Resident Assistant

RESIDENT ASSISTANT

DEPARTMENT: Housing and Residence Life

LOCATION: Grand Rapids, Lettinga Campus

REPORTS TO: Residence Life Coordinator

SUMMARY:                             

The Resident Assistant (RA) maintains an environment conducive to residents’ academic success and personal growth. Responsibilities include promoting student belongingness, creating individual and collaborative programming, enforcing university and housing policies, assisting in the administrative operation of the residential area, managing maintenance and security needs of the residential area and its residents, and serving on an on-call duty crisis rotation.  These responsibilities are performed in an ethical manner consistent with the University’s mission, vision, and values.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Promote a safe, secure, and comfortable environment that fosters community living and academic success. RAs are to know all of their residents and work to build connections between residents. RAs must be available - and be perceived as being available - a majority of nights in the residential area.
2. Foster a sense of inclusiveness. Promote a community that is welcoming of people of all backgrounds, including those who hold opinions and ideas different from their own.
3. Provide creative social programming that encourages students to connect and form positive relationships with their peers.
4. Facilitate the opening and closing of the residential areas at the beginning and end of each semester. Each semester, RAs are required to return to campus prior to the opening of the residential area and stay on campus until the residential areas are closed and all duties are completed. This includes remaining on campus for a period of time after the halls are closed.
5. Check students in and out of the residential areas throughout the academic year, especially during peak times. All required paperwork must be neat, complete, and submitted on time.
6. Perform administrative tasks including, but not limited to, posting signs, storage duties, surveys, inventory lists, submitting maintenance work orders online, etc.
7. Maintain open lines of communication pertaining to resident concerns, time off, and work load to HRL professional staff and applicable resident assistants.
8. Receive approval for nights out of their residential area each semester. This practice ensures that there are enough RAs on campus in case of emergencies. In order to take these nights off, RAs must inform their RLC in writing at least 72 hours in advance and receive approval.
9. Check email, mailbox, and phone/text messages daily and promptly respond to professional communications.
10. Interact with their supervisors, other RAs, and students outside of formal meeting times.
11. Attend all scheduled trainings, in-services, meetings and scheduled 1:1s, being prepared and on time.
12. Meet weekly with the residence hall/area staff to discuss relevant housing issues and student concerns.
13. Complete a self-evaluation at the end of each semester as a part of the evaluation process.
14. Understand, comply with, support, communicate, and enforce the behavioral standards in accordance with the Housing Handbook and the Student Code of Conduct, doing so in a respectful manner.
15. Create educational bulletin boards once per month in the area, if applicable.
16. Confront and document issues within the residential areas that may be in violation of University policy or otherwise detrimental to the community (even when not “on duty”).
17. Serve as the on-duty staff member for designated area. While on duty, the RA is responsible for answering the on-duty phone and responding to any issues or needs that arise. While on duty, RAs are responsible for doing multiple walkthroughs of residential buildings and should plan to spend the majority of their duty night with residents in their assigned residential area. RAs need to stay on campus while on duty and may assume additional duty responsibilities during special events.

• In Cook, Meijer, and South halls, each RA is on duty approximately one night every other week and two weekends per semester. Cook, Meijer, and South RAs on duty must also work a desk shift from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
• In Panther Woods and Panther Ridge, each RA is on duty approximately one night every week and three weekends per semester.

1. Work closely with Public Safety and the Wellness Center