Between going to class and working a part time job to pay the bills, off-campus students don’t have as much time to study as those who live on campus. However, some students have found that living off-campus actually aids their study efforts.
In the fall of 2006, the University of Kansas had 26,773 students enrolled at its Lawrence campus according to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. On-campus housing only accommodated 4,922 of those students. This leaves the other 21,851 students, 81.6 percent of the student body, living off-campus.
Adam Keehbauch, Kinsley senior, juggles a full load of classes and a pizza delivery job with his daily study time. “I just make sure that I have a good balance between work and study, to where I can pay my bills but also be able to get the grades that I need in my classes,” Keehbauch said.
Keehbauch started his career at the University in McCollum Hall before moving to an off-campus apartment and then into a house. He said that living off-campus has helped him to study more often. “There were a lot more distractions on campus,” Keehbauch said. He said noise was a big issue when living in the dorms, as well as the large number of people. “It seems like every other day, somebody else is doing something and they’ll invite you along,” he said.
Clark Kebodeaux also says he gets more studying done since he moved off-campus. He lived in Stephenson Scholarship Hall before moving into an apartment. Kebodeaux, Olathe junior, said living with four people made it a lot easier to study than living with 50 people. “It was very difficult to study at Stephenson,” Kebodeaux said. “Here, it’s a little easier to get away if you have to.”
It’s not always easy to get work done when living off-campus. Christina O’Riley, Hopkins, Miss., junior, said moving off-campus after her freshman year increased the number of distractions she faced when studying. “We had our own apartment, so it was kinda like our party space,” O’Riley said. “It seems like I studied more when I lived on campus.” She also said the classes she had taken since moving off-campus affected the time she put into studying. “If I was taking the same courses as I was taking freshman year, I would have studied more.”
Keehbauch also admitted that when he first moved off campus, he occasionally had a difficult time convincing himself to go to class. “Sometimes it can be a little more difficult to get to class,” he said. “You gotta wait around for the busses or you gotta walk to class.” He said that sometimes it seemed easier to stay home and go back to sleep instead of go to his classes. “I’ve kinda developed a discipline to go to classes now,” Keehbauch said. “I’m getting to that point where I need to be going to classes.”
The University has many programs to help students who need help studying. The Academic Achievement and Access Center, or AAAC, offers seminars to students to help them improve everything from note taking and other study skills to time management to ensure time is allotted for studying. Dawn Tato, program assistant for the AAAC, had some tips specifically for students who were moving off-campus for the first time.
“Setting up a schedule of study time is important,” Tato said. She said it was best for students to treat studying like going to class. She also advised that students get involved in study groups where they can be held accountable for getting their studying done. Finding a comfortable study environment was also important, as working in a comfortable environment increases productivity. She also said that students who live off-campus and work should talk to their employers if they feel like work is cutting into their study time. She advised that employers willing to offer flexible hours, or those willing to allow students to work on homework during downtime, would help busy off-campus students get the time they needed to study.The Freshman Sophomore Advising Center has a page of links to information regarding study skills and seminars given at the University to improve those skills. The Center is also available to students for advising appointments and could offer advice to students who have trouble studying off-campus.