LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Oakland University (OU) and Oakland Community College (OCC) are breaking new ground with a pilot program set to launch this fall, allowing OCC students to live on OU’s campus while continuing their community college education. This initiative promises to blend the cost-effectiveness of community college with the benefits of a traditional university experience. 

Robert King, OU’s Senior Director of Housing, emphasized the safety of OU’s campus as a key advantage of the program (Oakland University News). He also mentioned that, post-pandemic, the university now has available space in its residence halls, making it an ideal time to extend housing to OCC students.

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“Housing, of course, as you know, is the basic need of really anyone, whether you’re in college or not,” King said. “And so for us, it’s both an opportunity, again, to fulfill that connection with our peer, an institution that we already have some deep connections with.” 

The program is designed to be flexible, allowing OCC students to submit an online form indicating their housing preferences, which OU will match based on availability. Participating students will pay the same housing rates as OU students and will have access to OU’s extracurricular activities, dining halls, sports events, and student organizations.

Kimberly Hurns, OCC’s Vice Chancellor for Student Services, believes the program will meet a significant need. “Many students attend community colleges for different reasons, but I think for some of them, although they choose to attend a community college, I think they still do have the desire of having a traditional college experience where they live on campus,” Hurns told The Detroit News. She also said that this initiative has the potential to ease the transition for those aiming to pursue a bachelor’s degree at OU.

“For our entire college, (Oakland University) is our number one transfer institution,” Hurns said. “From an (Oakland Community College) standpoint, it really is trying to find a better path, a clean pathway, for our students to get bachelor’s degrees who want it.” 

Currently, OU houses about 3,000 students across eight residence halls and apartment complexes. While the university initially expected 70-80 OCC students to participate in the program, around 250 students have already expressed their intent to join (The Detroit News).

Both Hurns and King are optimistic about the potential of this partnership to serve as a model for similar programs at other institutions. According to Hurn, there are approximately four similar programs nationwide.

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“We’ve actually gotten a lot of calls from other schools who are interested in doing this across the state and outside of Michigan,” Hurns said. “There are fewer students coming out of high school. These types of collaborations and partnerships really make a big difference.”

The program is open to all OCC students in good academic standing who are enrolled in at least six credit hours, as reported by The Detroit News. Students can apply online, with placements made on a first-come, first-served basis depending on housing availability.

 “The opportunity for our students to live on campus at Oakland University is another example of the great partnerships we have between OCC and OU that benefits our students,” Hurns said (OU News).