Ohio State University has numerous programs designed to help its sizable non-dorm-residing student population navigate life in off-campus housing. Most of them are managed via the OSU Student Life’s Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services.
According to the campus agency’s mission statement, it is committed to serving “off-campus and commuter students by collaborating with stakeholders and providing opportunities to foster involvement, civic engagement and student success to enhance the extraordinary student experience.”
OCCSS Explains Its Mission Statement
Yes, institutional gobbledygook at its worst, but there’s meaning in that gibberish. According to the organization’s mission statement, these efforts include helping off-campus and commuter students “understand both their rights and responsibilities…” This includes being affirmatively engaged as both a student, neighbor and community member, as well as actively participating in safe practices in the off-campus area. “Through programming and participation, students acquire the necessary life skills to have an extraordinary off-campus experience,” the mission statement says.
The idea behind OCCSS’s programming, according to the mission statement, is to employ education and “empowerment” to improve quality of life for both off-campus and commuter students. The goal is to develop and enhance relationships in the university and community. (“Commuter” in this context just refers to students who drive, take mass transit or ride-sharing, or walk to the Ohio State campus from their family home. By definition, all Ohio State students qualify as either dorm residents, off-campus residents or commuters.)
In order to fulfill this vision, OSU Student Life’s Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services works with students, permanent residents, managers/landlords of off-campus housing, campus officials, local city officials and other community members.
What Services Are Offered?
In general, OCCSS seeks to be THE resource center for Buckeyes who are renting off campus or commuting. Services include: 1) Providing the means to locate housing and/or roommates. 2) Information and resources to promote safe practices in the neighborhoods around campus (which while relatively safe do experience criminal activities). 3) Support students in being responsible members of the Buckeye community. According to the Student Life OCCSS vision statement, “We work tirelessly to ensure that you are practicing safe habits and enjoying your student experience. We are here to support you by providing free safety devices, monitoring the off-campus neighborhoods and mentoring first-year commuters.”
Buckeye Block Watch
One offered by OCCSS is Buckeye Block Watch. This “safety awareness initiative” is available to all OSU students who live off-campus. The programs enhances awareness of good safety practices and effective resources available to students. Students participating in the Buckeye Block Watch program pledge to stay alert, become familiar with their neighbors and look out for one another, be prepared to report suspicious activities and crimes, and learn safe personal and community practices.
The Buckeye Block Watch program also offers opportunities for off-campus students to get involved. This includes BBW window signs, events sponsored by Block Watch and BBW T-shirts. These things help remind neighbors and passersby to practice safe and healthy behaviors in the neighborhood and community, as well as identify participants as someone others can trust to look out for others.
On Hiatus But It Will Return
Student Life’s OCCSS offers the Off-Campus Housing Excellence Program. They expect the program to return after a “pause” during COVID-19 connected restrictions. This comprehensive Student Life program is “designed to improve the quality of off-campus life, enhance the vibrancy of the University District, and create an extraordinary off-campus experience.”
According to its web page on OSU’s website, the program has been offered for rental properties inside boundaries of the University District. (The northern boundary is Arcadia Avenue; the southern boundary is 5th Avenue; western boundary is the Olentangy River; and the eastern boundary is the railroad tracks).
As part of a partnership between students, parents, property owners/managers, and Columbus and Ohio State officials, the Off-Campus Housing Excellence Program came about as a way to address the particular needs and interests of students in off-campus neighborhoods. The voluntary program has participants among both students and property owners/managers. Refer to the program’s web page to watch for an announcement on its resumption.