Resident assistant

These duties are a direct result of the leadership portion of the RA position. The RA is often asked to be a liaison from the floor to the Community Coordinator of the building. This requires writing reports, keeping accurate records, 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 responsibilities. The RA may also assist with public relations and housing needs.

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 in 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.[3]

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.

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 having the residents be tolerant and respectful of the other residents and their property, or going so far as to create programming to create a sense of family on the floor or in the building. Community programming may also be a required duty in order to help create a sense of belonging in the living space.

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, class-work, 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.[4]

These duties involve creating a safe and healthy environment for the residents to reside in. 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. Monitoring floor activity and helping with conflict resolution between residents is another important security related duty of the RA.

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.

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.[3]

This refers to the personal development of residents that enables them to gain a level of self-awareness.

Resident assistants must encourage self-awareness and personal accountability amongst the residents.

One way 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 freshners with baking soda and essential oils (Hygiene), DIY Tote bags from old t shirts (Sustainability), Icecream Social (Icebreaker), BJ's and PJS- Ben and jerrys (Sex ed), Paint Nite (Alcohol safety).

Passive Program Ideas: Making a door dec 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.

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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.

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.