I have had two in college and about to send a 3rd, so I have seen a few campus bike racks.

The bikes are going to be outside in the weather, and jammed in a cluster, so a new bike is not going to look that way for long. Look at the bikes in the racks when you go on a tour. You don't want something that stands out as a theft magnet. My ideal campus bike would be old and beat up, but mechanically sound. Single speed mechanical bits are easier to keep working than a fragile derailleur.

Check on where he has to park the bike, in relationship to where his classes are. My daughter stopped riding her bike because the time to put the bike in the rack didn't make it any faster than just walking.