Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
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 →
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 →
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 →
Picture it, Summertimes. Perhaps you’re overseeing a project that couldn’t get done during the academic year or maybe you’re coordinating summer student housing or working with camps and conferences. There’s something about summer though that feels much more relaxed for many of us working in residence life. That is until July creeps up on us... Continue Reading →
Among professionals and student staff alike, there are few times as painstaking and perhaps controversial as returning staff training. Generally, responses can come back to “I learned this last year (or the year before),” “I could be doing other things right now,” and “this is too long” among returning staff. The reality is that annual... Continue Reading →
If you’ve ever looked at a training agenda and thought, “We should probably throw in something interactive here,” you are in very good company. Residence life has long relied on the hope that if we scatter enough icebreakers and small group discussions throughout training– a name game here, a marshmallow tower there, and sharing fun... Continue Reading →
Credibility is a characteristic of a person who is perceived by others to be a trusted advisor, believable, and confident by exhibiting a high level of expertise in a certain subject. Competence, trustworthiness, and preparedness are the foundation for credibility. I hire based upon character and I train for empowerment & competence. To get a job offer I have to believe... Continue Reading →
Residence Life training programs have been under a microscope for the past decade, trying to evolve and seek out what is most effective at helping onboard staff members into critical roles within our halls. The biggest shift is understanding how to create a better balance to prevent burnout within the process. However, there are additional... Continue Reading →
“Do I really have to go through training again?” “Training is boring, we just sit there.” “I’ve already done this twice! It’s the same thing every year.” “Can I skip this session?” If these laments sound familiar to you, you might just work with student staff in Residence Life. While training is mandatory for a... Continue Reading →
