The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1 - 105

Community Perspectives on Off-campus Student Housing

2. It is recommended that local government
manage registration of off-campus housing for
students. Under this arrangement, landlords
can be held accountable for maintenance
issues and compliance with zoning
ordinances for conversion of dwellings.
Local government involvement can also give
a voice to students and local residents with
concerns about housing conditions.

The passion and enthusiasm of
promising sign for future students
living in off-campus student
housing. Although many challenges
lie ahead for the students,
longstanding residents, higher
education institutions, and local
government in this community,
there are also many opportunities
and much good will to meet them
head on.

LIMITATIONS
As in any research, there are limitations to this
study design. First, the survey was launched
online initially and, due to the population of
older residents with minimal computer experience, potential participants had difﬁculty accessing the survey. In response to this issue,
the research team printed and distributed hard

copies of the survey. As noted previously, there
were also several surveys that were incomplete
and unable to be counted in the data set. In
addition, the survey and focus groups were
intended to seek a broad audience, including students currently living in off-campus
housing situations, but there was a very low
response from this particular population.
Should the study be repeated in the future, a
focus on students' perspectives as community
members would be very beneﬁcial. Third, the
study was conducted between October of 2011
and February of 2012, which coincided with
the holiday season and the end of the academic
year. Many people are otherwise occupied or
travelling during this time, which may have
affected participation levels. Finally, this study
was speciﬁcally designed to better understand
the impact of off-campus student housing on
the local communities surrounding two campuses of one university. While data collected
from the study may be relevant to other higher
education institutions, it is important to note
that this particular study does not observe a
phenomenon directly related to the literature.

CONCLUSION
This study offers a formative rather than summative investigation of off-campus student
housing and is only able to measure initial
perceptions from members of the community.
For this reason, the main purpose of this study
was to inform ongoing discussion regarding
student housing. It also acknowledges that
active dialogue between community and relevant organizations is necessary for change.
Community members who participated in
the focus groups articulated a personal desire
to continue meeting on a regular basis with

105

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1