Dive Brief:
- Private developers with limited residential agreements with colleges and universities often value occupancy and profit over safety for student tenants, as exhibited by reports of violent crimes at housing facilities at Morgan State University in Baltimore, and a mass evacuation for UNC-Charlotte students from an off-campus facility.
- A general misconception is that colleges and universities are involved in the management of off-campus facilities, but frequently, developers build housing in proximity to campuses as a part of the unspoken marketing benefit to students.
- Some experts recommend that campuses explicitly promote on-campus housing and work to dissuade students from staying off-campus.
Dive Insight:
Several factors play into the successful leveraging of an off-campus apartment complex, namely, the agreement between the university and the development company on usage exclusivity for students, and the conditions for residence life, public safety and student affairs to set terms of occupancy for students. Without very clear terms, these agreements, if they exist, frequently lead to blame exchange when things go wrong.
Most students who seek off-campus housing are doing so because they seek autonomy from certain on-campus living rule requirements, and therefore make themselves and the facilities more prone to illegal or dangerous activity. For executives, the best solution is to secure very specific conditions of total use, and to ensure that the facilities are equipped for appropriate police patrolling and residence life staff engagement.