“The University announced in fall 2017 that — beginning with the class of 2022 – students would be required to live on campus for six semesters. As part of this statement, the Office of Residential Life also said they would be brainstorming incentives for Notre Dame students to stay on campus for their senior year.”
“I view this communication as a bookend to that original announcement,” Hoffmann Harding said. “Now having listened to students really for the past year and a half … we came up with these three groups, which [include] something specifically for seniors that would attract them back to campus, some things that we hope will benefit all students in very tangible [ways] and, thirdly, really thinking about the quality of hall life and how we can make that residential experience while students are a part of it — whatever year they are — as meaningful as possible.”
I moved off campus my senior year at ND. I had a great time, but if I had to do it again, I wish I would’ve stayed in the dorms. And I have told my freshman daughter as much. She has her whole life to be on her own, but only a finite period of time to live in such a special residential community. Who knows if she will take my advice!
Interesting as my son is struggling with ND where he’s very attracted to the academics and residential culture but with around $25,000 debt at the end of 4 years vs a very very affordable no-debt in-state honors program. In looking at ways he could save money at ND the rigidity of the dining plan was an obstacle but living off campus and possibly saving $ as a senior was an option. I’m assuming, however, that these stipends like scholarships will reduce need-based aid. We’d already seen that being an RA would. He has another scholarship that reduces loans/work-study but we are trying to close the gap between their generous financial aid and what we can pay. Also, will housing price increase to cover the “free” laundry? Older son has “free” laundry at his school but we always put the quotes around “free” because housing is quite pricey.
My kids are not happy about this and neither am I. I think it’s good for kids to live off campus senior year before entering the “real world.” This will penalize those who do that by excluding them from dorm functions, intramural sports, etc. It seems antithetical to what makes ND so special - its spirit of camaraderie and inclusiveness.
FWIW, schools with mandatory on campus housing was a huge turn off to my dd. I actually also agree that living off campus can be good for upperclassmen since it can help with the transition.
The ND six semester on-campus housing requirement was intensively discussed when it was announced during Fall of 2017 - both across the Notre Dame student body and the South Bend community, as it has an significant impact on the previously brisk off-campus housing business with undergraduate students. Notre Dame took a conscious decision at the time, based on the ND mission for undergraduate education, which goes far beyond academics. It is what it is, therefore basically old news and the change had been announced to class of 2022 and 2023 applicants. Students of the Class of 2021 and earlier, already on campus at the time the policy was announced, are not affected by the change.
What is new, and the reason I posted the news article this morning, are the additional changes directed primarily to current Sophomores and Juniors who are in the process of considering their Senior Year housing options. Those are financially rather attractive indeed.
Let’s see how it will be implemented from a financial aid perspective, I am actually quite positive that this may not be the case - we’ll find out. Independently, though, it makes perfect sense to offer future ND Seniors both additional on-campus leadership opportunities and financial incentives. Students and their parents are still free to forego those and for the student to move off-campus for Senior Year. The change only affects Juniors, of who just around 4 percent lived off campus before the new policy was introduced (some due to the fact that they were transfers and did not receive on-campus housing). Again, offering additional incentives for Seniors makes perfect sense in my book, as they have a lot to offer to younger students on-campus, ready to take on additional leadership responsibilities.
It’s the “punishing” of those who live off campus that is really what’s bothering my kids and me about this. Cutting them off from dorm events (my senior daughter still participates in her dorm events like their formal) and intramural sports seems like a slap in the face. And much off-campus housing is right on the edges of campus anyway so it’s not like these kids aren’t on campus all the time and still consider it their community. This is really disappointing.
@suzy100 I agree, it indeed seems to be somewhat of a carrot and stick approach when it comes to motivating future ND Seniors to remain actively involved in their residence halls and on campus. In fact, I had to laugh out loud when I came to the following part of the Observer article, I had shared earlier:
“Russell said the goal behind this initiative is to make living within residence hall communities as special as possible for the residents.
“What I’ve worried about over time is that if we say intentionally or unintentionally to our students, ‘When you move off campus, you can still continue to come to dances and community events and participate in hall sports and other things,’ then it doesn’t differentiate what that experience was when they were a member of the on campus community versus the off campus community,” Russell said. “So I think the right message to send our students, in fact, to prepare them for the real world, is for them to receive the message that there are rights and privileges that come with any community of which you’re a part, and both are good — they’re just different.”
At least no one can complain that they are making a secret of what they are planning to achieve and how they do go about getting from point a to point b - a classic carrot and stick strategy, which will certainly work yet will make some students, equally as certain, quite unhappy.
You state in part: “I’m assuming, however, that these stipends like scholarships will reduce need-based aid. We’d already seen that being an RA would.” Are you saying that being selected as an RA reduces the need-based financial aid a senior will be awarded? If so, what evidence do you have of this reduction?
I would imagine that the $3,000 stipend to “senior fellows” would be incremental to any need based aid and not be part of the work study earnings. I may be wrong, but what is the point of offering this incentive if it ends up being a wash for many students.
I have mixed feelings about this new policy, but my son has yet to step foot on campus as an enrolled student. Part of me likes the idea of him staying on campus to stay connected to the community. However, I do agree that it is unfair to take away the opportunity of kids living off campus to engage with the community through sports and other social activities. I imagine there will be an uproar about this among rising seniors who hoped to venture off campus this year.
@maddan9497 Yes, being an RA reduces the financial aid package because they no longer have as much “need” (they don’t need to pay for room & board). Similarly, I imagine the newly-introduced stipend will also reduce need.
From the ND website:
If I become a Resident Assistant (RA), how will that affect my financial assistance?
The room and meals scholarship that Resident Assistants (RAs) receive must be considered as a resource in their financial assistance…The room and meals scholarship that RAs receive (worth $16,440 in 2018/2019) could affect federal student loan eligibility
From another source:
When you live on-campus as an undergraduate, your financial aid package is based on the fact that you will be billed for room and board. As an RA, you will not be billed for room and board, so your financial aid will be adjusted based on this cost difference – that is, since you earn your room and board, you can’t also be awarded financial aid for it.
Thanks for the clarification @scholardad. However, I still say that it seems counter productive to have an “incentive” if it is not incremental income for those on financial aid.
My sophomore daughter signed a lease this year for senior year. 75% of the sophomore girls is her dorm did too. The only ones remaining are those that wish to be a RA. I visited ND this weekend for the Holy Half Marathon and my daughter spoke in length about the inequities in the dorm amenities. My daughter loves her dorm sisters, but absolutely hates her dorm. It has no air conditioning, no elevator, ■■■■ roaches and there was a leech in the bathroom sink this week. In the Fall it was so humid that the condensation formed on her 4th floor dorm walls and all the posters fell off. During the polar vortex extensive ice formed inside her window and then melted down the walls.Her double room is the size of a shoe box! She realizes that dorm choice is pure luck and that life isn’t fair but I agree her dorm is a bit rough. All of the girls in her dorm are moving to the Irish Row apartments senior year. They are hoping to all be in the same building.
Of Notre Dame’s undergraduate study body of approximately 8,500 students, about 63 percent of seniors, 15 percent of juniors and 2 percent of sophomores historically live off campus. Off-campus sophomores are predominantly local students living at home or transfers without on-campus housing options. Junior on-campus residency will change from the Class of 2022 onward, based on the 6 semester on-campus residency requirement, announced in 2017.
Notre Dame has consistently renovated older dorms, this program is mostly completed. New initiatives as just announced are expected to have a major impact on housing decisions of Senior students. In fact, what incoming students and their parents may well be concerned of at this stage is that the just announced carrot and stick initiatives for Seniors may be so effective that they will bring the percentage of on-campus Seniors up to well above 50%, which may result in a noticeable on-campus housing shortage, as the two additional halls being built, one women and one men hall, may not be sufficient. I believe this is a possible risk for Notre Dame students and transfers, which is being noticeably underappreciated in the current discussion: 15% of Juniors and let’s say 13% of Seniors to be conservative, equates to more than 2,000 additional Notre Dame students on-campus, going forward.