Most University of Iowa students move off-campus after completing their first year at Iowa. Historically, information, resources, and education related to off-campus living have been a challenge for students to navigate. Over the past year the University, in partnership with University of Iowa Student Government (UISG), committed to a coordinated effort to provide support to UI students as they transition to off-campus living through the Off-Campus Student Support Initiative.
"The Off-Campus Student Support Initiative is continually making strides to better help students that are living off-campus. Many students that move off-campus do not know how to find a place or know what steps are necessary to take when signing a lease. In addition, many students that live off-campus are not as connected to essential university resources,” says Gustave Stewart, a UISG student representative.
A new website, https://offcampus.uiowa.edu, was created in the fall of 2017 to help students begin the transition into an off-campus residence. The site provides apartment and housing listings, as well as an off-campus living guide, with resources for food, legal, maintenance and utilities, parking and transportation, and safety.
A new Off-Campus Student Support Advisory Board meets every other month, providing input about the website, bringing forth issues to consider, and prioritizing goals for the coming year including: connecting with first year students who will be living off-campus, assessing the lease gap program being piloted this July-August, and continued website expansion.
An exciting collaboration with the City of Iowa City is the creation of a new Neighborhood Ambassador Program. Ten students will be hired to serve as neighborhood ambassadors for the 2018-2019 academic year pilot program. Neighborhood Ambassadors will work with the Neighborhood Council of Iowa City – representatives of Iowa City neighborhoods – to build community, provide information, and partner on neighborhood events.
“The Off-Campus [Student] Support Initiative is taking the steps to better provide resources for students to allow for them to succeed via great advice on the off-campus website and new programs such as the Neighborhood Ambassador program," says Stewart.