue to improve on the student community are good for everyone.
I”m not sure I’d want to work for any employer who values were I lived during my undergraduate years over what I bring to the job in terms of education and training.
Yeah but what about the cost? If I had to throw in housing costs then I wouldn’t be able to afford to go at all. I have to pay for school myself, and so commuting is the cheapest option. That doesn’t even account for costs of a meal plan, parking if you plan to drive to work, etc.
Do you live for free somewhere? Just curious. It’s true some students still live with their parents but even then there are hidden costs that may not be considered. It’s hard to make across the board comparisons, but let’s at least try to compare apples to apples and not to watermelons.
Do you understand housing costs? For the roughly $1,000/ mo on-campus price tag, an off-campus student could get a nice flat in River Oaks. Maybe you think that kind of boutique lifestyle is normal for someone in their 20s. who is just barely able to drink legally and is still trying to figure out how to be a responsible adult.
We needed this years ago. I hope the Board of Regents does the right thing and takes a solid stand for campus life and culture.
How about changing the requirement from 20 miles to 30 miles or even 25? 20 miles is discrimination against the people who live outside of the 610 loop.