Off-campus housing to expand resi-muter population

A new partnership between USF Housing and Residential Education and two off-campus apartment complexes will allow USF to count more students as part of its residential population a much-desired
strategic goal of the university.

At the last Board of Trustees meeting, in talks of how to improve graduation rates, USF administrators touted a move away from a primarily commuter campus.

After the announced partnerships with Campus Club and 4050 Lofts, each located minutes away from campus, USF is now formally affiliated with the complexes and expects that a majority of their residents will be affiliated with (USF), a written statement from USF Housing in response to The Oracles requests for comment said.

Formal affiliation agreements with local properties and management companies allow us to build strong collaborative partnerships in serving this student population, the statement said. …By formalizing these partnerships, USF will move one step closer to achieving our desired primarily residential classification identified by the Carnegie Foundation.

The Carnegie Foundation conducts research on education policy.

The statement said the off-campus housing will be offered to upper class, transfer and graduate students when demand exceeds our available on-campus capacity, while freshmen will still be required to live in on-campus dorms. 4050 Lofts can accommodate 722 residents and Campus Club can accommodate 264 students.

Each establishment will set pricing individually.

USF recognizes the value in extending the benefits of the on-campus residential experience and support network to students living in the immediate resi-muter community surrounding campus, Housings statement said in regards to moving toward more of a residential population.

Kristin Coto, community manager of Campus Club, said 236 or 92 percent of its current residents are USF students.

We feel by partnering with USF, we can offer our residents the peace of mind in knowing they are living at a community that has been hand-picked by the university as one of the very best in the area, she said in an email to The Oracle.

Coto said Campus Club will offer fall 2013 apartments for a monthly rate of $585 higher than rates for some USF residence halls including Kappa and Mu, but less than others such as Juniper-Poplar, Holly and Cypress.

Representatives from 4050 Lofts were unavailable for comment.