Each student at Eastern Michigan University has a different idea of the college experience.
To third-year commuter student Kathleen Kennedy, the college experience is a foundation of her success in life. To international campus-living student Riya Bhattarai, it means getting involved and meeting new friends. To the University, the college experience means a period of growth and learning outside the classroom walls.
Commuter Logistics
According to Eastern Michigan University’s Databook, as of 2023 there were 16,294 students enrolled; however, 2,574 of those students live on campus. Meaning, about 86% of students commute to EMU. This percentage is slightly above average, as the National Center of Education Statistics said about 85% of university students commute.
Katie Condon, the vice president of enrollment management, said the average radius for Eastern Michigan University commuter students is 60 miles.
“While the majority of our students are from Michigan, we did welcome students in the fall from all over the U.S. including but not limited to Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Pennsylvania, Virgina, and Wisconsin,” Condon said.
Kennedy as a commuter student struggles with being more connected on campus. Those connections include friends, resume experience, and club involvement that will offer her a better career and overall life after graduation.
Kennedy is currently not partaking in any extracurricular activities, stating there are too many factors in the way. For example, Kennedy commutes from Ann Arbor, which according to her takes about 20 minutes to arrive on campus. For her to attend an event on campus, it would have to be worth her drive time and her gas.
On the other hand, Bhattarai is very involved. She is a part of the International Student Association, the American Marketing Association, and UNICEF.
Cost
Another reason Kennedy is a commuter is because of cost. She lives away from home with a couple roommates and her sister. A factor in this decision is the price to live on campus is too high, according to her.
According to EMU's 2023-24 room and meal plan rates, to live on campus in the non-renovated dorms, Best, Buell, and Wise, the annual cost ranges from $5,910 to $7,660, depending on if the student wants a double or single room. For resident halls Downing, Walton, and Putnam, it costs $7,036. For Hoyt and Pittman, single or double, it would be $5,346 to $7,096. And $6,470 to $8,220 to live in the Village.
As for the apartment rates, ranging from $5,960 to $7,420 is the annual price to reside in Brown or Munson, depending on the square footage. The Cornell Courts have eight different options starting from $5,174 to $7,974. Lastly, living on 601 West Forest Ave. costs $5,834 annually; however, it will be raised to $5,926 for the upcoming 2024-2025 rates.
These price points do not include a meal plan, which the University requires students to have during their first year living on campus. Meal plans are broken down into four options and have recently just increased in 2024 price-wise. The first option is for one meal per day, which is only available for upperclassmen and costs $5,966 annually. For two meals per day, it is $6,590 annually. To eat either three meals or more a day is $6,850 annually.
Not only were the finances unobtainable for Kennedy, but she started attending college during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the dangers that COVID-19 caused, it also affected the way students interact with one another. Kennedy met a lot of her peers during her first semester on campus; however, some of those students were juniors and seniors.
“It felt like everyone already had all the friends they wanted. Like why would someone close to graduating want to talk to a freshman, It just seemed like there was no room for me,” Kennedy said.
The friends Kennedy made previously moved on without her once she left campus to go home, Kennedy said.
There are different things Kennedy attempted to do to get involved around campus, such as by reading The Eastern Echo newspaper, attending some of the Title IX activities, and going to EagleFest.
“Without having friends on campus, it’s hard to get involved. I don’t want to come to an event alone on campus and have no one to talk to there,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy reached out to a music club on the Eastern student organizations page and filled out a form to join the club, yet never received any follow-up information.
“It’s discouraging because when I did reach out to be engaged, I got nothing in return. And I’m a commuter student so I rely on emails, it’s not like I live on campus and can just go find them to ask questions,” Kennedy said.
“If you live on campus, you know what is going on all around, where if you are a commuter, you wouldn’t know as much. So, commuter students just need to be more aware and passionate about joining a club,” Bhattarai said.
Bhattarai and Kennedy did agree when it came to what makes them the most comfortable on campus; they enjoy the lounge areas for students. It is a great place to relax, do homework, eat, and chit-chat, they said.
E-Dining & Survey Results
For students who feel similar to Kennedy, director of Marketing for E-Dining, Greg Richards shared all the different ways E-Dining and the University attempt to get all students involved. From theCommuter Cookout event, to CampusLife coaches, to Learning Beyond the Classroom credits, EMU offers dozens of opportunities for commuter students to stay involved on campus.
E-Dining partnered with Campus Life in April of 2023 to provide students with a student events and interests survey to obtain feedback from students. The data from the survey concluded that out of 391 answers, 147 students attended zero to two events or programs outside of the classroom. Seventy percent of students blamed other responsibilities needing to be taken care of as the reason for not attending campus events.
Other limiting factors included unaware the event was happening, which 43% of students answered. Also, 42% of respondents said they did not want to show up alone, and 35% said there was something else happening. Many respondents wrote that commuting impacts their ability or desire to attend on-campus events.
The Commuter Cookout is an example of more events E-Dining plans to execute in the future. In the fall semester of 2023, about 700 students gathered outside to celebrate commuter students while eating food catered from E-Dining. The event itself costed around $5,000 to host.
The funding for such events comes from the University's general fund. The general fund is a pool of money that includes things like tuition, fundraising, and support from the State, she said.
“How do we make commuters feel more important?” Richards said to explain what drives E-Dining when planning for campus events. “You need to speak to the audience that you want to come to your event.”
Planning an event on campus requires various elements to keep track of like timing, location, advertising, catering, activities, and funding.
“We have to make extra effort to communicate with commuter students because they are on campus so rarely," Richards said. “A residential student might pass a promotion poster four or five times a week, but that commuter student might only pass it once."
Richards contacted the administration at EMU to obtain class counts to determine which buildings on campus were most active at specific times of the day. Richards concluded that both Pray-Harrold and the Science Complex are the busiest around 2-5 p.m.
At events like the Commuter Cookout, there are several different organizations present for commuters to talk to, such as the athletics department, people from the REC/IM, and people from the success center. For future events, Richards plans to invite more organizations and groups for students to get familiar with.
“The challenge is letting commuter students know there is an event for them,” Richards said.
According to the survey results, most students prefer emails, flyers, and their friends to best reach them. For the Commuter Cookout, Richards said he and his team promoted it during orientations in-person, on posters, on their Instagram, and through school emails.
On Eastern Michigan University’s campus, there are a total of 14 restaurants, and currently six markets. E-Dining operates concessions and catering as well. The E-Dining team tries to take the opportunity of The Commons' popularity to educate students.
“People want to be educated, people want to be entertained, people want to be inspired,” Richards said.
To educate students, Richards is working on a campaign that brings in more local and minority owned products, such as seasonings and hot sauces. He would like to include these products as an educational component to teach students where the product comes from, and what flavor will be added to the dish. This will also allow students to customize their food to satisfy their preferences.
“It’s the student’s experience at the end of the day, if they enjoy something, they will probably come back and get it again. There is no expectation to see people again if it’s average, so we need to be better than average,” Richards said.
About 12 to 15 ambassadors currently work with E-Dining. They allow the team to interact more and do more for the students. Things like taste testing and free samples can be done with more help.
Students interested in being ambassadors for the marketing department are encouraged to click the link on the E-Dining Instagram page. This opportunity offers flexible hours depending upon the student and can be paid in flex dollars for free meals on campus, Richards said.
Campus Life Coaches
For students who seem unable to fit in, Campus Life offers a program called Campus Life Coaches. According to Bamrick coaches were created to help students find and build those personal connections, while showing students what communities exist, so they can access them.
Bamrick said the campus coaches focus on two main things: outreach, getting the name out there and programming. The topics for this year included making friendships that last, finding balance, stress and overwhelming management, and self and community care.
The requirements for students interested in becoming a Campus Life Coach are students who have been involved on campus previously and have completed, at minimum, three semesters at EMU. Training is provided.
“Students who get the job are students who have the ability to naturally connect with other students,” Bamrick said.
This year, the coaches are doing meetups to help students feel more comfortable exploring campus. Some of the 2023 fall semester meet-ups included the swoops food pantry, the career closet and center, and the REC/IM.
Beyond just having the coaches’ program for student support, Campus Life also organizes day-time programs specifically to meet commuter needs.
“For every nighttime event, we will also have a day-time event for those students too. It wouldn’t be identical, but similar,” Bamrick said.
For each semester, there are about 10 to 15 day-time events designed around commuter schedules. Bamrick said it’s challenging to find a time and event that satisfies all students, but she has found a common interest among students that encourages them to get more involved.
“Our highest engaging student organizations are all tied to identities like Latinx, Bronze Beauties, or Kings of Color. As well as professional organizations that relate to degrees, certificates, or job shadowing,” Bamrick said.
Campus Life is looking for more students who are interested in becoming Campus Life Coaches. Coaching is open for anyone, commuter students included.
“As of now, there are two resident campus coaches and two commuter coaches. I want a balanced team,” Bamrick said.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) gives students the opportunity to enhance their experiences, knowledge, creativity, and skills, which can be applied to their work force. Originally, the program was invented in 2007; however, it was formally introduced to Eastern Michigan University in 2009, the General Education director professor William John Koolage said.
Koolage has been revising the program for the last three years. These revisions include organizing the transfer student profiles to properly match their credits from previous institutions. Another revision includes making the program more assessable. Meaning, having the ability to track whether students are learning what is intended. Lastly, Koolage wants to make it easier for the students by signaling to them which activity or event would be most beneficial to them, he said.
The college experience to Koolage in terms of the institution is defined as a personal growth of trajectory. This growing phase is intended to help students by offering them various opportunities, perspectives, and directions.
The program consists of six categories. First, self and well-being. Second, community service, citizenship, and leadership. Third, cultural and academic activities and events. Fourth, career and professional development. Fifth, international and multicultural experience. Finally, sixth, undergraduate research.
“The six categories of LBC are to show students the applicability of their courses and applying that to the world,” Koolage said.
Koolage said students are impacted by Learning Beyond the Classroom because they are provided with new ways of learning, and seeing the world in a different lens. Also, the program’s credits can be attained without a single cent paid. Many activities and events that qualify for LBC can be completed without even realizing or trying he said. There are several options on campus weekly that students can take part in. These can be educational, entertaining, or even unrelated to academics in general.
“The goal is to see a connection to the real world. The institutional goal is to motivate people to try things they don’t normally try. To explore a range of possibilities,” Koolage said.
This statement goes for any and every one, Koolage said.
“Students who live on campus have easier access to LBC activities or events. They might go to 50 things that qualify for LBC, but a commuter might struggle with going to any at all,” Koolage said. “Especially because commuter students tend to be more agentive about which activities, events, and classes they choose.”
Resident Living
According to the director of Housing and Residence Life, Jeanette Zalba in 2023, there were 3,238 spaces available in the residence halls, and about 444 spaces available in the apartments on campus.
Due to the amount of availability not used on campus, EMU is undergoing a reconstructive plan for the upcoming years.
The Welcome Home Plan's intention is to renovate EMU’s campus, specifically the living options. She said the plan were put in place to keep up with competing universities, but also to encourage more students to live on campus by giving them updated spaces to live in and more of a variety of options.
“EMU felt like we were behind, as far as what our buildings looked like when you come on campus,” Zalba said. "In 2022, we had 2,465 students living on campus, so that’s 109 more students this year. My goal is to always increase that number,."
She believes it is beneficial to live on campus because it provides a nice transition from living with your parents to living on your own. Zalba also mentioned that the University supplies numerous resources for students on-campus. For example, resident assistants, an emergency response team, a police force, and a housing engagement specialist. These are resources you do not get provided to you off campus.
“We prioritize safety. You should feel physically safe, psychologically safe, and emotionally safe on campus,” Zalba said.
As for Bhattarai, she loves living on campus because she gets to make new friends whenever and wherever. Also, she gets to be a part of a community, she said.
“I don’t think I would have made as many friends by being a commuter,” Bhattarai said.
Despite seeking independence in a safer environment, you also get to meet new, diverse people. Also, the convenience to classes and clubs is another benefit.
“You can go to that club meeting on a Tuesday night because you are only a walk away,” Zalba said.
Budgeting is an issue for most students because of high-priced room, board, and meal plans. In these cases, Zalba suggests students take advantage of FAFSA, scholarships, or apply to be a resident assistant.
Resident assistants’ priority is getting to know the students in the dorms and being a useful resource to them, Zalba said.
“We expect our resident assistants to knock on the doors of people, talk to them, ask them questions, and get to know them on a regular basis,” she said.
The goal for resident assistants is to talk to about 80% to 85% of the residents in the dorms. They are the people who will be there first when you need someone; resident assistants respond to fire drills, confront people, and ease the comfortability of the students, Zalba said.
To apply to be a resident assistant, students cannot be freshmen and must have lived on campus for a year prior. The University is looking for people who have already experienced campus life, so then they can share those experiences with new, incoming students, Zalba said. Also, resident assistants get their room and board for free, she said.
Zalba also said that staying on campus allows students to stay focus.
“It is easy to get distracted, and unlike home, there is no one here to keep you on track. Some students can’t get up in the morning, don’t show up to class, indulge in parties, alcohol, drugs, and even relationships,” Zalba said.
At the University, there will be new apartments coming in 2024 and expected new renovations in 2025. According to the official EMU’s Welcome Home page, the plan consists of two new apartment buildings: Lakeview and Westview. Both of these apartments will be finished in the fall of 2024. There will also be three renovated halls, including Downing, Putman, and Walton. In 2025, Buell, Best, Brown/Munson, and the Towers: Hoyt, Pittman, and Hill, will be torn down.
Lakeview and Westview are reserved for juniors and seniors only, and the rates for rented spaces range from $8,846 to $9,296 a year, depending on the floor plan. The apartments come in a studio layout, as well as 1-to-4-bedroom options. With these new apartments, they are built with a full kitchen; therefore, meal plans are not required, Zalba said.
“The new apartments being built give students another opportunity to gain even more independence,” Zalba said.
Because some students feel unaware of what the university offers, as well as what is happening on and around campus, for the future she plans on promoting these offers better. Beyond just being present at the exploring Eastern events and orientations, Zalba wants to send out more postcards in the mail, put up posters around campus, and email students through admissions more often.
“I want to try and make people realize that we are an option. We know we aren’t the option for everybody, and that is okay,” Zalba said. “I would never say you will miss out by not living on campus, I would just say, you get a different experience."
To find ways to get involved, EagleSync is the place to go, Zalba said. EagleSync is a platform that enables students to connect with other students, staff, and faculty members. It is used to show students upcoming events, student organizations, and find people with similar interests.
“Be entrepreneurial, show up, introduce yourself, talk to people, and network,” Zalba said. “We are a big enough campus that you have to put yourself out there.”
