Resident assistant

Last updated
Resident Assistant
Occupation
Activity sectors
 Education
Description
CompetenciesCommunication, organization, planning
Fields of
employment
 Student affairs
Related jobs
 Coach, tutor

A resident assistant (RA), also known by a variety of other names, [note 1] is a trained peer leader who coordinates activities in residence halls in colleges and universities, mental health and substance abuse residential facilities, [1] or similar establishments.

Contents

An RA has many roles and responsibilities, including building a residential community through programming, acting as a mentor for students, being a familiar first resource for students with academic or institutional questions, and enforcing residence policies. RAs assist residents with problem solving or refer them to counseling resources. [2] Above all, a resident assistant must be an example and uphold professional and personal accountability as outlined by the institution.

At post-secondary institutions RAs are often undergraduate or graduate students themselves, and must balance their schedule and priorities with the needs of the students they are supporting. RAs must balance their own personal and academic needs while ensuring they are supporting and fostering community among residents, connecting residents with resources, and providing enriching programming. RAs will often report to a residence hall director, or another professional staff member within the Residence Life unit.

A major component of the job is not only creating a community, but also ensuring safety for all, for example, by participating in nightly community walks. Other duties held by RAs outside of community building and programming can include ordering supplies, managing a budget, and determining need for maintenance, repairs, and furnishings. They may maintain household records and assign rooms.[ citation needed ]

Job benefits

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national mean hourly wage of an RA was $13.87 in 2017, and the national mean average annual wage was $28,850. An RA at a college or university does not typically receive an hourly wage, but is compensated in other ways. Common compensations are price-adjusted or free room, free board, and/or stipends. Listed below are two tables of RA hourly and annual mean wage, broken down by individual industries.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation: [1]

IndustryEmploymentHourly mean wageAnnual mean wage
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools11,010$15.39$32,010
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities31,410$13.32$26,710
Other Residential Care Facilities17,450$13.44$27,950
Individual and Family Services12,150$13.00$27,040
Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services8,920$13.30$27,650

Top paying industries for this occupation: [1]

IndustryEmploymentHourly mean wageAnnual mean wage
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)2,080$17.93$37,290
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)2,300$17.24$35,860
Management of Companies and Enterprises520$17.23$35,830
Grantmaking and Giving Services100$16.98$35,320
RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps80$16.33$33,970

Job duties and responsibilities

Each institution has its own duties and requirements for an RA. The following are the more common responsibilities of an RA.

Administrative

An RA is often asked to be a liaison between the resident community of which they are a part and the residence hall director of the building. This often requires writing reports, keeping accurate records, completing timely follow-up, and maintaining good communication. RAs are usually required to meet with their building coordinator weekly or bi-weekly to discuss their residents, planned programming, and any other issues or subjects that could affect the ability to perform their administrative responsibilities. The RA may also assist with public relations and housing needs such as submitting facilities concerns for review and collecting information about resident move out.

Community

The residents and the RA compose a community, simply by living together in a similar location. The RA may be required to foster this community by mentoring and encouraging the residents be tolerant and respectful of the other residents and their property. They often facilitate programming to create a sense of community and belonging on the floor or in the building. This programming is meant to bring a greater sense of community, with many institutions having strong community pride within residence halls in the form of mascots and traditions. Further, RAs are often expected to be positive role models within their communities. They are to act as role models of the standards put in place by the institution by demonstrating: academic integrity, respect for diversity and inclusion, and prioritizing community integration or participation.

Interpersonal

These duties deal with directly helping the residents as individuals. This requires the RA to know all the residents and be able to help each resident if they run into any problems with each other as well as with other things that may follow. Some problems could pertain to relationships, classwork, or institutional questions. The RA should have the skills to either assist the resident, or know of a resource that the resident can use to solve their problem. [3] A large portion of an RA's role is not to be the expert in supporting students with all of their needs, but rather to have the knowledge and ability to identify when a resident is in need of support and refer residents to other resources that can support them such as counselling services, academic advising, etc.

Security

These duties involve creating a safe and healthy environment for the residents to reside in. Many institutions require RAs to participate in a 'on duty' rotation where they actively walk through and monitor communities throughout the night. While completing these nightly rounds, enforcing community standards, such as quiet hours and alcohol and drug policy are frequent occurrences. Fines, bonds, and behavioural contracts can be issued at many universities by RAs as a result but at other institutions RAs are only required to address and document concerns and professional staff such as residence hall directors complete the follow-up for community standard infractions. Monitoring floor activity and helping with conflict resolution between residents is another important security related duty of the RA. As more institutions take on a curricular approach and put learning at the forefront of their practice, many RAs are encouraged to have an educational-based conversation with students and focus on restoration and not reprimand them. Finally, while completing their nightly walk throughs RAs are often asked to check on the physical security of residence halls, ensuring doors are locked and there are no facilities concerns that need to be addressed.

Integration

This refers to assisting residents in making a smooth transition into campus life by getting them involved in traditional activities in their institution such as homecoming events, for example. Many RAs are asked to help first-year residence students transition campus and academic life, providing orientation to campus services and being available for questions and support throughout the academic terms. Further, when residents move out of residence halls RAs help support their integration into the broader campus community.

Academic and awareness

This refers to academic development and social awareness. Resident assistants are there to promote the well-being of residents in university housing, and to make sure that residents feel like they have enough resources available to them and know how to use them. RAs may try to teach students about social justice and inclusivity, and take students to places on campus where they can learn more about social justice and groups with differing identities. RAs can show students where to go when they need academic help or advice, and can even offer advice of their own as they are often older students with more experience. [4]

Identity

This refers to the personal development of residents that enables them to gain a level of self-awareness. This can be fostered through student development theory frameworks such as Sanford's theory of challenge and support and Kolb's theory of experiential learning.

Independence

Resident assistants must encourage the development of life skills and personal accountability amongst the residents. This may be through RAs teaching skills such as how to do laundry or cook, or bringing in additional resources such as career centres to support residents in learning how to make a cover letters or excel at job interviews.

Programs

One way many of these elements can be achieved is through programming. This is a major aspect of the job for a resident assistant. Programming can come in three different forms. This includes planned, passive, and take. A planned program is an event created or co-sponsored by the resident assistant. This event is specifically tailored to fit the needs and/or interests of the residents. Sometimes RAs are required to have one planned event for their residents a month, as well as contribute to a building program once a semester in which they work with other RAs to create a meaningful program for the whole building. A passive program is one that is completed without assembling or direct interaction between the residents and/or the resident assistant. Passive programs are generally used to start a conversation on a particular issue affecting the residents. These programs can range from a bulletin board that can be casually read in passing, or they can be more interactive like taking a survey, for example. Finally, take programs require the resident assistant to accompany residents to an event which can include an on-campus program such as an institution sponsored event, a basketball game or perhaps a movie. All these programs help to develop a community amongst residents and incorporate the core values mentioned above.

Active Program Ideas: Mocktails (alcohol safety), Condom Olympics (sex ed), DIY air fresheners with baking soda and essential oils (Hygiene), DIY Tote bags from old t- shirts (Sustainability), Ice-cream Social (Icebreaker), BJ's and PJS- Ben and Jerrys (Sex education), Paint Nite (Alcohol safety).

Passive Program Ideas: Making a door dec (decoration) representative for that month (bunnies in March, ornaments in December, pumpkins in October), going door to door and handing out candy/ taping candy on their door, an interactive bulletin board where they can write countries they've been or what they're thankful for in November. [5]

Institution-specific

These duties are designated from the values and goals of the institution. This denotes that the RA should be a role model by following the regulations. In addition, the RA could be required to disseminate, explain, and uphold these regulations.

At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, resident advisors are role models, peer advisors, resource referrals, student advocates, and educators. RAs assume leadership roles in creating a positive and friendly atmosphere for students of varied backgrounds. RAs at Illinois develop relationships with their residents on a personal level and try to become a resource to each of them. An RA at Illinois is responsible for a floor of residents, and creates programs and activities for their floor throughout the semester. RAs can point residents in the right direction and help them solve problems by referring them to departments on campus for more extensive help with certain issues. RAs also make sure to address the needs of underrepresented groups of students and work with other staff to incorporate the needs and wishes of these student groups into the community model.

At Illinois, RAs are compensated with waived fees for housing and meal plans, and are given a monthly stipend of roughly $105.00. RAs have nights where they are on duty, and must complete procedures such as checking the security of the building, making sure residents in the residence halls are safe and don’t have any unaddressed concerns, and be available to anyone who is having problems or needs help with something. [4]

The job of an RA is to create a community among their residents that is inclusive, welcoming, and comfortable environment for students who are living in university housing. Creating a social and welcoming living space is important for students getting acclimated to a new setting (the college campus) and making sure students feel at home.

International

Singapore

At the National University of Singapore, there are cluster leaders, [6] resident assistants, [7] and members of the Junior Common Room Committee (JCRC). [8] Cluster leaders help keep students within their "cluster", which are students on their floor, safe and healthy. They work alongside resident assistants (RAs) to work towards creating a safe and inclusive community for students. RAs are given training in areas such as crisis management, event organization, CPR and AED training, and presentation skills. The JCRC is a student body council made up of elected undergraduate students to help plan events and make sure that students within the residence have a say in what happens around them. Within this committee, there are 9 to 11 potential positions for each residence hall.

Mexico

In Mexico, resident assistants are typically called "prefectos". The position has many of the same functions as in the USA, with a few exceptions including taking attendance every night at 11:30pm. The residence halls tend to be mainly of the same sex; therefore attendance is taken every night by a resident assistant to ensure opposite sex guests are no longer in the building.

United Kingdom

Positions similar to resident assistants are much rarer in the UK than the USA, reflecting British universities taking much less direct interest in their student's personal, social and sporting life than their American equivalents. It is more common to have a professional manager, supported by a team of student assistants, whose role focuses on duties covering security, fire and first-aid along with night/weekend reception. However, some UK universities do have a similar role to that of the resident assistant in the USA. These are often called "senior wardens", "student wardens" or "senior mentors". Such positions do not generally much focus on improvement of student life, and are instead more directed towards pastoral care of residents along with practical responsibilities. The positions are most often filled by graduate students or sometimes undergraduate students from their second year of study on.

Notable RAs

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A resident assistant may be referred to as a house fellow, resident (or residential) advisor, community assistant, resident mentor, residence don, peer advisor, community advisor, collegiate fellow, proctor, resident tutor or senior resident.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dormitory</span> Residential student building

A dormitory, also known as a hall of residence or a residence hall, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university students. In some countries, it can also refer to a room containing several beds accommodating people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student affairs</span> Department of services for student success at institutions of higher education

Student affairs, student support, or student services is the department or division of services and support for student success at institutions of higher education to enhance student growth and development. People who work in this field are known as student affairs educators, student affairs practitioners, or student affairs professionals. These student affairs practitioners work to provide services and support for students and drive student learning outside of the classroom at institutions of higher education.

Residence Life is the comprehensive program that surrounds the experience of living "on and off campus" in a residence hall at a college or university. Residence Life is usually structured with planned events, a code of conduct and ethics, and a relatively large array of staff.

A residence hall director is college or university employee generally responsible for the management and daily operations of campus residence halls. While the term residence hall director is the common title used for this position in the United States, they are also known at different schools as area coordinators, area directors, hall coordinators, community directors, hall directors, resident or residence directors, resident deans, residence hall coordinators, or residence life coordinators. While different titles are used by different colleges and universities, the positions generally have similar job requirements, dependent upon the size of the institution and scope of the position's overarching department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York University residence halls</span>

With 12,500 residents, New York University has the 7th largest university housing system in the United States, the largest among private schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston University Housing System</span> Housing system for Boston University

The Boston University housing system is the 2nd-largest of any private university in the United States, with 76% of the undergraduate population living on campus. On-campus housing at BU is an unusually diverse melange, ranging from individual 19th-century brownstone town houses and apartment buildings acquired by the school to large-scale high-rises built in the 60s and 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Michigan student housing</span> Housing system of the University of Michigan

The campus housing system at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, referred to as University Housing, provides living accommodations for approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. There is no requirement for first-year students to live in University Housing, yet approximately 97% of incoming students choose to do so. Every year, over 9,500 undergraduate students are housed in 18 residence halls on Central Campus, the Hill Neighborhood, and North Campus. Undergraduates, graduate students, and students with families can live in University Housing apartments in the Northwood Community on North Campus. Seven full-service dining halls as well as several retail shops provide students with daily dining options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornell West Campus</span> Residential section of Cornell University

West Campus is a residential section of Cornell University main campus in Ithaca, New York. It is bounded roughly by Fall Creek gorge to the north, West Avenue and Libe Slope to the east, Cascadilla gorge and the Ithaca City Cemetery to the south, and University Avenue and Lake Street to the west. It now primarily houses transfer students, second year students, and upperclassmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornell North Campus</span> Residential section of Cornell University

North Campus is a mostly residential section of Cornell University's main campus in Ithaca, New York. It includes the neighborhoods located north of Fall Creek. All freshmen are housed on North Campus as part of Cornell's common first-year experience and residential initiatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paton College</span>

Paton College are residences operated by Memorial University of Newfoundland located on the eastern end of the St. John's campus. Paton College offers traditional dormitory style housing while Burton's Pond is apartment style housing. Paton College provides accommodations for students who are attending either Memorial University, the Marine Institute, or the College of the North Atlantic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otterbein University</span> Private university in Westerville, Ohio, US

Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors, as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Brethren founder the Rev. Philip William Otterbein. As a result of a division and two mergers involving the church, it has been associated since 1968 with the United Methodist Church. In 2010, due to an increasing number of graduate and undergraduate programs, its name was changed back from Otterbein College to Otterbein University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA student housing</span> Housing at University of California, Los Angeles

Student housing owned by the University of California, Los Angeles is governed by two separate departments: the Office of Residential Life, and Housing and Hospitality Services, and provides housing for both undergraduates and graduate students, on and off-campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court–Kay–Bauer Community</span> Group of residence halls at Cornell University

Court–Kay–Bauer Community (CKB) is a group of freshman residence halls on Cornell University's North Campus opened to Cornell students in the fall of 2001. The building was first named Court Hall for the dormitory’s formation of a courtyard enclosed on the opposite side by Clara Dickson Hall. On October 14, 2005, the southern wing of Court Hall was renamed Bauer Hall in response to a gift of $10 million to the University by Robert and Virginia Bauer. On October 12, 2006, the middle wing of Court Hall was renamed Kay Hall, also in response to a donation of $10 million by Bill Kay. Court-Kay-Bauer Halls, as well Mews Hall, were built as a part of the North Campus Housing Initiative, and are being renamed in order to fund construction of new upper-classmen residence halls on Cornell’s West Campus. The money generated from the renaming of Court Hall has been put towards the estimated $248 million development of West Campus. Bauer Hall is the section south of the bridge, Kay Hall is the section north of the bridge, and Court Hall is the section perpendicular to Kay Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Florida student housing</span>

Student housing at University of Florida is governed by the Division of Student Affairs, and provides housing for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on and off-campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Central Florida student housing</span>

The residence hall system at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida is administered by the Department of Housing and Residence Life. As of 2011, the system offers just under 6,500 beds on its main campus within five housing communities, 400 beds at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, and 3,750 beds in university-affiliated housing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housing at the University of Chicago</span> Student residential facilities

Housing at the University of Chicago includes seven residence halls that are divided into 48 houses. Each house has an average of 70 students. Freshmen and sophomores must live on-campus. Limited on-campus housing is available to juniors and seniors. The university operates 28 apartment buildings near campus for graduate students.

In the United States, a residence halls association (RHA) is a student-run university residence hall organization that is usually the parent organization for individual hall governments. Their function is similar to a student government, except that most of their activities pertain to on-campus living. Most RHAs are a division of their student governments — however, a few are independent and equal or greater. Many residence hall associations were created at campuses across the US in the early twentieth century. RHA is the largest student-run organization of its kind in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Avenue Campus</span> College campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey, US

College Avenue is the oldest campus of Rutgers University – New Brunswick, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. It includes the historic seat of the university, known as Old Queens and the campus of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Many classes are taught in the Voorhees Mall area, also home to the Zimmerli Art Museum. It is within walking distance of the train, shops, restaurants, and theaters in downtown New Brunswick and is served by Rutgers Campus Buses, a zero-fare bus network.

International student services are the services, supports and programming available to undergraduate and graduate international students provided by the institution at which they are studying. These services have been developed to meet international students' specific needs during their post-secondary studies and can include: orientation programming, immigration advising, academic and language support, financial aid support, employment services, health and wellness support, residence and housing support, social programming, and post-graduation planning support.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017 39-9041 Residential Advisors". U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Residential Advisors". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  3. ↑ Blimling, Gregory (2003). The Resident Assistant. USA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. pp. 5–6. ISBN   0-7872-9867-0.
  4. 1 2 Housing, University. "Resident Advisors". University Housing. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  5. ↑ http://studentaffairs.odu.edu/housing/corevalues.shtml. Core Values. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  6. ↑ "Be A Cluster Leader". nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  7. ↑ "Be A Resident Assistant". nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  8. ↑ "The Junior Common Room Committee (JCRC)". nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  9. ↑ "Virginia Tech Shooting Victims – Ryan Clark". washingtonpost.com. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Radford University – Residential Life: A Resident Assistant". Res-life.asp.radford.edu. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fordham University – The Office of Residential Life at Rose Hill – Resident Assistant Positions". Fordham.edu. 2003-10-28. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  12. ↑ "Famous RAs – Donna Shalala". Residentassistant.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  13. ↑ "Hannibal Buress Part 1 – Questlove Supreme" . Retrieved 2023-11-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.