OUR MISSION:
OFF-CAMPUS STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

The mission of Off-Campus Student Involvement in the Office of Campus Programs at the University of Maryland is to support and enhance the educational experience of ALL students who live off campus.  More specifically, we:
 

  • Create and foster opportunities for off-campus students to engage in University life and learning which enhances their overall development and connection to the campus community. 

  • Provide programs that are informational, educational, and developmental.

  • Enhance the quality of life of off-campus students by assisting them in making well-informed decisions that enable them to enjoy positive on- and off-campus living experiences.

  • Provide personalized information and resources about off-campus living, commuting, and transportation in conjunction with the Department of Transportation Services, Off-Campus Housing Services, and Graduate Student Involvement.

  • Educate students to be responsible and engaged citizens in the communities in which they live and reside.

  • Provide leadership and advocacy for University-wide efforts to increase services and engagement opportunities for off-campus students through participation in institutional decision-making that affects off-campus students. 

  • Engage in and are informed by national dialogues that shape the quality of students’ experience.

  • Foster recognition and appreciation of the heterogeneity of off-campus students through specific populations (e.g. transfer, graduate, undergraduate, international, minority for example) and working in conjunction with other campus departments.

  • Encourage and recognize informal and formal student leadership in off-campus student concerns and issues.

  • Serve as a national model in providing quality services and programs, to contribute to professional organizations, and to provide resources and referral services to professionals who work with commuter students through the National Clearinghouse for Commuter Programs at the University of Maryland.

  • Conduct research to evaluate the outcomes of off-campus student services and programs.

Based on research data, services and programmatic efforts will:

  1. Provide accurate and timely information to commuter students
  2. Promote student involvement in campus life
  3. Encourage commuter students’ identification with the campus community
  4. Increase commuter student access to campus resources by increasing awareness of these resources