We want to hear from you…
What is the future of RAs?
Is the RA position extinct?
How does the RA position need to evolve?
Want to share your thoughts and ideas? Roompact is holding a blog post writing contest! Put your thoughts to paper and get paid for your time if your submission is chosen for publication. All persons submitting will receive a personalized caricature of themselves done by our artist as a thank you. Those selected for publication will get a $50 gift card as a thank you.
At the summer 2022 ACUHO-I Annual Convention, the future of the profession was a hot topic. One area that received a lot of energy and discussion was about the structure of our positions and what staff are asked to do in their roles. Some institutions have already begun experimenting with re-conceived RA positions–some reducing or changing duties, some breaking the position out into multiple roles, while others are moving the lines between professional and student staff responsibilities. What’s your hot take on this topic?
This contest is open to full time higher education professionals (and those in graduate assistantships) at colleges and universities (regardless of whether your institution is a Roompact campus, or not). Write a post that is at least one page, single-spaced, in 10-12 point font with standard 1 inch margins. Email it to us as an attachment to contests@roompact.com from your institutional email address (*.edu) with your name (as you want it attributed in your post), institution (and if you want it listed with your post or not), pronouns, and a high-quality forward-facing headshot of you to be turned into a caricature.
By submitting your post and photo, you agree that we can publish it on our blog and post it to our social media channels. Roompact reserves the right to deny any entries or ask for edits at its own discretion.
The blog post must be sent by December 31st at midnight local (your) time to be considered!
Prizes
Everyone who submits a blog post will have their headshot turned into a caricature. This caricature is our “thank you” for your submission and you can use it however you wish–websites, social media profiles, presentations, etc. If your article is selected for publication, we will also use this caricature in the post.
Articles selected for publication will be given $50 gift cards as a thank you. After submission, we’ll work with you to get your article publication ready. Roompact reserves the right for some editorial control, so publication isn’t guaranteed, but we’ll work with you to make any changes to get it there. We want your good ideas and content.
Roompact attempts to support socially responsible, local, and minority owned businesses to the greatest extent possible. To further this aim, published authors will receive a gift card to Goldbelly–a site that allows you to order items from local restaurants all across the country.
Ideas or Prompts to Get You Started
One thing to note: Readers are looking for solutions and practical answers and ideas. So the more the you can provide these, the better!
- How has the RA role changed over time?
- Has the RA role kept pace with changes in higher education and student trends?
- What changes need to be made to the RA role to keep it relevant?
- What is the role of an “RA” in 2022?
- Is the RA role “too much work” for a student staff member? Is it the “appropriate” work for a student staff member?
- What would a re-conceived RA role look like?
- What one aspect of the RA role do you think needs to be changed?
- What are the strengths of the RA role and why are they important now?
- How can the RA position be made more relevant, for residents and/or for the staff members themselves?
