MSU Student Housing Cooperative, Inc. was formed in 1969 as a federation of the existing cooperatives to promote the concept of cooperative living in East Lansing. In 1971, SHC became a collective land trust with donations of property from Bower, Elsworth, and Hedrick cooperatives.

This statement, taken from the SHC Bylaws, sums up the purpose of SHC:

"The SHC has a responsibility to provide for the needs of its membership, but the membership has a higher responsibility to the SHC, that of being part owner in a collective ownership. Because of this collective ownership, all members must be responsible to each other as equals. If this responsibility is not fulfilled, then that SHC is no longer an organization of its members, only an organization of people."

Since 1971, SHC has grown to own 14 cooperative houses.