The residence life “RA” can go by many names… Resident Assistant, Resident Advisor, Community Living Assistant, Community Advisor, Resident Mentor, etc. Finding quality materials and resources related to the “RA” position in residence life and college student housing can be difficult. The following are curated resources to help you improve your practice.
If you have a resource that you think we’re missing, let us know. We aim to keep this as up-to-date as possible.
Blog Posts and Web Articles
Student Staff Training Assessment Series
RA Training for Residential Curriculum Series
- 5 Easy Ways to Make This Year’s RA Training Your Best Yet by Meg Sunga
- Don’t Be Creepy: Training Student Staff For Genuine Intentional Conversations
Video
ACUHO-I Online Coures
- Developing and Refining a Resident Assistant Training Program (for professionals) – Requires Payment
- RA 101 and RA 201 Online Courses (for RAs) – Requires Payment
Magazines and Other Published Pieces
- Green, D., Bollinger, J., Blattner, A., & Gonzalez, J. (2011, September-October). Rethinking resident assistant training. Talking Stick, 29, 44-46, 51. Columbus, OH: Association of College and University Housing Officers-International.
Dissertations
- Czopek, A. F. (1974). The training of resident advisors as primary interventionists (Document ID No. 302686840)[Doctoral dissertation]. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis database.
- Garlic, B. (2017). The impact training has on the self-efficacy of resident assistants (Document ID No. 1910854507) [Doctoral dissertation]. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis database.
- Kennedy, D. F. (2009). Exploring how resident advisors create meaning of their paraprofessional fall training and its transfer: a constructivist case study [Dissertation]. University of North Colorado, Greely, CO.
- Koch, V. A. (2012). An exploration of current practices in curricular design of resident assistant training programs (Document ID No. 1040725736) [Doctoral dissertation]. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis database.
- McConnell, K. J. (2018). Resident assistant training design: A narrative analysis [Doctoral Dissertation]. Northeatern University, Boston, MA.
Books, Research, and Journal Articles
- Bowman, R. L., & Bowman, V. E. (1995). Academic courses to train resident assistants. Journal of College Student Development, 36, 39–46.
- Bowman, R. L., & Bowman, V. E. (1998). Resident assistant training: Current practices in in-service and retreat-based formats. The Journal of College and University Student Housing, 27(1), 20–26.
- Elleven, E. K., Allen, J., & Wircenski, M. (2001). Resident assistant training: A Southwestern perspective. College Student Journal, 35(4), 609–619.
- Hipple, J., Weston D., & Harris M. (1975). Sex differences in resident advisor training programs. Journal of College Student Personnel, 16(1), 34-39.
- Jaeger, A. J., & Caison, A. L. (2006). Rethinking criteria for training and selection: An inquiry into the emotional intelligence of resident assistants. NASPA Journal, 43, 144–156.
- Peterman, D., Pilato, G., & Upcraft. M. L. (1979). A description and evaluation of an academic course to increase interpersonal effectiveness of resident assistants. Journal of College Student Personnel, 20, 348-352.
- Petryk, T., Thompson, M. C., & Boynton, T. (2013). Building multicultural residential communities: A model for training student staff. In S. K. Watt & J. L. Linley (Eds.), Creating successful multicultural initiatives in higher education and student affairs (New Directions for Student Services, 144, 69–78). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. doi: 10.1002/ss.20070
- Schilling, K. L. (1977). Impact of a training course on personal development of resident assistants. NASPA Journal, 14, 33-37.
- Schroeder, C. C. (1976). Adventure training for resident assistants. Journal of College Student Personnel, 3, 30-32.
- Servaty-Seib, H. L., & Taub, D. J. (2008). Training faculty members and resident assistants to respond to bereaved students. In H. L. Servaty- Seib & D. J. Taub (Eds.), Assisting bereaved college students (New Directions for Student Services, 121, 51–62). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Taub, D. J., & Servaty-Seib, H. L. (2011). Training resident assistants to make effective referrals to counseling. The Journal of College and University Student Housing, 37(2), 10–24.
- Taub, D. J., Servaty-Seib, H. L., Miles, N., Lee, J. Y., Wachter Morris, C. A., Prieto-Welch, S. L., & Werden, D. (2013). The impact of gatekeeper training for suicide prevention on university resident assistants. Journal of College Counseling, 16, 64–78.
- Thombs, D. L., Gonzalez, J. M. R., Osborn, C. J., Rossheim, M. E., & Suzuki, S. (2015). Resident assistant training program for increasing alcohol, other drug, and mental health first-aid efforts. Prevention Science, 16(4), 508-517. doi:10.1007/s11121-014-0515-x
- Wesolowski, M., Bowman, R., & Adams, V. (1996). RA training: A comparison of cognitive, vicarious, and experiential modalities. The Journal of College and University Student Housing, 26(1), 30–38.
