UHDS News

[September 25, 2013 — The Daily Barometer] — Converted lounges housed some students in residence halls first 2 weeks of fall term

Roughly 65 students spent their first days at Oregon State University living and sleeping in converted student lounges within the residence halls.

All 65 students were transferred to permanent housing by the end of week two. Additionally, students were charged a discounted rate for their time in the temporary housing. The rate was equivalent to housing costs during breaks, at about $18 per day.

“This is more art than science,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “It’s like the airlines: You accept more people than you can actually accommodate because you don’t know who’s going to come.”

Fall 2013 is the second consecutive year that University Housing and Dining Services placed students in temporary housing.

Last year, the capacity for university housing was for 4,200 students. After converting double rooms to triple rooms found in Poling, Cauthorn, McNary and Wilson halls, this year’s capacity for university housing increased by 450 people. Even so, the university had a surplus of students.

This instance of temporary housing reflects the noticeably growing population at Oregon State. For fall 2013, housing services faced both the newly required on-campus housing for first-year students, as well as an unprecedented number of returning students who opted to live in residence halls.

To convert the lounges into functional living spaces, UHDS replaced all lounge furniture with the standard bunk bed, wardrobe and desk found in the usual dormitories.

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Read the full article by Sean Bassinger and Kaitlyn Kohlenberg.

[Septermber 29, 2013 — Corvallis Gazette-Times] – One of the first pieces of action in the Collaboration Corvallis project was announced, oddly enough, at a meeting of the Corvallis Economic Development Commission.

On Aug. 15, 2012, Oregon State University President Ed Ray told the commission that beginning in the fall of 2013, freshmen would be required to live on campus.

Ray cited research showing that students who live on campus perform better in school and noted that if more students live on campus, that would reduce congestion in nearby neighborhoods.

And so was born the “first-year experience.”

Roughly 80 percent of OSU freshmen lived on campus in the 2012-13 school year, with university officials predicting that number will reach 90 percent with the group that starts classes Monday.

The program has required some housing adjustments. Finley Hall, which was not fully used a year ago, is back on line and the university has converted some double rooms to triple rooms to meet the demand, said Dan Larson of University Housing and Dining Services.

Larson estimated capacity at about 4,650 students. OSU is expecting a similar number of freshmen in the fall of 2014.

A new residence hall with room for 300 students is under construction in the southwest part of campus, and when it opens in September 2014, the university will convert the triple rooms back to doubles, said Larson.

University officials, however, were adamant that the program extends beyond housing.

“It’s more than just a request to live on campus,” said Steve Clark, OSU vice president for marketing and university relations.

“The first-year experience initiative is a broad-reaching set of actions and enhancements,” said Susie Brubaker-Cole, associate provost for academic success and engagement.

Read the full article by James Day and see photos at www.gazettetimes.com.

[September 25, 2013 — The Daily Barometer] — The 2013-2014 school year will be the first year of the First-Year Experience, an initiative to improve retention, graduation rates

This term marks the debut of the First-Year Experience, a program designed to improve the college experience for students. It requires that freshman, with some exceptions, live on campus, and provides support for freshmen transitioning to life at Oregon State University.

“Our overarching goal for the First-Year Experience is to improve the success rates of students at OSU during the first year and through to graduation,” Associate Provost for Academic Success and Achievement Susie Brubaker-Cole wrote in an email.

Brubaker-Cole served as co-chair of the First-Year Experience Task Force and will be responsible for coordinating how the task force’s recommendations are carried out during the next few years.

Supporting students’ transition from high school to college, academic success, and campus involvement will be the emphases of the program, Brubaker-Cole wrote.

“National research on undergraduate education demonstrates that establishing a solid foundation through enhancements to the first year bolsters student success throughout students’ undergraduate career,” Brubaker-Cole wrote.

University Housing and Dining Services has worked to create new curriculum to help students transition to university life and added transition programs at the end of the year that teach students to live on their own, including how to sign a lease, said Ann Marie Klotz, associate director of UHDS.

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Read the full article by McKinley Smith.

Read about everything a freshmen needs to know in the “OSU 101” section from The Daily Barometer

[Septermber 25, 2013 — Corvallis Gazette-Times] – People carrying boxes, bags and the occasional couch into dormitories were a common sight Tuesday during the first of Oregon State University’s two official move-in days.

Approximately 3,750 students began the move — which continues today — and university officials estimate that between family and friends helping students move, an extra 5,000 people will be on campus both days.

Nearly 4,700 students will be living on campus this year, but about 20 percent of those students arrived early for various reasons, including those who had to take international flights.

A new policy taking effect this year requires freshmen to live on campus unless they can obtain an exemption, which is offered for reasons including being married, owning a residence, being a parent or living in an approved sorority, fraternity or co-operative house. Students from addresses within 30 miles of campus also can get an exemption to live at home.

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Read the full article by Anthony Rimel and see photos at www.gazettetimes.com.

[September 27, 2013 — Life@OSU] — Until Sept. 24, Josh Bowen and Steven Ruzicka had never met in person. Josh lives in Yucaipa, Calif., and Steven is from Issaquah, Wash. But a mere 1,200 miles is nothing in the age of social media, so the new roommates had plenty of time for Facebook exchanges before they stood face to face in their door room in Wilson Hall.

Although both Josh and Steven say they would probably have chosen to live on campus anyway, this is the first year that true freshmen, that is, those just arriving from high school, are required to live on campus at Oregon State University.

Josh’s mom, Beverley Bowen, is pleased that her son will be in a residence hall during his first year.

“I worry about him less,” she said. Instead of focusing on the trials and tribulations of apartment life, Josh will be able to focus more on his studies, and given his science-heavy first term, the computer and electrical engineering student will need all the help he can get.

Read the full article here.