Residence life and education, residential curriculum and curricular approaches, student housing, and technology.
How many different "residence life models" have you seen in your career? Probably a lot. It's time to break the cycle. In this webinar we'll go over the 3C Framework for Residence Life Practice. It takes from all of the models to help you distill down what's important for your residents and what's on campus. As a framework, it's flexible and draws from best practices across the field.
It’s seemingly a tried-and-true Housing and Residence Life tradition for departments across the country – Behind Closed Doors – the part of student staff training that new Resident Assistants tend to dread, returners – who sometimes get more into the acting than learning – tend to love. This tradition leaves professionals feeling drained, and usually... Continue Reading →
Are you ready for your “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” question of the day? Here it is: What is an ecosystem? Khan Academy defines an ecosystem as “a community of organisms together with their physical environment.” Brittanica says something similar: An ecosystem is the “complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all... Continue Reading →
I’ll admit it—I’m a Millennial. And while that means I’m not the most credible source when it comes to understanding Gen Z, I have spent enough time in Higher Education to see how student engagement has shifted over the years. Now that I’ve stepped away from the world of learning outcomes and passive programming, I... Continue Reading →
In this episode, join host Crystal and Travis Tucker, Assistant Dean and Director of the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Understanding at Princeton University, as they explore how campus housing staff can better support LGBT students by addressing privacy, community, and inclusivity. They discuss impactful policies, staff training, and partnerships, share success stories, and offer practical advice for creating spaces where students who identify as LGBTIA thrive.
We're pleased to welcome Crys to the show this week as they discuss with Dustin their email newsletter campaign initiative at their institution that seeks to provide relevant resources to students consistently. Crys also details the tools they use to develop the emails and the various strategies they use as collaborates with their colleagues to develop the content of each newsletter.
In last month’s post, we explored some examples of programming ideas that are both fun and educational. However, programming is only one of the many strategies that make up a residential curriculum. For those that are newer to the world of curriculum, a strategy can be thought of as any intentional effort to interact with... Continue Reading →
As Higher Ed professionals, we are positioned at the intersection of students' personal, academic, and social lives. To take it one step further, it often feels like when we are trying to help students, we can only pick two of those three priorities (insert a woozy face emoji here.) During a high-pressure political season, emotions... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact’s RA Chat, Crystal is joined by Dr. Geneva Reynaga Abiko, Founder and Executive Director, Borderlands Therapy Collaborative, PLLC and they talk about the importance of recognizing the unique identities within the Latine community and the significance of truly understanding and appreciating all students for who they are and identifying what each student needs to thrive on our college campuses.
The other day there was a hint of Fall in the air when I stepped outside to do my morning walk. It brought a much needed level of excitement and joy! Excitement and joy because it’s September and we made it here (goodbye August!) also because yay for cooler weather… especially here in the South. ... Continue Reading →
Programming has always been one of my favorite parts of being in ResLife. Bringing people together to share ideas, foster community, or just to have fun has always been useful in galvanizing an identity of unity within residence halls. And, when it comes to hosting educational events, the name of the game is work smarter,... Continue Reading →
“We are not here to lecture our students after they’ve been in class all day.” “I think we need to remember how to just have fun.” As someone who has worked with residential curriculum across several different universities, one of my greatest frustrations is hearing phrases like these. On one hand, I totally agree with... Continue Reading →
Or "We’re moving away from curriculum." Every now and then I hear this phrase from a school and I find it strange. What does that even mean? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! It's almost like I don't even understand it. As I pondered this question, I've come think it's because I have a different understanding of... Continue Reading →
This week we're digging in with LaFarin and DeAndre about what to expect from the upcoming Institute on the Curricular Approach (ICA) happening this October in Chicago. As the co-chair's of this year's event, we explore each of our guests' background with ICA, what they're planning for this year, and how folks can get involved.
In residence life, we’re constantly hiring! Every year, we launch the recruitment and selection process for student staff, exploding the outlook calendars of everyone. From marketing, to reviewing applications, facilitating interviews, and spending out offer letters–it doesn’t stop! Professional staff vacancies can pop up at any time, keeping the hiring cycle humming. Hiring new student... Continue Reading →
We're pleased to welcome Sean Watson to the show this week and discuss the purpose and process of implementing a wellness focus to your residential curriculum. Sean shares a wealth of knowledge and passion on this topic to help understand the nuances of how best to approach this intricate work.
Summertime in education (but not the good kind where you get summer off) presents many opportunities during the break. Although the campus might be quieter during these months, it also poses a challenge in deciding how best to use our time. Should we rest and recuperate from the academic year's demands, or should we plan... Continue Reading →
Let’s be honest: no one aspires to be an entry-level, live-in hall director their entire career. From my experience, most Hall Directors make it five years before they are looking to move up or out. And that’s kind of how the role was designed: it’s meant to be a stepping stone, not a forever role.... Continue Reading →
