Regardless of validating either statement, the question is do you believe they are mutually exclusive?
Utah is a commuter school
Being a commuter school impacts the student experience at Utah.
1 Like
It’s important to read the original question. In that context, Utah does not fit into the classic definition of a commuter school, regardless of how many students live off campus.
1 Like
Indeed. The thread seems to be debating whether or not U. Utah quantifies as a commuter school - as if bothered that it may actually be so by general definition.
The poster already assumes it is. The larger question was if or how being a commuter school impacts social life there. I’m saying, it can indeed be the definition of a commuter school and still be a vibrant experience for students. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
3 Likes
@CoastandCow: We are in total agreement.
This is the pert that is actually in dispute. As @ucbalumnus has mentioned MULTIPLE times, there are lots of reasons that the number of students living on campus might be low. Depending on the reason, it may have an impact on the things the OP is concerned about. In the case of The U, it is because they simply do not have enough on campus housing to keep up with demand. They cannot even accommodate all the FTF that wan to live on campus. If they did, their numbers would be much closer to CU - Boulder and we wouldn’t even be having this debate.
1 Like
I believe the OP was asking if the campus is empty except M-F, 8-5. No. This is a Pac 12 school with sports on campus, theater, dance and other arts, concerts, clubs, night classes, people at the library, people at the rec center.
Even at Metro State in Denver, where only a small percentage of students live near the campus (a true commuter campus), there are things going on all the time and since there are almost as many evening classes as day classes. There are plenty of eating spots, food trucks, club meetings, sports going on all the time.
2 Likes
Metropolitan State University lists 100% of frosh (and all students) off campus or commuting, so it is about as maximally commuter as a college can be.
https://www.msudenver.edu/media/content/officeofinstitutionalresearch/documents/commondata/commondataset2019-2020/F-StudentLife2019-2020_v3.pdf
1 Like
The Metro state campus has 3 schools that share some facilities - Community college of Denver, CU-Denver (part of the school, like engineering; other part that is medical is about 7 miles away), and Metro State. There are a few dorms and nearby apartments that are for students. I think CU built some dorms only for CU students. It’s right downtown, so apartments are very expensive if not subsidized.
But yes, almost everyone commutes. Still a lot of fun things to do all the time and across the street from downtown Denver (concerts, shopping, government, restaurants). I went down for a meeting on a Friday afternoon and was surprised how lively it was with music and food trucks, tons of students hanging out and not trying to get away from campus as soon as classes were over.
I grew up a mile from the U and attended many years ago. My son graduated 4 years ago and commuted from 20 miles or so. I know there have been some new dorms added but I still think locally it is considered a commuter school, at least when compared with Utah State or BYU. If you’ve ever tried to find a parking place up there I think you would agree.
Just my opinion with no science attached.
2 Likes
I am not a U student but live nearby (and did an internship within a block of campus), plus most folks from my school go there, so I thought I would add something in case folks are wondering.
While most students are commuter, there is a massive availability of housing in the area, so “commuter” may not mean as much as you expect. Due to a lack of dorms, the U has rolled out stipends to students to live off-campus, though rents are rising city-wide and I would not expect that to cover anything on its own.
Greek life is disproportionately influential from what I can tell, particularly in school events (I am somewhat biased as I was often annoyed by uproarious parties by students nearby during that internship though). Nonetheless, some of my very nerdy friends from last year surprisingly joined a sorority, so I expect there’s a scene for everyone. A friend of my mother’s taught there and she has some horror stories of the frats (however, I know no one able to give a real firsthand perspective).
Most large flagships only have housing on campus for freshman. That means sophs to seniors, grad students, part time students, etc are all living off campus but most live nearby and in fact may live closer to campus than some freshmen who are living in freshman villages and shuttling over. Many schools have greek villages where some of the greeks live, but are off campus.
The campus is still the center of student life. There are student unions that have the pizza place and the book store and the rec center with pools and gyms. 87% may be a higher than most flagship number, but I’d bet a lot of schools are at 75% (just the freshmen).
We have Metro State here in Denver. It is made up of three colleges, Metro State, CU Denver, and Denver Community college. Very very few students live on or even near campus (it is right downtown, so housing is expensive). The campus is always buzzing. It is across the street from the basketball/hockey arena, so there are bars and a ‘square’ on campus that support the games and they have big screens in the plaza for all the big games. To the east is the theater district with lots going on every night. The Bronco stadium is to the west and while not that big a deal really because of Sunday games, oh boy was the Taylor Swift concert a big deal.
Schools have a way of bringing in the communities around them
This is a very old thread. Please feel free to start a new one on the topic. Closing.