WHY, you ask, are we required to live on campus our first year?

The short answer is: “It is GOOD for you!” – Academically, Socially, and in the end, Financially.

The long answer is fact-based on research into the benefit(s) for students living in their first year.

THE FACTS ARE:

• • Compared to commuter students, students who live on campus participate in more events (extracurricular, social, and cultural) and have more informal interactions with faculty and peers. They are also more likely to persist and graduate.  (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Pascarella, Terenzini & Blimling 1994) -pg. 3 Campus Housing Management, volume 2

• • A positive sense of community at the local level (campus housing) is important for the successful socialization into the broader social (campus community).  pg. 4 Campus Housing Management, volume 2

• • On campus students were more likely to engage in campus activities and relationships with diverse individuals as well as exhibit increased academic effort.   pg. 4 Campus Housing Management, volume 2

• • Campus housing naturally affords students opportunities to develop interpersonal closeness, as housing staff members intentionally nurture student opportunities for connection and community. pg. 4 Campus Housing Management, volume 2

• • First-year students who lived on campus earned higher GPAs and were retained at higher rates than those who lived off campus.   pg. 5 Campus Housing Management, volume 2

WHAT DOES ALL THAT MEAN?  View the First Year Live-In Presentation!

Western Oregon University’s First-Year Live-In Requirement:

First year students who enroll at WOU within one year of high school graduation regardless of class standing must live on campus for the full academic year (Fall, Winter and Spring terms).

Exceptions to this requirement may be requested by petition. Exceptions that are generally approved are as follows:

• Living at Home with Parents, within a 60 mile radius of WOU.  NOTE:  This component has been modified for the current year only. For the current 2020-2021 Academic Year this has changed from a 30 mile radius to a 60 mile radius in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• FOR THE COMING 2021-22 Academic Year, we plan to adhere to the standard Live In Requirement, and offer the option for students living within a 30 mile radius to WOU the ability to request via petition (see below) to live at home with parents/legal guardians. 
• Having a Dependent that is living with you.
• Marriage or Domestic Partnership.

QUALIFY? – Need a petition? Use the link below.

• University Housing Petition – Scroll down to the University Housing Petition link under Rules and Regulations