The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1 - 89

Community Perspectives on Off-campus Student Housing

Local communities are growing
for students living in this housing.
As yet, few studies of off-campus
housing have explored community
perceptions of its impact on local

the impact of off-campus student
housing on local communities and
into community perceptions and

vary widely from one university to another in
quality, availability, and comfort (Agron, 1997;
Luckens, 1997). Given the decrease in public
funding available for Australian higher education institutions, universities are investing
considerable resources into attracting students
from distant domestic locations as well as overseas by marketing the availability of affordable
and convenient student housing (Macintyre,
2003). Students in the United States have
become more demanding about the quality of
their on-campus accommodations and access
to a range of amenities such as laundry facilities, computer labs, and gymnasiums (Agron,
1996). This demand for quality and ﬂexibility has extended to off-campus housing, which
may offer in-home access to these types of facilities for students (e.g., laundry, private study,

workout equipment); in addition, many students choose to live off campus in order to cook
their own meals and for ﬁnancial reasons (Li,
Sheeley, & Whalen, 2005).
For students in Australia, the quality of accommodations that can be found at short-term
notice is a key criterion in selecting a university
(University of South Australia, 2000). Whilst
demand for international student admissions
at universities continues to grow, there will be
a diminished supply of quality accommodations for these students (Luckens, 1997). In the
case of international students pursuing higher
education in Australia, many arrive with little
to no English proﬁciency, leaving them vulnerable and lacking the conﬁdence to negotiate
with landlords (Gose, 1994). Cultural differences are also quite evident-particularly
with international students entering Australia
from Asia, India, and the Middle East-which
adds to the challenge of ﬁnding suitable offcampus accommodations in established suburban areas. Studies have also shown the link
between stable accommodations and success
rates in academic studies, as well as general
well-being (Agron, 1997; Altschuler & Kramnick, 1999; World Health Organization, 2005).

IMPACT OF OFF-CAMPUS
STUDENT HOUSING ON THE
LOCAL AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY
One aspect of the international student market
in Australia that has not been readily investigated is the impact that student housing can
have on the community. The emergence of
studentiﬁcation (the phenomenon of a growing
student population moving in large numbers
to traditionally non-student neighborhoods)
in recent years in other parts of the world has
89

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