CMU offers free residence for students

Canadian Mennonite University will provide incoming students with free on-campus housing, starting in 2026-27.

The new incentive for first-year undergraduate students is valued at $3,000.

The faith-based school is touting the registration bonus as a way to increase relationship building on the Shaftesbury Boulevard campus.

The change will also lower both student commuting expenses and carbon footprints, senior administration said in a news release Wednesday.

The release credited “a donor who believed deeply in the power of community to shape academic success.”

Charlie Peronto, vice-president student life and campus operations, called the initiative transformational.

“By removing cost barriers, we’re opening the door for every student to begin their university journey surrounded by support, belonging, and opportunity,” Peronto said in a release.

Full-time domestic and international students can apply for free accommodation in Poettcker Hall next year.

Registrants must participate in the university’s meal plan to take advantage of the program.

Peronto said living in dorms allows students to make friends and focus on their studies because they don’t need to commute.

CMU administration suggested students who live off campus spend between 160 to 240 hours in transit throughout a school year.

Eligible students will be assigned a room in the newly renovated residence located at 2316 Grant Ave.

Poettcker Hall has a new district geothermal system, gender-neutral washrooms and fire alarm upgrades, along with other renovations that were completed last year.

Apartment units will continue to be reserved for upper-year students.

CMU’s website indicates its “full-board meal plan” is $2,587.

Administration currently estimates Canadian undergraduate students who live on campus pay about $16,000 per year. That figure is about $21,000 for their international peers.

University president Cheryl Pauls said internal data show students are more successful when they both learn and live together.

Students who live on campus graduate 25 per cent faster and earn grade point averages 0.25 points higher than their peers, which is the difference between a B+ and an A, the data said.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca