Resident Assistant Expectations
The following is a list of Resident Assistant (RA) expectations for Mahoney Residential College. It is imperative to review and refer to this list of expectations often. Your job performance is evaluated based on these expectations and you will be held accountable for them.
You will become familiar with and live by?
CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENT SUCCESS VIA INTERACTIONS, PROGRAMS, COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES, ETC.
NEVER LIE TO YOUR RESIDENCE COORDINATOR, RESIDENT FACULTY, OR ONE ANOTHER
1. Keep appropriate CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY at all times.
2. Make the RA position a top priority. The RA position is a critical one and should be treated as such, therefore, it should be a priority to all other outside jobs and obligations. All other jobs and/or internships must first be discussed and approved by the RC. Other non-academic commitments may also not be allowed if they preventing you from doing your job effectively as an RA.
3. T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More! We are a team and should be willing and capable of being unified and supportive of one another. Support in public and confront in private. Disagreements will remain between the involved individuals and WILL NOT become general staff issues or concerns.
4. No one is perfect. You will make mistakes, and when you do, take responsibility for them. Remember that others make mistakes as well. Learn to learn, to forgive, and to move on.
5. You will have problems on your floor. It is your responsibility to confront and document all incidents. Remember that residents are responsible for their actions, not you. Also remember that confronting policy violations is only PART of your job.
6. Respect yourself, each other, the Administrative Assistant, Desk Assistants, the Security Assistants, your residents, the faculty, and your RC. The amount of respect you give is the amount of respect you will receive back.
7. Stay in tough and in tune with the team. If one of us fails, we all fail. If one succeeds, we all succeed! Say hello to one another; talk on the phone; do lunch; go to a movie; don't exclude people; and support!
8. OPEN AND HONEST COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL. The faculty, AA, and RC are NOT mind readers; if you need something, ask for it. Keep information flowing and we will do the same.
9. The AA, DA's and SA's are all part of the team too. Support them, encourage them, thank them, get to know them, and include them in activities.
10. Be highly visible in your community. Visibility and accessibility are of major importance in being an effective RA. These allow you to have good interactions, which is a key to success. You should make every effort to be available as much as possible. If you are in your room, keep your door open every now and then.
11. You are a ROLE MODEL and residents look to you for appropriate and ethical behavior. If a resident observes inappropriate behavior on your part, it has the potential to influence the effectiveness of the your position (and that of all RAs) in the residential environment.
12. You are a resident too! The same rules apply to everyone, both in the hall, and behind the desk. You are responsible for learning and adhering to all regulations, policies, and administrative procedures. Remember, ROLE MODEL!
13. You are expected to assist residents with problems and concerns through active listening and problem solving skills. This should happen not only when a resident comes to you with a concern, but also when you become aware of behavior that does not seem consistent with the person's typical behavior. This requires you to "KNOW THY RESIDENTS."
14. Never feel you are out there alone. Now question is a stupid question? when I doubt, call. You are not expected to know the answer to all questions. You are however, expected to know what resources are available to residents and how to refer individuals to those resources. Keep yourself updated and well informed about activities and resources both ON and OFF campus.
15. Check your mailbox and e-mail daily and respond to all messages immediately. MAILBOXES, EMAIL ACCOUNTS, AND THEIR CONTENTS ARE PRIVATE. You should only be concerned with your mailbox/e-mail account. During the time you have a roommate, ensure that confidential information is kept private by not leaving sensitive papers out, and not leaving emails open and accessible. Your mailbox in the desk area is NOT to be used as a locker for your books? nor is the desk area. If something is found unattended, it may be removed and discarded.
16. RC, faculty, and AA office space is personal. DO NOT rummage through desks or cabinets for supplies. If you need something, ASK. If you borrow something, RETURN IT immediately. The AA and RC computers are not for your use unless you are given permission on a given occasion.
17. Attend all departmental, programming team, staff, and other meetings as schedule. "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!" Be sure to call if something comes up and you will be late. Bring necessary materials to every meeting, including a writing utensil. Additionally, although each meeting is scheduled for a certain time, there may be occasions when meetings are extended or altered due to important agenda items/discussions.
18. Never call an outside agency (911, Fire Department, etc) without first contacting the RC On Duty, UNLESS you see a situation that requires immediate action.
19. In the event of an emergency, or when an outside agency is called to the residential college, you must notify the RC On Duty immediately. Once the RC On Duty is contacted, he/she is responsible for everything. If something is requested of you by the RC On Duty, comply.
20. You are given keys (and access to keys) for many areas. Loss of staff or building keys and/or improper use of keys may jeopardize your position as an RA.
21. While working at or behind the front desk and/or office area, you are expected to abide by and adhere to all desk procedures, policies, and customer services expectations. Do not answer the phones or help the desk assistant on duty in any way unless asked to do so by him or her. The DA on duty is in charge of the desk at all times. RAs my not enter the mailroom unless directed to do so by the administrative assistant or RC. Additionally, the administrative assistant has complete authority in regards to the desk. If he requests something of you, comply? remember, you do not supervise the DA staff, they are an EQUAL part of our team.
22. Complete all administrative tasks on time - This includes Facility Control Forms, Physical Occupancy Checks, Health & Safety Inspections, Discipline Reports, Program Reports, Weekly Reports, etc. Administrative duties are an extremely important part of your job, and you will be held accountable for them.
23. Always inform the RC and co-RAs of the weekends you will be away. As this is a live-in position, there is the expectation that you sleep in your room each night. We will limit time as stated in the time off policy. At least 50% of the staff must be residing in MRC on weekends.
The following is a list of duty expectations. These are non-negotiable and must be followed at all times.
1. Duty begins at 8:00 PM nightly and ends at 8:00 AM the following morning. Weekend day duty begins at 8:00 AM and ends at 8:00 PM. Weekend day duty will be shared with the PRC. You may not leave the residential college for any reason except to eat in the M/P Cafeteria. When in the dining hall, you must have the beeper and inform the desk that you will be eating. You may not be at the basketball/tennis/volleyball courts behind PRC or other areas of the campus when on duty except for approved programs.
2. It is your responsibility to go to the front desk and sign in and inform the desk assistant on duty that you are on duty, where you will be, and the number at which you can be reached. Remember, you are responsible for letting the desk know where you are at all times. The same goes after midnight with the security assistants. You must go down to the desk and sign in or out when moving around the building. You may not call. Finally, during any given duty night, you may only sing in and out of an area in the building a maximum of three times.
3. When on duty, you are expected to respond to any and all inquiries, concerns, and emergencies. Additionally, if you are on the phone and your call waiting beeps, you must answer it? it might be a duty call. Finally, it is preferable that you DO NOT wear headphones or earplugs that would prevent you from hearing someone knock on your door.
4. If you are in your room, it is preferable that you leave your door open as much as possible unless you are helping a resident.
5. When switching duty, fill out a duty switch form and turn it into the administrative assistant. Ensure that your duty is covered prior to departing. You are ultimately responsible for the duty shift. Duty RAs are not permitted to work the front desk without permission by the RC.
6. Perform duty rounds during prescribed times as set forth in the RA duty Policy by the Department of Residence Hall. Duty rounds are not simply sticking your head down a hallway. Always check the fire/safety equipment, confront incidents, stop and say hi and talk to residents, address noise, trash, vandalism, etc. additionally, rounds should include inspection of the laundry room, elevators, study lounges, vending area, bathrooms, locking of classrooms, library, and other common areas.
7. Complete a thorough duty report. Include on the report incidents that were confronted (but not necessarily written up? aka FYIs), vandalism, maintenance problems, and other pertinent information. The report should not include inappropriate comments or content. The duty report must be turned into the RC's mailbox by 9:00 AM. Additionally, as you are doing rounds, stop by to see the RAs on the floors to say HI!
Clarification of Expectations
Case Studies
1. You are covering a Saturday morning desk shift. The RA on day duty comes down to sign in at 11:00 AM. After the RA has left the desk with the duty ring and the beeper, you notice that he/she signed in for 8:00 AM thought he person did not actually report for duty until 11:00 AM. The RA has provided false information on an official college document. How do you handle the situation? What would you do?
2. It has been known to all of us from the beginning that a particular second year RA has a second job off campus. He/She has been told that the additional employment arrangement may continue provided that his/her performance as an RA is in no way compromised. It is the RA's night no duty. You are at the desk and receive a noise complaint from the 5th floor. When you beep the RA on duty, you notice a lto of background noise on the phone when he/she returns he page. The display screen on the phone indicates the call is coming from off campus. You suspect the person is at his/her other place of employment while supposedly on duty in the building. What would you do?
3. You walk into the desk area to check your RA mailbox and observe to RAs sitting in the desk area talking. You overhear them speaking/gossiping about a heated discussion which occurred during staff meeting last night. You too have some residual feelings about the events of the previous evening. Do you join the conversation? What would you do?
4. You and some friends went to South Beach for the evening. You have been having so much fin that when you finally look at your watch, you realize it is 3:15am.Technically, you are out late enough that your evening should count as a night away from the building even though you plan to return to the building to sleep later. You believe that it is unlikely that Dan or any of the Faculty will know/discover that you were out on this particular evening. What would you do?
5. You have locked yourself out of your room. You know the combination to the loan key cabinet. You could just take the key, quickly run upstairs, unlock your door, get your key from inside your room, and return the loan key to its original place without anyone ever missing it. Right?
6. One of your friends needs a care at the desk. They do not have any money on them to leave a deposit. Would you let them take the cart as long as they returned it before your desk shift was over?
7. You observe another RA visibly intoxicated in/outside the building. You know that the RA is underage. What would you do? How would your actions be different if you knew the staff member was of legal age?
8. You suspect that another RA is using drugs regularly. You noticed the person's behavior while on rounds last night was slightly odd. What would you do?
9. You find out that another RA is drinking and doing drugs with his or her residents on a regular basis. This is fairly common knowledge on staff, but there is a informal 'oath of silence' among the staff. What would you do? What if that RA had 'some dirt' on you?
10. You need fourteen copies of a paper you have written for a class tomorrow. You see the copy room is open and people are working late. What would you do?
11. Dan has asked that a particular piece of paperwork is turned into V by 5 PM on a Tuesday. When he explained the process for filling out the forms, he emphasized accuracy and legibility. You have been extremely busy this week, and you have put the paperwork off until now. It is 4:30 PM on Tuesday. You know that "penpersonship" is not your strength and you are somewhat unsure of the accuracy of the information currently in your possession. What would you do?
12. A resident of yours comes down to talk to you while you are on duty at the desk. They are having roommate problems and need to talk to you in detail about an argument that took place this morning. What would you do?
13. You overhear an RA making derogatory remarks/unsubstantiated claims about another staff member to residents of the building. What would you do?
14. You have concerns about the way Dan or one of the Master's has handled or is planning to handle a particular situation. What would you do?
15. A community dinner is planned in conjunction with the Pearson staff this evening. You are busy studying in the library and would like to maintain your momentum. Do you remain in "study mode" or head to the community dinner to help out? Explain your answer.
16. You are planning to use your floor funds to take your residents to an event off campus. Everyone who is going is to meet in the lobby at 7:00 PM. You placed a sign up sheet on your floor and 10 of your residents signed up. At 7:00 PM only 4 residents are present. Some of you friends from other floors have also expressed an interest in coming. They only way that you can go is if your friend, who is not a resident, drives her van with everyone in nit, so you plan to pay for her too. What are your thoughts, reactions? Should the program go forward? If so, how?
17. You are on duty this evening. You have a personal beeper of your own. Do you sign into duty with your personal beeper number?
18. As an RA you are permitted 8 nights away per semester. You know your presence is desired elsewhere for a specific reason and that you will be away during the regular school week, missing the staff meeting. You assume that your departure will pose no problem and file your paperwork 72 hours in advance as required. You have the 8 nights to take whenever you want, right?
19. A few staff members get together informally to watch a movie in another staff members room. During their time together, the group begins to bring up issues that have been bothering them lately that pertain to the building, programming, expectations, etc. As the conversation progresses, the come to find out that others have other concerns. The RAs call a meeting of all the Mahoney RAs to see how many others are also affected by these issues. From that meeting, a list of "concerns" is formulated. The group decides that these concerns will be addressed during the next meeting. Everyone agrees to write on their weekly report to Dan that RAs have issues they want to discuss at the meeting, but no one identifies the actual issue. How do you feel about this communication method?
20. Jane is scheduled to work Spring Break 1. She just got a last minute deal to do on a carnival cruse that weekend and now wants to get out of her desk shifts and RA duty. There are 3 other RAs on duty for SB1. One of those RAs agrees to pick up her shifts and Jane leaves for her cruise. Was this the proper procedure? Why?
From the original 1998–2005 site. Details, prices and links may be out of date, so check them against your own campus policies.