Free Summer Housing Coming to Pitt-Greensburg

Troy Ross, director of housing and residence life on campus, spoke about the options for free summer housing that have been offered to students who will be taking classes over the summer term.

“We realized there were financial hurdles during the summer,” Ross explained when asked why this option is something that is being offered, “If we could remove that as a barrier, we should.”

According to Ross, the offering of free summer housing for students completing courses during the summer term was posed during discussions about the summer term as a whole and the changes that could be made to benefit students.

“The main reason we are doing this is because we think it will benefit students,” Ross said.

There are stipulations, but the offering is simple: free housing during the summer term will be offered to students who are taking summer courses and meet criteria.

Students are only eligible if they were a full-time student during the fall and/or spring semester of this year and if they are taking at least six credits during the summer term. In addition to this, at least three of the credits being taken need to be classroom-based or internship credits. Housing will only be offering while the class or classes are in session.

“We do want students to understand that they have to be attending classes,” Ross explained when discussing eligibility. Students will only continue to be eligible for the free housing if they actively attend their summer courses.

All housing will be offered in the University Courts. Housing students in the University Courts gives them access to a full kitchen, which is important, as food services do not run during summer courses. Students will not be housed in the Academic Village because those halls are often used for guests and tours.

Ross also stated that since the announcement of this offer, there has been more interest from students in taking courses during the summer term. He attributes this interest to the offering of free housing and other changes that are occurring within the summer term, like financial aid options that were not made available before.

Beth Tiedeman, Director of Advising and Registrar, also spoke regarding the offering of free housing for students.

“I’m excited for the students that we are able to offer free summer housing,” Tiedeman said.

Anyone interested in the offering of free summer housing will need to apply. The application will become available online on March 26, 2018, and will be due by April 6, 2018.