Presentation made by University of Colorado Boulder Off-Campus Housing and Neighborhood Relations at the 2016 Inter-City Visit

1. Innovative Practices for
Engaging Students in Our
Communities

2. WHO ARE WE?
Susan Stafford
Director
Susan Barkman
Community
Outreach
Coordinator
Jeremy Moore
Asst. Director for
Marketing,
Communications, &
Student Transitions
Bruce Sarbaugh
Legal Advisor
3.5 FTE; 4 STUDENT ASSISTANTS
2 STUDENT LIAISONS (COMMUTER & INTERNATIONAL STUDENT LIAISON)

3. OUR CHARGE & MISSION
o Helping students make informed choices about housing and roommates
o Encouraging students to become knowledgeable and responsible tenants and
community members
o Assisting students in gaining the proficiency to problem solve when landlord and
roommate difficulties arise
o Advocating an off-campus student perspective in the residential rental market as
well as city policy making
o Assisting new and incoming students in transition (transfer, commuter, and
international) in acclimating to the campus and community environment

4. Apartment Size 2012 2013 2014 2015
Efficiency $728 $780 $904 $947
One Bedroom $873 $942 $1,029 $944
Two Bedrooms $1,259 $1,302 $1,432 $1,639
Three Bedrooms $1,914 $1,983 $2,199 $2,477
Four Bedrooms $2,249 $3,502 $3,544 $3,463
AVERAGE RENTAL RATES BY YEAR

5. North Boulder
Goss Grove
The Hill
East
Aurora
M
artin
Acres
POPULAR NEIGHBORHOOD AREAS IN BOULDER

6. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
Outreach is achieved through several different programs and initiatives including:
• Move-in Orientation
• Commuting Buffs, Transfer and International student outreach
• Weekly door hangers distributed to over 500 units throughout the Fall semester
• Party Registration Program
• Pre-Court/Violation Letters
• Community Living Class
• Neighborhood Concerns Program
• CU in the Neighborhood

7. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
Move-In Orientation
• The Move-In Orientation is offered by OCH&NR in
collaboration with one of Boulder’s largest off-campus
student housing providers, Four Star Realty and was
started in 2011
• MIO is based on the Community Living workshop but is
proactive in nature and aims to educate and inform
students of their role and responsibilities as a community
member, tenant, and neighbor
• In 2014 OCH&NR & the City of Boulder were awarded the
Abernathy Award for Town/Gown Relations by the
International Town/Gown Association for the Move-In
Orientation program
2015-2016 Move In
145 participants
Students taking the class report
better understanding of city
ordinances, and neighborhood
make up.
Program total
646 participants

8. Question Pre-Survey Post-Survey
The residential makeup of the Hill and Goss Grove consists of: a mixture of
students, families, permanent residents 91% 94%
Any music, conversation or other noise that can be heard from more than 100 ft
away from your house after ___PM, you can get an unreasonable noise ticket.
(Average of responses
10:00PM 10:45PM
You can get a noise ticket at any time of the day in Boulder. (TRUE) 90% 81%
You can get a nuisance party ticket by attending a nuisance party. (TRUE) 67% 89%
With a joint and several lease, you are not required to pay your roommates rent if
they move out. (FALSE) 79% 69%
You have____ hours to clear snow from your sidewalks following a snowfall.
(Average of the responses) 15.3 hours 21.79 hours

9. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
Move-In Orientation
• In August 2016, OCH&NR piloted an online MIO with
many of Four Star’s student portfolio in the Hill and Goss
Grove neighborhood areas.
• This natural evolution allowed us to track real-time
student participation and assess course and content
recall.
• This format allowed students to complete the course
whenever and wherever they were prior to moving into
their off-campus unit.
• Participants saw a marked improvement between the
course pre and post tests.
2015-2016 Move In

10. Commuting Buffs
LET’S GO ON AN ADVENTURE
est.2015

11. INTERNATIONAL STUDENT
GUIDE TO OFF-CAMPUS
HOUSING
303.492.7053
och.colorado.edu
University Memorial
Center Room 313
INTERNATIONAL
STUDENT GUIDE
TO OFF-CAMPUS
HOUSING
D E P A R T U R E
HOUSING: What to do
when you are preparing
to go STUDY ABROAD
lonlondon
flight A 45-26-24
pl-15-87-27
STUDY ABROAD GUIDES
(IN DEVELOPMENT)

12. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
Weekly Door Hangers
• Door Hangers are created and
distributed each week by OCH&NR
throughout the Fall semester.
Distribution is done by the office
student assistants and cover over 500
units
• Topics include safety and security,
security deposits, unit condition
documentation, noise, bear trash
ordinance, couch ordinance, and the
riot bill amongst others
Completing your apartment damageform and taking photos is important forboth you and your property manager andcan help you keep more of that security
deposit moola!
Did you know that Off-Campus Housing &Neighborhood Relations has an attorneywho provides free tenant advice to CUstudents? Attorney Bruce Sarbaugh offersconsultations on Tuesdays and Fridays.Call today (303.492.7053) to schedule an
appointment.
Have You Taken
A Selfie of
Your Space?
The sofa ordinance prohibits the placement,
use or storage of upholstered furniture not
manufactured for outdoor use in outside
areas or on a covered or uncovered porch.
This includes upholstered chairs, upholstered
couches and mattresses.

13. resistant trash cans, visit the City of Boulder’s education website located at
www.boulderwildlifeplan.net or scan the QR code.
Don’t BEAR a bigger fine!
WHO: Residents within the trash
implementation zone from the
city’s western and southern
borders for all properties west of
Broadway to the south of Sumac
Avenue.
WHAT: The City of Boulder has
adopted a new ordinance that
requires trash to be secured in
bear resistant trash cans in
designated areas. Unsecured
trash has the potential for a $250 fine to property owners,
landowners, or tenants after notification of violation(s) by email,
postal mail, or telephone for individuals failing to utilize approved trashcans.
WHEN: Full enforcement of the bear proof trash can ordinance will begin October 1st, 2014.
WHERE: For a full map of the secure trash implementation zone and for approved bear
resistant trash cans, visit the City of Boulder’s education website located at
www.boulderwildlifeplan.net or scan the QR code.
Don’t BEAR a bigger fine!
OUTREACH PUBLICATIONS: BEAR ORDINANCE REMINDER
FRONT
BACK

14. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
Party Registration
Students can potentially avoid a $1,000 ticket by registering a
Friday or Saturday night party with Off-Campus Housing:
• They provide us with the address, host name and phone
number
• Information is provided to Boulder dispatch each Friday
afternoon
• If a NOISE complaint is made, they receive a 20 minute
warning to shut the party down
• If a second complaint is made, dispatch will notify the
police to make contact
• Students receive a PR swag bag the first time they register
with important smart party tips, snacks, trash bags, and
more.

15. Between July 1, 2015
through June 30, 2016
471parties have
registered
3 parties were ticketed
46 parties have
received warnings/
proactive police stops

16. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
Pre-Court Letters
• These letters are sent to students who have received tickets prior to their court data. The
letter explains what they can anticipate from their court appearance.
Violation Letter
• These letters are sent to students who have received a violation. The letter provides
information about avoiding future summons and encourages students to be aware of their
conduct. Common letters are for noise, snow removal, and trash.

17. Noise Letter

18. Community Living
• Community Living is a possible sanction for students going through the CU conduct
process or is often mandated by the Boulder court system
• Students can register for 1.5 hour Community Living workshop on the OCH&NR website.
The workshop costs $25 and is instructed by the Community Outreach Coordinator two
times a week
• Topics covered include common nuisance ticketing situations, trespassing, city ordinances,
obstructing and resisting a police officer, and expectations for community and student
conduct.
• When students complete Community Living they receive a certificate of completion which
they can take to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution or to court as proof
of workshop completion

19. July 1st, 2015
through June 30th, 2016
COMMUNITY LIVING COURSE
457 students have
completed the class
Program Total
3515 students have
completed the class
(through June 2016)
2%of participants will take the
class a second time based
on recidivism from August
2010 to June 2016

20. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
Neighborhood Concerns Program
• Off-Campus Housing and Neighborhood Relations (OCHNR)
reaches out to residents and lets them know they can call the
office if they have problems with a specific off-campus
property
• Susan Stafford, Director of OCH&NR, conducts outreach and
information gathering to the neighbors and BPD, then returns
to the students to get them to improve their behavior. This
program has been successful in getting students to change
their behavior and understand the impact their actions and
behavior can have on their community

21. Welcome Bags
• Welcome bags are delivered to permanent residents/neighborhood
associations in transitional neighborhoods where students and permanent
residents mix. The bags are full of items to prepare a meal as well as important
information about the local area.
Dialogue Dinners
• Hosted by the CU Dialogues Program, CU Student Government, and Off-Campus
Housing & Neighborhood Relations, the Dialogue Dinner is an intimate dinner for
Hill residents and students to discuss their experiences, both positive and negative,
living in a diverse community. Dinner & a Dialogue, is a facilitated conversation that
seeks to increase understanding through open communication across social and
cultural boundaries. Dialogue works to build community from the ground up by
fostering interaction, discussion and person-to-person connections.
• Students and neighbors are encouraged to come together in an environment that
encourages the sharing of multiple perspectives and promotes mutual
understanding.

22. OUR STUDENT SERVICES
CU in the Neighborhood
• Program pilot based on program done
at UMass Amherst in which a 50%
noise reduction was achieved after 3
years
• Messaging to students includes noise
reduction, traveling along well-lit,
primary walking corridors, importance
of eating before drinking, and
understanding that neighborhood
disruptions do not only impact full-time
residents
• Over 11,000 cookies distributed
throughout program operation over 4
weeks in Aug-Sept 2016

24. OUTREACH PUBLICATIONS: BLOCK/NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIFIC MESSAGING
NOISE
DOOR HANGER

25. STUDENT CONDUCT
Our student code of conduct follows the CU student wherever they go during their
time as a student. We hold students to high standards of personal conduct
and we explain this as part of the new student welcome and move-in
process. Additionally, our office along with several others have begun a
campaign to remind students that they “are Buffs wherever they are” and that
as a member of our CU community, they have responsibilities to abide by the
code of conduct and the Colorado Creed.
WE ARE BUFFS
WHEREVER WE ARE