Residence life and education, residential curriculum and curricular approaches, student housing, and technology.
For Pro Staff For Student Staff Roompact's "Quick Tips" series highlights ideas and suggestions you can put into your practice as either a professional staff or student staff member working in residence life and education. Click to read more from the series. As a resident assistant, you have the incredible opportunity to shape the sense... Continue Reading →
Have you ever heard of the phrase: You get out of an experience what you put into it? The point of the saying is to acknowledge that if you want a certain experience, you have to put in effort. For some, joining the RA role is to help with covering expenses, others join to gain... Continue Reading →
When was the last time you bought something before doing some research on that item? I’m talking about buying a shirt at Target without looking at the price tag before going to the check out lane. Another example can be applying to college: Did you research which university you wanted to attend by looking at... Continue Reading →
I think we can all identify times in which we have experienced mediocre customer service. A specific time that sticks out in my mind occurred about ten years ago…isn’t that crazy– that I can still remember this poor experience? I was craving a chocolate shake, I went to a local ice cream shop, and as... Continue Reading →
During my first day as an RA, I had a floor meeting with my residents. I introduced myself, did an ice breaker, shared some resources, and shared policy expectations. I can vividly recall telling my residents, “I am here to support you, so never feel bad if you need to reach out for questions or... Continue Reading →
Talking about time management can immediately be stress-inducing as a student. You have so much going on in between being a student, a student leader, and experiencing your own personal growth that when your supervisor, professor, guardian, friend, or mentor looks at you and says “are you managing your time properly?”... Sometimes it’s hard not... Continue Reading →
When you were little, do you remember learning how to ride a bike for the first time? You probably had to start with training wheels, graduate to an adult holding onto the back of your bike, then finally you reached a point where you were able to pedal on your own. Total freedom...until the first... Continue Reading →
As a student staff member you are stepping into a role that allows you to wear many hats. A frequent saying you may hear is the Golden Rule in the realm of Residence Life: You are a student first, then a student staff member second. This means that you should focus on your academic priorities... Continue Reading →
It’s about that time that you engage in your first one-on-one (1:1) with your supervisor! Maybe you are a few 1:1s in, but nonetheless, a 1:1 meeting is likely to be relatively new to you. 1:1s are also an excellent way to get to know your supervisor and begin building a relationship. If you're unsure... Continue Reading →
Getting back on campus can be a busy time! You have to move into your new space, meet your new team, engage in training, and prepare for your next semester of classes. On top of all of that, you are expected to help build a community with a whole new set of residents. Before all... Continue Reading →
Let’s talk about move-in day. Imagine moving across the country and arriving at your campus as a new student. You may be nervous. You may not know anyone. You may be anxious about what the year brings, or you may wonder what this new community you're entering into may be like. Will they be accepting?... Continue Reading →
In August of 2020, I sat down in my first master’s class where I was completely SHOCKED to learn that a bunch of scholars kind of knew exactly what I went through as a college student. One scholar spoke to how transitions were hard and challenging, which is why college students need support. College is... Continue Reading →
Icebreakers are a great way to help residents get to know each other and for residence hall staff to develop their team. The following are 46 icebreaker/teambuilder starter ideas you can use to develop your own activities for your residents or fellow staff members. When choosing an activity, it is important to remember that participants... Continue Reading →
As the end of the term approaches, it brings a number of rites of passage and end-of-the-year celebrations--from banquets to award ceremonies to graduations. Residents are also preparing for finals, saying goodbye to friends, planning for summer work and internships, and, for some, leaving school for the last time. As a RA or student staff member... Continue Reading →
As a Resident Assistant (RA), one of your responsibilities might be to effectively promote residence hall events and engage your residents. A well-designed poster can capture attention, generate interest, and encourage participation in your events. In this blog post, we will share tips to help you create eye-catching posters that effectively advertise your residence hall... Continue Reading →
Bulletin boards are often used in residence halls as a means of resident engagement and for conveying important information. Although institutions are increasingly moving away from educational bulletin boards, you will still find them on many residence hall floors. If you're tasked with designing a bulletin board, we've got a few tips to help you... Continue Reading →
Being a residence life student staff member or resident assistant (RA) is a rewarding experience that offers numerous transferable skills applicable to a variety of future career paths. As an RA, you acquire valuable competencies such as leadership, communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, to name a few. In this post, we will explore the transferable... Continue Reading →
Roompact's bulletin board competition is now closed and we're ready to announce the winners. We received 100 entires (!), so picking ten was incredibly difficult. Some boards did an excellent job at educating residents, while others were just beautiful! We tried to select a diverse group of winners that reflected the diversity of the submissions... Continue Reading →
