Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
If you've found yourself browsing job postings while preparing for summer, you're not alone. For many student staff members, summer employment in Housing and Residence Life comes with a significant benefit: housing. Depending on your institution, you may also receive a stipend, meal plan, or other compensation. Because of this, there can sometimes be an... Continue Reading →
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary this Fourth of July, colleges and universities across the country will likely join in the celebration. There will be patriotic social media posts, historical reflections, and conversations about progress, democracy, and the opportunity education affords us. And to be clear, there has been progress. More students from... Continue Reading →
Abstract Oftentimes, RAs will resist a new process or complain about how a problem is solved, but asking for their input does not always lead to a positive solution. This session will show supervisors how to use design thinking with their RAs to solve problems and create processes. Outcomes Participants will be able to define... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, Crystal sits down with Taj Julien, Residence Hall Director at the University of Connecticut, to discuss entering housing and residence life from a nontraditional pathway. Taj shares how their identity, previous experiences, and support from supervisors have shaped their professional journey, and why different perspectives make our field stronger.
For many student staff members, receiving golf cart access feels like a milestone. One day you're carrying supplies across campus by hand, and the next you’re behind the wheel of a university vehicle, headed to a program setup or responding to a lockout. While golf carts may not seem like a big deal at first,... Continue Reading →
Send a Supervision Questionnaire Include the cutesy get-to-know-you things like favorite color and favorite snack, but also ask about how a supervisee likes to receive feedback or praise! Add birthdays to your calendar (and maybe write birthday cards!) Check first with a supervisee if they like to celebrate their birthday (insert it into that supervision... Continue Reading →
IT'S BACK! Roompact is holding its ninth annual door dec contest! This contest is open to student staff (RAs, CAs, etc.) at schools who currently use Roompact's software on their campus. Create a door dec with the name “Roompact” on it and email it to us at contests@roompact.com from your institutional email address (*.edu) with... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, host Paul sits down with Roompact Fellow, Erin Simpson, to discuss how residence life departments can find a secure footing when external forces can make it feel like they're being asked to make hard pivot. Paul and Erin also discuss how departments can find solutions that borrow from others while contextualizing them to the unique needs of their students.
Summer training for student staff members is usually jam-packed with learning policies, absorbing information, and acting out real-life crisis scenarios. Although all of this is incredibly important for being a trained student staff member, we often forget that there are many ways student staff members can and should learn to incorporate fun into their roles.... Continue Reading →
One of the many facets of our work in Residence Life is incident and crisis response. And unless you’re at a school where most, if not all, of this work is dedicated to a specialized incident response team, you may struggle to find an effective approach to training the on-call staff on this part of... Continue Reading →
Abstract It's easy to copy and paste RA Training from year to year or from other institutions, but what does YOUR campus need? This session will bring practitioners together to discuss approaches to planning RA training whether you are starting from scratch or looking to improve upon the foundations you have in place. With reflective... Continue Reading →
How many residence life trainings have you been to? 10? 15? Do you see your staff spending more time on their laptops and phones, rather than engaging? I started to feel that over the past few years. Yes, staff still know how to do their jobs once they have sat through boring training, but how... Continue Reading →
Door decorations and bulletin boards are more than check-the-box tasks; they are often the first impression residents have of their community. In this episode of Roompact's RA*Chat,, we sit down with a Nikki Garcia to explore how RAs can create intentional, engaging, and meaningful visuals that go beyond aesthetics. From planning timelines to interactive strategies, we break down how to make your boards and door decs stand out while still staying manageable during a busy semester.
You’re walking down the hall in your building when you see a group of your freshman residents “covertly” rushing a case of beer into their room. And for a second or two, a lot of RAs and student staff aren’t solely thinking about policy. They’re thinking: “Why me?”, “Why would they do that?”, and “Man,... Continue Reading →
A lot of people dream about a big inheritance someday and what they plan to do with it. No one would turn down an inheritance, right? I mean at least in the movies, I’ve known a person or two to even kill for an inheritance. When it comes to inheriting a team of student staff,... Continue Reading →
Every summer, Residence Life departments across the country run some version of the same script. Professional staff gather in conference rooms for days of policy review, emergency protocols, and community-building icebreakers. The binders are thick. The coffee is plentiful. And by move-in day, everyone is trained, certified, and ready to go. But are they connected?... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, join our host Noah Montague and guest, Dr. April Callis, as they talk about strategies for supporting trans and nonbinary students living in residence halls. Trans and nonbinary students are a population often overlooked at universities; how are Residence Life staff uniquely situated to be able to provide that often missing support? Where a student lives while on campus matters; listen as Noah and April discuss strategies, tell stories, and share student experience for Residence Life Staff navigating systems in place and working to make them more inclusive for trans students.
May is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. It is a time when conversations around wellness, balance, and self-care become more visible. As student staff, you likely can easily list approaches for supporting mental health. Strategies such as sleep, boundaries, exercise, connection, and mindfulness. You’ve probably discussed these in training sessions or workshops. The challenge... Continue Reading →
