UO students who live on campus in the dorms tend to be more successful.

Question

It has been proven that Oregon students who live off campus or who don't live as close to their classes as they would in the dorms lack the urge to attend class. Not attending class results in lower grades due to the amount of material missed and the number of absences one may receive. As a UO freshman living in the dorms now, I find that it is very easy to get to my classes because they are all close by. Although I can see how it would be difficult to find the motivation to get to class if living off campus, but for me, there is no motivation needed to get myself to go to class.

Comments

I like this claim and the evidence you provided. Factors like weather and traffic are completely swept aside when it comes to living on campus. As a freshman, I can see how easy living and being more successful on this campus is. The accessibility to food, classes, a gym, a field, and much more just leads to a greater life when your home is here.

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Living in the dorms definitely makes attending classes more convenient, which can enhance motivation. For students living off-campus, the distance might be a barrier, but it’s important to find strategies to stay engaged, like setting routines or study groups.

Answer 1

I think that this is a very interesting topic to have chosen. I think that the claims you are making in your post are certainly solid, and I completely understand where you are coming from. That being said, I think that you could have used a source outside of the University of Oregon that doesn't have any bias. Of course, the University wants people to live on campus because they can make more money that way. That is a good concept of a claim, but use a better source of why living on campus has those effects, one with no bias.

Comments

I agree that more sources should have been used outside of the University of Oregon. It's hard to find other sources that aren't just other colleges, but upon looking deeper I found an article by NASPA, highlighting research for the benefits of living on campus. The resarchers state that, “simply by virtue of eating, sleeping, and spending their waking hours in the college campus,” students are more likely to identify with college life." The information presented in this article appears to back up the claim made by the University of Oregon.
https://www.naspa.org/blog/the-benefits-of-living-on-campus-do-residence-halls-provide-distinctive-environments-of-engagement

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I also agree that you must need to increase the number of sources that have been used outside of University of Oregon, as a lot of studies done within institutions should be taken with a grain of salt due to preexisting bias. However it should also be considered to some extent, just among more sources. All in All, this was a very strong answer.

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As a UO student myself living in the dorms I understand this, but it's purely dependent on the person and their situation. It's not a proven fact that housing is the issue that relates to a student's success. I think that sometimes location cab be a factor into being able to go to classes and events but also that is also dependent on the student and who they are as a person.

Answer 2

The claim here is more of an opinion than a fact when only taking the link they sourced into consideration. If you click the link, it takes you to the University of Oregon housing page. When reading the page, the housing department says, "Studies show that first-year full-time students living on campus have higher GPAs, stay in school in higher numbers, and graduate faster." But there is no sources or articles linked to back up this claim. Therefore, I looked deeper into this and started searching the internet. I found that multiple universities including University of Oregon, West Texas A&M University, Cal Poly Pomona, and many more like to state that there have been studies done that show living on campus improves your gpa, improves attendance, and can lead to a faster graduation. None of these universities show where they found this information or give the name of the studies that proved these points. Although, there was a study done by the National center for education statistics, called the National Post Secondary Student Aid Study. This Study is done every 3-4 years and has proved that "the type of residence during college does not have a significant effect on 1st-year academic performance." as stated by Ruth N. Lopez Turley, and Geoffrey Wodtke, the authors of "College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits from Living on Campus?". This shows that the requirement to live on campus your first year of college is not necessarily true that it is in the best interest of your grades, but probably more so the interest in your savings.

Links to sources I found my Information from: 

Live-On Requirement | University Housing -UofO housing 

(PDF) College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits From Living on Campus? -Research Gate article by Ruth N. Lopez Turley and Geoffrey Wodtke

National Postsecondary Student Aid Study - Overview -Study where the research gate article got their information

Freshmen Requirement -Cal Poly Pomona freshman living requirements