The Office of Residence Life has 81 Resident Assistants (RA) and Community Assistants (CA) on staff that provide front line support while maintaining a safe personally and academically supportive environment.  These student staff members live in the building with their residents, building communities based on respect regardless of background or characteristics for each individual within the community.  Student staff are compensated with housing in their assigned location and a 14-meal plan for their services for the academic year.

Resident Assistants are staff dedicated to our first-year and sophomore students, and they have many duties.  RAs build community by being a facilitator for resident interaction through programs and events, personal attention and developing a community identity.  RAs are trained in incident response and conflict mediation to assist any resident issues occurring in their area, in addition to conducting regular rounds during evening hours to ensure that our buildings and residents are safe and secure.  Above all, Resident Assistants serve as a person for whom residents to turn for any personal or academic need.

Community Assistants perform similar duties as RAs for upper-class students.  Due to the developmental difference between upper-class students from our other populations, CAs have a different focus with their residents.  While given the same training and responsibilities, they focus on providing new and broadly educational experiences while continuing to maintain safety and security for upper-class students.  CAs are working to prepare our upper-class students to live independently after their undergraduate experience is over.

Applications for student staff are distributed and due at the end of the Fall semester.  Interviews and selection are conducted in Intersession and at the beginning of the Spring semester.  More information can be found at the Residence Life staff hiring page.