Our Co-ops

The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) includes three housing and dining co-ops, six dining co-ops, and one program hall. We have both room & board and board-only options available on the Oberlin College campus for students.

We rent our buildings from Oberlin College, but we run them ourselves. The key to OSCA's success is self-reliance! OSCAns do everything from making pizza to mopping floors, from buying food to sitting on OSCA's Board of Directors. The fact that we do our own cooking, cleaning, and operational work builds a much stronger sense of community. Making an organization the size of OSCA work is a terrific learning opportunity, and a tremendous responsibility. 

Each semester, individual co-ops set all their own internal policies; each co-op has its own social, culinary, and political character. Except for our employees (Business Coordinator, Financial Manager, Food Safety Advisor, and Office Assistant), Oberlin College students handle the massive operational duties of the corporation — something very few people could ever imagine doing in college! There are many opportunities for individual members to get involved in OSCA through staff positions that oversee the functioning of OSCA in, between and across our co-ops. 

OSCA has achieved its autonomy because our members work together in pursuit of common goals. Making such an independent community work entails a commitment on your part to participate in the cooperative process of self-governance. What do you think OSCA should be doing? What's your cooperative vision? OSCAns realize dreams that would be impossible anywhere else, so get involved and make them come true!

Get acquainted with each of our co-ops!