Recognizing the challenges students may face when it comes to finding housing, Humber is working to provide more options that suit their needs.
Humber has a variety of options including on-campus and off-campus housing along with external services that are providing innovative solutions to address student housing.
Students who want to live on campus at North Campus or Lakeshore Campus have access to residence buildings.
At North Campus, there are three residence buildings offering single rooms and suite-style accommodations with 1,019 beds.
At Lakeshore, there are currently 426 on-campus beds. In the fall, there will be an additional 336 beds when the first phase of the Humber Cultural Hub opens. Students at the International Graduate School are eligible to apply for on-campus housing at Lakeshore.
Residence a positive community atmosphere
Humber’s residence buildings provide a safe and supportive environment for students to learn while building a positive community. Residence staff and student staff who work and, in some cases, live in the buildings, ensure that students have access to supports that contribute to their success.
Susan Miller, associate director, Residence Operations, notes that Humber prioritizes on-campus housing for first-year students. Typically, about 75 per cent of beds are designated for first-year students with the remaining 25 per cent for returning learners.
“We really value having the returning students living in residence because it allows for mentorship by the upper year students for the first years,” said Miller. “Having that balance in the buildings creates a positive community atmosphere.”
To ensure equitable housing options, spaces are held for different members of the Humber community. For example, the number of first-year beds put aside for international students is commensurate to their percentage of the student population.
Additionally, there are also off-campus housing options with more information on the Off Campus Life Rental Listings webpage. Miller added that Humber continues to explore additional options for off-campus housing to provide students with even more options to suit their needs.
External listing services another housing option
Humber also uses external listing services that offer additional forms of housing for students. One such example is Places4Students.com.
Humber has also recently partnered with Sparrow to provide students with connections to curated, compatible and trusted home-share hosts for flexible housing options.
"Our collaboration with Humber College is all about connecting students with the off-campus housing options they need,” says Oren Singer, co-founder and CEO of Sparrow. “We're proud to work alongside an institution that shares our commitment to student well-being. This collaboration is a significant step towards providing more options for students in need of accommodation.”
Sparrow works by matching students with hosts through an algorithm that considers lifestyle preferences, daily habits and housing needs. Sparrow verifies the identity of all hosts through screening interviews and conducts standards checks before hosts are accepted onto the Sparrow platform. Sparrow also helps students boost their credit scores through their on-time rent payments made through their platform and provide additional tenant insurance coverage.
“Finding affordable housing in Toronto can be a challenge for students and is a significant cause of stress. Humber is dedicated to supporting the well-being of our students and offers resources, like Sparrow, to help them find housing options that work for them,” said Ian Crookshank, associate vice-president of Learner and Career Success and dean of Students. "This represents one of the many comprehensive efforts Humber is making to enhance our students' experience and housing options.”
Last year, Humber teamed up with technology platform SpacesShared to offer a new way for students to find affordable housing. It’s a secure platform that helps older adults who are interested in home-sharing connect with verified student guests. The SpacesShared platform facilitates the entire process – from profile viewing and messaging to virtual meetings, home-sharing agreements, rental payments, and monthly check-ins.
When it comes to on-campus housing, Humber ensures that an adequate supply is provided for Indigenous students. Indigenous learners also have the option of sharing their suite with another Indigenous student if they so desire.
Anyone who will be sharing a suite can use the roommate matching option that asks a series of questions about what they’re looking for in a roommate and provides a list of matches. The matched students can communicate back and forth via the platform and decide if they want to room together.
Gender-inclusive housing is also a priority and all students are asked if they prefer same gender or gender-inclusive accommodations if they will be living in a suite with someone else.
Miller said that spots do open up even after the semester has started, so she suggests that interested students apply and add their names to the wait list during the semester.