Want to surprise a college-bound student? Tell them that just 16% of all college students live on campus. Let them know that the high price of rent is one of the leading contributors to student debt, and that nearly one in two undergraduates struggles with housing insecurity while in school.
They’ll probably express concern, wonder why colleges aren’t mentioning this, and get confused when they find little information about affordable off-campus housing on school websites. When applying for financial aid they probably won’t realize that – thanks to federal law – their housing plans may reduce the amount of help they receive. But they will hear from college staff and peers that it’s best to live as close to campus as possible, there are only a couple of landlords renting to students, and even though those rents are high that’s just “how it is.”
Dr. Sara Goldrick-RabAs the semester progresses and they begin falling behind on rent payments and missing payments on their heating bills, students will take on an extra job or two, and apply for emergency aid (if they find out it is offered). The lucky ones will get help, while others will be evicted, joining the 8% of undergraduates who experience homelessness.
Scenarios like this one are repeated year after year all over the country, at both two and four-year colleges and universities, public and private. According to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), at every type of institution, most students live off campus. Housing is the single greatest non-tuition expense that students face, and housing insecurity is the most common type of basic needs insecurity.
Yet discussions about “choosing a college” rarely include affordable housing strategies. Living on or very near campus is framed as the most desirable situation, even though it’s also most likely the most expensive. The financial surprises that cause even the most planful students and families to take on debt often come from unexpected housing costs. And most colleges and universities only half-heartedly offer resources to help students find other places to live, with few developing partnerships with landlords who care about helping students achieve their goals.
This is a problem we can do something about. While some, including community colleges, are building more housing on campus, it’s just as important that colleges and universities partner with nonprofits and private developers to create affordable housing for their students off campus. In Portland, multiple community colleges and universities benefit from the work of College Housing Northwest, a nonprofit operating properties offering below market rent and supportive services exclusively for college students (in full disclosure, I’m collaborating with CHNW to expand their effort). In Florida, the Southern Scholarship Foundation runs rent-free cooperative living houses supporting students from a diverse array of colleges and universities across the state. And in California, Los Angeles Room and Board supports community college students with residence hall-style living located off-campus.
To stimulate more efforts, higher education and housing leaders should advocate for expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to include full-time college students. Right now they are excluded based on the false assumption that they are poor by choice. While some are pushing for a LIHTC expansion to include homeless students, I think all full-time community college students should be immediately brought into the program.
