This blog series features different writers responding to the prompt, “What is the future of the RD position and role?”
Guest Post by Jesse Heath, Residence Life Professional
We live in a tumultuous time for higher education. To kick off the decade was the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced institutions to make quick pivots and challenged staff in ways that led to burnout and discontentment at work. Housing staff learned a new meaning of “duties as assigned,” as many were tasked with taking meals to students who were in quarantine or isolation and driving those who tested positive to temporary assignments across campus. This led into the Great Resignation, a push for folx who had enough of their jobs and wanted to pursue a career path less taxing. Currently the Expatriates of Student Affairs Facebook group sits at 26,433 members. For comparison, the Student Affairs and Higher Education Professionals Group has 39,313 members. With the looming enrollment cliff that will impact colleges and universities across the nation in 2025, this decade is not pulling any punches it is making toward higher education. While institutions have been more willing to adapt to these challenges to undergo drastic transformation, it will be critical for Housing and the Resident Director (RD) role to do the same.
Before peering into the future and forecasting how the RD role will change, it’s important to address some of the largest challenges facing the role. First and foremost is the challenge to maintain work and life balance. This concept has had a significant impact on today’s workforce and is a priority when it comes to job satisfaction. Finding that balance for many as an RD is impossible: between the evening commitments, weekend programming, and serving on-call for campus, RDs are stretched to their absolute limits. Even when you leave your office, most have their apartments in the same hallway as students, meaning that you can constantly hear them and that there is a chance that they will knock on your door with a question after hours. While having a supportive supervisor who encourages the flexing of time and setting firm boundaries with students are remedies, many find it tough to disconnect when it’s time to be done with work.
Another challenge is that many departments are understaffed, leaving individuals with workloads that are tough to keep up with. As an RD my schedule was packed during our scheduled daytime office hours: it was impossible to find space for all of the conduct meetings, staff one-on-ones, student care meetings, collateral and committee gatherings. Between all of that, when is the RD supposed to engage students at programs and informally connect with students? The answer: afterhours, outside of the 40 hour workweek. While staff can safeguard their time and block their schedules or delegate tasks, it is likely that an unsupportive supervisor would address these actions and push the individual to be more productive.
These two challenges have created a diminishing interest in the RD position. While it is a unique role where you can develop strong connections and mentorships with students, the challenges outweigh this benefit. When I share what my role looks like as an RD with students, specifically Resident Assistants (RAs), at the university, I would generally get the same response: “I don’t know how you do it.” The pipeline that once existed to the RD position through the RA role is drying up and it does not take looking at the waning numbers of students involved with TPE and OPE to see this reality. With the overall pool of qualified candidates for student affairs roles dwindling across the board, it will have alarming ramifications for Housing and the RD role as we know it.
Looking to the future, there are a few options that could be explored to preserve the RD role and to assure that there is sufficient supervision of residence communities. The first problem to address is the workforce issue, the waning number of individuals who are willing to take on the RD position. The first solution could lie with changing job qualifications, making a Master’s degree preferred rather than a requirement. Many institutions have already made this pivot and it has
been a successful way to provide a promotion to outstanding RAs. While a Master’s holds value for the RD position, many of the skills to be a successful RD can be taught through ongoing training and successful supervision. If that’s not a good fit, I think the other solution is to increase the number of graduate assistantships within housing to balance the workload. Graduate students are cheaper than full-time staff and can serve in a variety of capacities. Beyond hiring individuals who are pursuing student affairs, students pursuing their Master’s in Mental Health Counseling could be hired to solely assist with care and conduct cases within Housing. It is also relevant to note that a majority of graduate students are sold a false narrative to accept a position and then end up working 40+ hours while only being compensated for 20. If this path is to be successful, graduate students would only work 20 hours and, since they are cheaper compared to full-time staff, there would be more who would be able to be hired for the team.
My next hot take is that living-on wouldn’t be a requirement for the RD role. This is a barrier for folx who have been in the position who are looking to get married, start families, or are just sick of living in close proximity to students. Don’t get me wrong: living rent free is a huge benefit to the RD role and should not be taken lightly. At the same time it is a sticking point for staff who want to remove themselves from campus in order to maintain better work/life balance. When serving in an on-call rotation, most departments already have an expectation that staff respond within a timely manner, typically around 15-20 minutes. If an RD lives within that radius and is able to respond by that limit, what difference does it make if they’re not in the community. Aside from an emergency response in a community, like a fire, or the convenience of not commuting to staff meetings or evening events, it does not seem like there is a compelling reason for having a live-in requirement for the RD position.
Time will tell what is in store for housing and the higher education landscape as a whole. In considering individual roles and department staffing, the RD position cannot continue to be overlooked. While those up the ladder seemingly had no issues working with these challenges and accepting these working conditions, it is not going to continue to be accepted by today’s workforce. The individuals who fill these roles are making valuable contributions to the institution and the relationships that they foster with students helps validate their experience within the residence halls. The entire landscape of higher education is undergoing drastic transformation and it’s time for the RD role to do the same.
