Week 2: Residence Life and OSCA

Issue #2

Residence Life and OSCA

Welcome from Mark Zeno, Office of Residence Life

Welcome to Oberlin College & Conservatory! As you prepare for move-in day, I encourage you to visit the Office of Residence Life website for more information on housing and dining, what to bring to campus, important dates, and information about our Residential Curricular Model (RCM). At Oberlin, our philosophy as a four-year residency required institution provides student housing committed to supporting diverse communities that promote learning, leadership, and respect. Each residential community has peer Resident Assistants (RA’s) as a live-in resource to help you learn, develop, and grow while you acclimate and contribute to our community. Living in a residence hall during your time at Oberlin will help you develop interpersonal and leadership skills while supporting community-building opportunities that create a sense of belonging that you will use during and beyond your college years.

You will also find several dining options at Oberlin!  In collaboration with our campus partner, AVI Foodsystems, students will find a variety of food options to provide you with the necessary energy needed to excel in your classes and out-of-class activities.

We hope you are excited as we are of you joining us here at Oberlin! My team and I are looking forward to greeting you when you arrive on campus. If we don't see you that day, please feel free to visit us in Stevenson Hall, Room 115, with any questions or just to say hello!

 

Mark A. Zeno
Assistant Vice President and Dean of Residence Life and Campus Auxiliary Services

 

 

The Residential Curriculum Model (RCM)

by Melanie Hawkins, Director of Residential Engagement

The Residential Curriculum Model (RCM) is an intentional framework for living communities that furthers student learning and engagement at Oberlin. On-campus residential living focuses on the holistic student experience and fosters learning beyond the classroom. Living on campus will help you to:

• build supportive networks
• develop practical competence
• engage in meaningful communities

You will receive regular emails from our professional staff with event invitations, links to campus resources, and other means of helping you navigate college. Other RCM strategies include community meetings, roommate/community agreements, and educational workshops.

Housing Application Opens Soon

To apply for housing, starting April 2nd, 2025, please visit the Housing Registration website and follow the application instructions. For more information about the application process, visit the First Year Student Housing Selection website.

Here are some more important resources and alternative applications:  

• First-Year Student Housing Selection - Due by June 8th, 2025.
• Living Learning Community Housing - Due by May 5th, 2025.
• Disability Accommodation Requests - Due to the Office of Disability and Access no later than May 2nd, 2025.
• Housing Exemption Requests - Due by May 5th, 2025.

Students who do not secure housing through the aforementioned processes will be assigned housing by Residence Life staff. If you are interested in living in a student-run co-op, please see the OSCA section below.

Consider a Co-op! 

by the Oberlin Student Co-operative Association Leadership

Consider living and dining with OSCA! The Oberlin Student Co-operative Association is an independent nonprofit entirely separate from the college. OSCA operates four living and six dining cooperatives and saves space for interested first-year and transfer students to either live-and-dine or dine-only cooperatively. Students in OSCA share community and labor, working 4-5 hours a week in various jobs—everything from head cook or crew member for any of our many weekly meals to president of the entire organization. OSCA offers at-cost room and board, tasty twice-daily meals made from locally-sourced organic food, frequent snacks and tasty things, the famed Jellyfish Parade, and more! Check out our website at osca.coop or email us at memsec@osca.coop to learn more! If needed, OSCA can provide financial support. Learn more here. OSCA also offers a program of time-aid, where work-study students need not work as many hours in a co-op, and other accessibility-based accommodations. To apply for OSCA, please click this link.

Complete Your To-Do List in Engage

As a reminder, please complete your “To-Do” list in Engage! This includes Student Health forms, registering with the Office of Disability & Access, and submitting ID Card information!

How to review your checklist:

• Access your Engage portal with your ObieID and password.
• Click on the “To-Do Lists” Tile.
• Review and complete items. Some are required and some are optional.
• Mark each item as complete by clicking “Update.”
• If you have questions, email or call the contact listed for each to-do list item.