Resident Assistant Job Performance Expectations
Qualifications
To be a RA, an individual must:
- Currently be enrolled as a Presbyterian College student.
- Maintain a minimum overall as well as most recent GPA of 2.00.
- Have lived in a residence hall for at least a full semester.
- Be a full-time student.
- Have a maximum course load not to exceed 18 semester hours while holding the position.
- Be available to work from August 11, 2009 until May 9, 2010.
- Accept assignment in any hall deemed necessary by the Office of Residence Life.
Remuneration
Compensation will be $1,452.00 for first-year RAs and $1,507.00 for second/third year RAs; this sum is to be payable over nine months in monthly installments.Responsibilities / Conditions of Employment
Community Development
Build community on the residence hall by developing creative programs and activities on a regular basis. RAs are required to:- Hold and facilitate a meeting on hall safety/emergency procedures at the start of the fall semester,
- Conduct at least one floor meeting per semester to discuss policies and programs,
- Hold any additional hall meetings that are called by the Office of Residence Life,
- Sponsor or co-sponsor no less than four (4) Connections programs a semester, though more than four is encouraged. By means of a RA Connections Program Proposal Form, the AC must approve each of these programs; this Form must be submitted to the AC at least one week before the proposed date. These programs must fall under the following categories: Community Development, Academic Development, Personal Development, Service, PC Exclusive. For a program to qualify as a community builder, it must encompass over fifty percent of the hall.
Communication
RA’s are expected to maintain clear communication with their Area Coordinator and other employees within the Office of Residence Life. This includes: checking staff mailboxes as instructed, checking email daily and responding to any and all emails from the Office of Residence Life in a timely manner. RA’s are expected to communicate reasons for absence from any official RA function in a timely manner with their Area Coordinator.
Master Key Use
RA’s will be allowed access to a master key for their assigned building(s). The master key is to be used only to allow assigned residents access to their room in the case of a lock out. Any other use of the master key must be approved by an Area Coordinator. Master key misuse will not be tolerated. Losing a master key or master release key may result in disciplinary action and/or monetary fines.
Staff Meetings
Attend and actively participate in a mandatory, weekly staff meeting presided over by the AC. An RA will only be allowed to miss two staff meetings per semester with the approval of the AC.
Training Sessions
Attend a mandatory training retreat at the start of the fall semester. This training will be held in mid-August (Dates TBD). All RAs will also be required to attend mandatory monthly in-service training sessions held throughout the year. Any absences from training sessions must be approved by the Office of Residence Life.
Peer Advisor
Provide accurate information on referral resources for residents concerning college and community support services. Provide peer advising by responding to personal, community, and roommate issues/conflicts. Work with appropriate professional staff to respond to community issues.
Policy Enforcement
Responsible for consistent enforcement of Presbyterian College policies and regulations (as outlined in the Knapsack) in the residence halls and on the college campus. RAs will also be responsible for the enforcement of any new regulations that are approved by the Office of Residence Life during the course of the year. The RA is responsible for reporting all regulation infractions (using the appropriate judicial forms) to the Office of Residence Life within 24-hours of the incident.
Facility Management
Responsible to oversee that the sanitation of the building is maintained and that there are no unaccounted for acts of vandalism. The RA receives any complaints about the building and maintenance requests, checks the validity of these complaints, and then reports such issues to the Campus Services and the AC. The RA is also responsible for ensuring that all college owned property in the residence halls is properly maintained; this includes making certain that no room furniture is removed from the individual residence hall rooms. Monitor and insure the maintenance of hall safety and security systems.
Duty
Serve as the “RA on Duty” based upon a schedule developed in coordination with the AC before the start of each semester; all amendments to this duty schedule must be approved by the AC.
While on duty, the RA must adhere to the following expectations:
- Respond to inquiries as well as emergencies from residents, Campus Police, and other College Officials as requested
- Remain on-duty from 9:00 pm until 8:00 am the following day.
- Be awake, alert, and performing rounds during the following times while on duty: from 9:00 pm to midnight on weekdays (two rounds per night), and from 10:00 pm until 2:00 am on weekends (three rounds per night).
- Refrain from the use of alcohol
- Stay in his/her residence hall room while on duty except when doing rounds or responding to a call.
- Change his/her voice mail to clearly state that they are on duty and specify the date and time of that duty rotation.
Safety Procedures
Responsible to help insure the safety of all students on their hall/area. Should immediately contact the AC and the Office of Residence Life in the event of an emergency.
Check-in/Out
Manage and perform check-in and checkout procedures throughout the course of the academic year. Assist with the beginning of the year inventories, and end of the year damage assessments. Specific responsibilities include:
- When learning of a student vacating his/her room, the RA should coordinate an inspection of the room with that student. If the student leaves without checking out with the RA, the RA should check the room for any damages and return the completed Room Inventory Sheet to the Office of Residence Life within two days.
- Remain on campus to complete room inspections at the following times: Before Fall Break, Before Christmas Break, Before Spring Break, After Spring Exams, and After Commencement
- The RA will be responsible for verifying that students returned to campus at the beginning of each semester, using procedures outlined by the Office of Residence Life. The RA is expected to meet the appropriate deadline announced in advance.
Administrative Duties
Provide administrative assistance to total staff operation, including (but not limited to):
- Maintaining Hall Bulletin Boards
- Keeping accurate and up-to-date records/reports (room inventories, floor plans, incident reports, duty log, etc.).
- Maintaining a Connections Log; this Log will consist of a daily log of RA interaction with students, records of any contact/conversations with students, ACs, parents, etc. that could be even remotely important at a later date.
- Complete a nightly duty report for each night an RA is on duty.
Other Duties
Responsible to notify the AC when you will be away from campus overnight. Limit other employment opportunities to ten or fewer hours per week. Perform any and all reasonable duties as assigned by the AC or Office of Residence Life.
Expected Behavior / Neutrality of Opinion
SPEECH - The RA is a representative of the college, and, as such, should never openly voice disagreement concerning the college or its officials in front of any student. Likewise, a RA should never engage in any form of "hate speech" in the presence of any student on campus. The phrase "hate speech" refers to remarks, even those made in jest, which could be interpreted as derogatory of an individual's race, gender, religion, sexuality, or national origin.
BEHAVIOR - The RA is expected to serve as a role model to both the students in his/her residence hall and the entire PC student body, thus a RA is expected to maintain respectable behavior whenever around students.
NEUTRALITY OF OPINION - As the RA is placed in a position of influence over the residents of his/her particular area, he or she should not use this influence to direct any student in terms of personal decisions on sensitive issues. While not an exhaustive list, the sensitive issues that this neutrality of opinion clause applies to include: Greek membership, college organizational affiliation, and religious issues.
- Greek membership: The RA is permitted to wear letters and display paraphernalia in his/her room, but the RA should never discuss the strengths/shortcomings of any individual Greek letter organization to a resident of his/her residence hall. All questions or concerns regarding the Greek system should be referred to the Director of Student Activities and Greek Life or a member of the Greek community.
- College organizational affiliation: The RA is expected to join and participate in other organizations on campus; however, this individual should never "influence" any resident to join his/her particular organization.
- Religious issues: The RA is, naturally, permitted to practice his/her religion openly and freely. The RA, however, is not permitted to use his/her college position as a forum for the posturing of any specific religion or religious group on campus. Inherent in this position of religious neutrality to the hall residents, the RA is not permitted to hold or attend any religious function held in the residence hall where the RA resides. Any questions or concerns regarding religion and/or religious organizations on campus should be referred to the College Chaplain or the Blue Fish for the residence hall.
Accountability
Failure to meet the expectations as outlined in this “Job Performance Expectations” document will typically be addressed in the following manner:
1st Violation: Written warning from AC
2nd Violation: 3-hour pay dock
3rd Violation: 6-hour pay dock and Notification of Probation
4th Violation: Termination
Because this position is considered an at-will position, the College reserves the right to by-pass the guidelines above and terminate an RA in extreme circumstances.