The Resident Assistant is a part of the Residential & Community Living staff responsible for promoting the healthy interdependence of residents by providing and supporting services that increase residents’ ability to live responsibly and respectfully in the learning community. To this end, the RA provides emergency response, safety education, and administrative services. The RA responds to the needs of the community and creates a positive, living/learning environment, while working collaboratively with University & Community Housing Services, Residential Operations, and Administrative Services. The RA assumes various roles best categorized under the following areas of responsibilities.
- Neighbor-to-neighbor facilitation
- Introduce neighbors to each other, both one-on-one and through structured activities.
- Be regularly available and approachable to all residents by spending time on the floor(s)/house, especially at the beginning of each quarter and during peak times when residents are active on the floor/house/in their rooms.
- Welcome and continually outreach to residents in the assigned area to help create a sense of belonging and connection with the neighborhood.
- Facilitate resident participation in neighborhood activities and promote resident-generated events.
- Solicit interests/suggestions from residents on how to improve the community.
- Take lead in developing a sense of community and belonging.
- Participate in and help plan community-wide events.
- Meet and know all residents in the assigned area.
- Information Dissemination & Collection
- Host floor/house meetings to discuss policies, procedures, resources, community standards, etc.
- Assist in the development and editing of the newsletter and/or website.
- Distribute newsletters and other notices door-to-door or via email in a timely manner.
- Keep sandwich boards and/or bulletin boards updated.
- Direct residents to appropriate sources for accurate information.
- Survey residents as needed or directed.
- Conflict Resolution Assistance
- Listen and coach residents to find their own resolutions to problems that arise.
- When appropriate, facilitate a mediation meeting with residents to help them establish terms and agreements towards resolution.
- In consultation with the Lead Staff, refer residents to appropriate University and community resources for assistance.
- Establish behavioral standards that promote common courtesy and consideration for others as well as role model appropriate behavior and personal responsibility.
- Liaison with Hall/Community Council
- Act as a liaison to groups within the community that exist or may form.
- Assist in informing residents of Hall/Community Council opportunities, assist - in filling positions, and support Hall/Community Council efforts.
- Attend Hall/Community Council meetings as assigned.
- Maintain a safe and secure residential environment
- Educate students about safety issues.
- Respond immediately to crisis situations and report emergencies.
- Implement emergency procedures when necessary.
- Support and enforce the quiet hours policy and address residents when noise levels exceed those outlined in community standards and/or policies.
- Act as a liaison between custodial staff and residents.
- Encourage students to respect the rights of others.
- Understand the role as a behavioral role model and manage any issues of personal stress and/or mental health appropriately.
- Explain and enforce university housing policies
- Ensure that the UCSB Campus Regulations and university housing policies are known
- and understood by residents and their guests.
- b. Respectfully confront and educate individuals who violate community standards
- and/or departmental and University policy.
- c. Complete information/incident report in a timely manner, and adhere to other
- disciplinary procedures for policy violations.
- d. Assist supervisors in addressing community vandalism and damage issues.
- e. Respect and maintain privacy as outlined in staff training. Help residents create and
- maintain a positive, educational and academic environment, one that is conducive
- to study and respect the rights of residents to sleep.
- On-Call
- Serve in an on-call duty rotation during times that the front desks and offices are closed (weekends, evenings, break closures, and holidays) for Residential &
- Community Living communities and respond to resident needs as they arise.
- On-call for multiple halls/complexes during holidays and break closures as needed/scheduled.
- Respond to emergency incidents, assess situations, and call appropriate back-up resources.
- Report serious issues/incidents immediately to the Professional On-Call.
- Log calls; write reports for major incidents while on-call.
- Provide evening community walks of complexes/buildings as directed.
- Provide lock-out service to residents and follow temporary key distribution protocol.
- Emergency Response
- Respond immediately to crisis situations and report emergencies and/or serious illness.
- Implement emergency procedures when necessary.
- Attend training on emergency response plan and roles.
- Serve as a back-up to campus needs.
- Serve as a witness in conduct hearings or participate in restorative justice circles as needed.
- Inform Lead Staff of any on-going resident concerns or issues with policies/procedures in a timely manner.
- Help students and other staff create and maintain a positive, educational and academic environment, one that is conducive to optimal study conditions and one which respects the rights of residents to sleep and study.
- Create opportunities for faculty to come to residential communities and interact with residents, both formally and informally.
- Actively participate and escort residents to Convocation.
- If applicable, assist Lead Staff in implementing Residential Curriculum delivery methods and address needs/interests of Living Learning Communities residents.
- Complete and submit all administrative work and program reports required such as funding request forms, submitting receipts, weekly reports, program evaluations, etc.
- Demonstrates understanding of, and ability to engage effectively with, the wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences represented within the campus community.
- Communication
- Attend weekly (most commonly) Wednesday night staff meetings.
- Attend weekly one-on-one meetings with Lead Staff.
- Follow up with residents after an incident to check-in on resolution progress.
- Check mailboxes, email, and voicemail/text messages daily.
- Attend training and enrichment sessions.
- Leave campus for weekends off only as approved by the Duty Guidelines and with the approval of the Lead Staff.
- Maintain excellent communication with building Lead Staff regarding University issues by checking their University phone messages, staff mailbox and emai regularly (at least once every 24 hours).
- Move-in/Move-out
- Assist office and desk staff with move-in/out and transfer procedures.
- Conduct mid-year resident occupancy inspections upon move-out of residents, as needed.
- Complete final resident occupancy inspections during closing of the building at the end of Spring Quarter.
- Administrative Processes
- Assist with the outreach efforts and interview process of the next year’s staff hiring processes.
- Assist with other administrative procedures as needed.
- Serve on committees and/or collateral assignments as determined by supervisors.
- Complete all administrative tasks (information reports, room verification reports, room condition reports, program evaluations, etc.) in a timely and comprehensive manner.
- Assume full responsibility for keys issued and adhere to departmental policies regarding their use and distribution.
- Complete other duties as assigned by the staff of Residential & Community Living.
- Campus Collaboration
- Participate in various additional assignments (duty, programming, etc.) during the designated Halloween, Open House and The Warm Up/Deltopia periods when all staff are required to be present and available to work.
- Work cooperatively with all live-in staff/faculty, building custodial and maintenance staff, and other departmental and University staff (e.g. SSPs, UCPD) to provide quality customer service and meet the goals of the department.
I will faithfully and diligently perform the duties of my position, as stated in the Job Description, according to the terms and conditions specified by Residential & Community Living.