Staff Who Work In the Residence Halls, Who are they and what do they do?

Living in a residence hall can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Through this experience you will hopefully meet life-long friends and learn how to live independently in a group environment. You will also be encouraged to grow and develop as a result of encountering people and situations that are different than what you may have known before you moved into the residence hall.

As good as life in the residence halls is, it has its challenges. Be it learning to live with a roommate, confronting noisy neighbors, or dealing with exposure to new things, you may need support and assistance from time to time if you are going to get the most out of your residence hall experience.

Various staff in the residence halls are present to maximize your residence hall experience. Get to know these staff when you move on campus, as they work in the halls to assist students in making a positive transition to college.

Resident Assistants, Resident Advisors, Peer Counselors, Community Assistants, Peer Counselors...Are Students Just Like You: Although the title may change, these individuals are typically sophomores, juniors and seniors who are students just like you. To obtain their position they have most likely participated in an extensive interviewing process, and have undergone extensive training on issues related to activity/event planning, mediation, handling conflicts, dealing with crisis situations, and a wide variety of other topics. These staff members are typically assigned one per floor or living area in a residence hall. They live on the floors with students to assist them with the transition to college, help with roommate conflicts or other problems, plan social and educational events, and provide support to students who are having personal or academic difficulties. Whatever their title at your University, these staff have a supervisor who typically lives in or near the residence hall where they work.

Resident Directors, Graduate Hall Directors, Residence Counselors...

The Graduate or Full Time Staff Who Live In The Residence Halls: Yes, again, the title may change, but it is fairly typical that the student staff who work in the residence halls report to a live in supervisor who is responsible for your residence hall. These staff live either in or near your residence hall, and they work to assist in making your residence experience a positive one. They are responsible for the overall management of your residence hall, and provide students with counseling and referral support, develop and encourage social activities in the hall, manage administrative functions in the hall, respond to crisis situations, and set and enforce standards for behavior in the hall. These staff are sometimes graduate students who are attending your university, and work for the Housing/Residence Life office in exchange for compensation. In other instances, the staff member who supervises your residence hall could be a full-time professional with in most cases as Masters degree, who works in their position because of their interest in students and in a career in Higher Education.