Student Staff Buy-In
Oh, hey! Welcome to the community. Why is it so difficult to get student staff buy-in to document the intentional ways they engage the residential community? The end of the academic year provides us both…
ResEd
Keep, Toss, and Imagineer
With this next year, think about what to keep, toss, and imagineer. Toss what is not necessary, stomp on what is hindering success, celebrate the visionary, and capitalize on shimmers of innovation.
Working Remotely
For those of you who are able to work from home, you’ve likely found out that it’s not as glamorous as it sounds. There are distractions present, assumptions about what it will be like and how much you can get done, and guilt about what you should be doing and how you are privileged to have this opportunity. Our Client Success team thought it may be helpful to share some of our tips for working from home when you’re used to a fast-paced, highly interactive environment.
Roommate Selection and Assignment
It’s not always intuitive for students to think about what characteristics are important when living with someone. Popular media has suggested that you need to be best friends with your freshman roommate, and if you’re not, it’s a failed relationship. There is value in creating learning opportunities for your students to understand the criteria for matching roommates. You can take it one step further by letting your students select their own roommates.
Let’s Connect
From many of you, I hear that you feel alone and that all of the work falls on your shoulders. You are dealing with real lives, and your decisions have real implications for the students that you work with. It’s a lot of pressure, and it’s difficult when you feel alone.
If you’re feeling alone, looking for support, wanting access to resources, or even looking for ideas, please reach out. We’d love to help you connect and strengthen our community.
Saint Mary’s College: Online Room Selection
We’re always looking for ways to improve our assignment processes. Whether you’re looking to improve efficiencies for your staff or increase the autonomy for your students, we all can benefit from learning about the best practices of other institutions. Saint Mary’s College is doing things a little differently. Let’s take a minute to learn about their online room selection process.
Benchmarking
Assessment is on the forefront for many student affairs professionals. Behind the buzz is data and proof that our work matters. As part of this broader effort to improve assessment efforts, housing and residence life professionals need solid strategies to make sense of assessment data, drive action, and improve the student experience. Benchmarking is one powerful option.
Empathetic Interviewing
Empathy is a key trait of a successful RA. It is promoted through active listening and intentional interactions.. So, why aren’t more schools modeling this in their interview questions?