Starting in the fall 2026 semester, incoming new students will be required to live on campus for their first year and their sophomore year at Point Park.
Previously, sophomores were permitted to live in off-campus housing and still be enrolled full-time at Point Park.
Keith Paylo, dean of student affairs, confirmed the change and said it does not apply to students currently enrolled in the university. For rising sophomores, this means they will be allowed to move off-campus without restrictions.
The restrictions are similar to those placed on freshman students in 2025, where they are also required to live on campus. This restriction has exceptions, and the new policy including sophomores has the same exceptions.
These exceptions include if a student lives within 30 miles of campus with their parent or guardian, is 21 years old or older, married or has a dependent living with them, or if they served in the military before enrolling at Point Park.
Paylo did not have enough time in the interview to explain the reason for the policy change. Nobody from housing was available to speak to The Globe to give further context on the measure.
During the fall, 80 students lived in the Wyndham Grand Hotel near Point State Park due to the university overadmitting students. It’s unclear right now if this will happen again next semester, but some rising sophomores and upperclassmen trying to live in Lawrence Hall are being whitelisted, which implies the dorms are already full.
Housing staff could not confirm if the building is full. Paylo said whether or not Lawrence Hall is full ebbs and flows every year, which he said is normal.
“Every year when we go through upperclassmen living, you’ll get through that point where most if not all spaces are booked for next year,” Paylo said. “And then after the first wave and everyone who has signed up for housing and everything along those lines, everyone is then worked on, on an individual basis.”
He went on to say sometimes students who are living on-campus will change their mind and live off-campus, opening space in Lawrence Hall or any other campus housing option which would then have an open space.
Whether the building is full remains to be seen, but students continue to be waitlisted.
The university maintains the position of recommending on-campus housing and encouraging students to stay in on-campus housing, but does not discourage students from moving off-campus.
But the nearby Pioneer Hall building, which was master-leased to the university until the COVID-19 pandemic negated the need for Point Park to continue offering it as a student housing option, is technically considered off-campus housing despite it being in the center of campus. While not being exclusive to Point Park students, a person familiar with the building’s inner workings who did not want to be identified said it is mostly leased to students.
This person also said that many people are leaving the apartments or are becoming apprehensive about signing onto a lease because of rumors regarding the building’s status. The individual said some residents think Point Park is going to take back the building at any moment, negating any progress made to upgrade the building to include more traditional apartment units, not just rooms setup similar to Conestoga Hall.
Pioneer Hall and Conestoga Hall’s interiors were built and designed by the same company, McHolme Construction, which explains why the two are extremely similar. Pioneer Hall’s rooms are still relatively the same as they were when Point Park still master leased the building, albeit with a hot plate now included in the kitchenette area.
But according to Paylo, the rumors about the university taking back the building are not true. He said Point Park will continue to work with the private owners of the complex and have no plans to overtake it.
“We will not place students in Pioneer Hall,” Paylo said. “They will do that as the ownership group has over the last couple of years, having leases with students independently.”
