Abstract:
A number of colleges and universities are faced with the problem of retaining students in their residence halls. On campus after campus students demand to move out of residence halls into newly built apartment complexes. (8,65) Most institutions of higher education have not responded to these demands and have maintained their policies of requiring undergraduates to live in approved housing, i.e. off-campus housing which has met certain requirements prescribed by the college or university. (8,65) Some colleges, due to financial obligations, instituted policies which require students to live on-campus until they reach the age of twenty-one.Little research, however, has been done in relation to the student's feelings and opinions towards residence hall living or as to the reasons or factors influencing the student's decision to move off-campus. A number of speculations exist as to why students move out of the residence halls of Ball State University and seek housing elsewhere. Speculations are not realities and need research to verify them. It is the primary purpose of this study to determine-the reasons why students move from the residence halls of Ball State University into off-campus housing. Off-campus housing was defined as housing other than residence halls, married student housing, or campus housing associated with a particular academic area. It was also a purpose to obtain some of the students' ideas as to what could have been done to more adequately meet their own particular needs during their time spent in the residence hall. The study also intends to research and summarize current literature in the area.The study did have limitations. First, thirty-seven percent of those students surveyed did not respond to the questionnaire. Also, it was not anticipated that students would leave the halls before the end of the quarter. Many did this and had to be contacted by mail, after having spent one month in off-campus housing.Before a college or university can provide for the changing needs of the students, their needs and feelings must be known. Residence halls can only be of maximum support to the total educational relationship among student groups within a living arrangement if their needs are well understood and accounted for in the design and the administration of the hall. (15,74)