WHERE ROADRUNNERS ROOST
How UTSA’s on-campus communities are ensuring greater academic success
About 4,600 students will be moving into UTSA’s six residence communities this week. Roughly 3,300 students are setting up their new homes in Alvarez Hall, Chisholm Hall, Guadalupe Hall, Chaparral Village and Laurel Village, which are UTSA-owned properties. An additional 1,300 students will be moving into University Oaks, an on-campus community managed by third-party company Campus Living Villages.
With so much underway at UTSA, here’s what you need to know:
- Move-In Week takes place August 14 to 18, immediately preceding Roadrunner Days, which will run Saturday, August 19 to Saturday, September 2. The celebration features a full line-up of events, seminars and socials that will help students develop a sense of belonging at UTSA, make new friends and learn about resources that will help students succeed on campus and in the classroom.
- This year, each of UTSA’s on-campus housing properties is at full capacity. Most residents are first-year students who will be living away from home for the first time. On average, students who live on campus their first year perform better academically and feel a greater sense of belonging earlier on in their college journey.
- To accommodate its growing student population, UTSA announced plans last week for Blanco Hall, its sixth residence community. Construction on the 594-bed facility will begin this fall and is expected to be completed by June 2025. Once completed, the UTSA Main Campus will have 5,183 beds—95% of its goal to have 5,400 beds on campus by 2025.
- The Blanco Hall dietetics kitchen will serve as a shared nutrition, research and practice laboratory. The kitchen will support UTSA’s program in dietetics, cooking classes and an education and training center to engage students in meaningful research related to chronic disease prevention.
- The second cohort of Bold Scholars (222 incoming freshmen) will be moving into Chisholm Hall this week. These students were admitted to UTSA as part of the university’s Bold Promise tuition assistance program and will benefit from a comprehensive on-campus living-learning experience with all housing costs covered. They will also receive dedicated support from the academic advisors, counselors, professional and peer mentors and success coaches that make UTSA a model for student success.
- This year, roughly 800 students living in UTSA’s on-campus housing communities will experience the academic and social benefits of being part of one of nine active Special Interest Housing (SIH) groups at UTSA. The largest SIH group is the Honors Residential College, with 350 first-year honors students occupying Guadalupe Hall. Other SIH groups focus on business, data science and first-generation college students.
