When choosing what university to attend, what attracts a student to say yes? Are students interested in a campus’s dining services? How about its athletics? Or is a university’s promise in obtaining a great future career a deciding factor. It can be argued that a university’s residence life and housing policies can impact a student’s decision.

Housing policies differ from university to university.  From the types of residence halls to the ability to live off campus, each university has its own unique policy that either attracts students or turns them away.

For Ashland University, while living off-campus is not discouraged, the ability to do so is greatly hindered through its policies.  At AU, students must meet any one of the criteria to live off campus. This includes but is not limited to being 22 years old, married, or within a 30 mile radius commuting distance.

The ability to live off-campus, though restrictive is still given as an option for housing for students at universities like the University of Findlay and Baldwin-Wallace University. These two universities are similar in character to Ashland University in terms of size as well as the programs that they offer.  These two universities also have similarities in their housing policies in comparison to AU.

The University of Findlay updated its housing policy in 2012. Some of the major changes made by the university included only requiring students to live on campus for two years as well as increasing the commuting distance from 30 miles to 50 miles. Representatives from UF hoped that by changing their policy, students would feel that they had more options in terms of housing.

The University of Findlay offers several different housing options for students who choose to reside on campus.  One of the UF’s housing options include eight residence halls that are located throughout the main campus. They also provide special interest housing for programs like pre-vet, international students, and the honors program.  Aside from traditional residence halls, Findlay provides apartment style housing for upperclassman. 

According to the University of Findlay’s website, “A student classified as one of the following prior to the start of an academic year is not required to live on campus: junior…senior…graduate student, Veteran, married student, part-time student, student age 22 or older, and student commuting from the full-time home of a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian…”

A spokesperson from Findlay stated that while reconstructing their housing policy, they were surprised by the amount of student feedback that supported living on campus.

While living off campus may seem attractive to students, Housing Coordinator for Baldwin Wallace Kerry Mullen argues that most 18 year olds are not thinking about off-campus housing when choosing a university. “An 18-year-old is not necessarily thinking about living off-campus and neither are parents who are more focused on being on-campus and the fees associated with being off-campus” says Mullen.

Baldwin Wallace provides students with traditional residence housing as well as suites and apartment style housing.

“We do provide a lot of options and variety for students,” says Mullen. “Ultimately, we want to provide variety so that students can find something that fits.”

Mullen says that where a university is located is also a contributing factor as to whether a student is interested in living off campus.  For a university like Baldwin Wallace that is located in a more suburban area, students may be more lenient in living on campus considering most students had previously lived in suburban areas. Living on campus would provide students a new environment, different from what they had been accustomed to. 

While these universities do not hinder their students from living off campus, they provide a variety of housing options for their students.  The traditional dorm life has been revolutionized by these universities, allowing students the ability to gain real world experience while still being tied to campus. Whether Ashland University chooses to adopt similar policies to its neighboring universities is something we will have to wait and see.