They knock on doors, give warnings and plan events for halls. They do their rounds, mostly unseen, until they bust a party in the dorms. Resident Assistants, better known as RAs, have a large responsibility.
Dan Roach and Taylor Smith, former RAs at the University of Idaho, said it is hard to work where you live. There is never any off time where RAs can relax and not worry about how they are presenting themselves, Smith said. RAs know they are representatives of University Housing going into the job, but after a while it just gets tiring, Smith said.
While the job is demanding, Roach said the experience is worth it. When it is all calculated out with room and board, Roach said he suspects RAs are a bit underpaid. Smith agreed, but said most of it came back in the form of leadership, job experience and organizational skills.
Regardless, Roach said the housing staff is supportive in the stressful environment.
“They make an effort to know how you’re doing, academically and mentally,” Roach said. “They want to help, because they know it is demanding.”
Smith’s adviser had an open door policy where he and other RAs reporting to her could come and visit about anything from residence halls to grades to life.
Smith, a senior psychology student, left after his first year as an RA because he wanted to move on with his life, he said. He moved in with his girlfriend off campus. Smith said the politics often involved within the housing system wears down RAs after one or two years.
Roach, a senior material science major, was an RA from 2012 to 2014. Roach left after two years of being an RA, because he knew his senior year was going to be rough academically. He also said he wanted time to himself and it was time for him to move on.
Corey Ray, associate director at University Housing, said RAs leave the job due to several reasons. But Ray said burnout is a main factor. RAs just get tired of living in a fishbowl where everyone can see their actions and judge them, Ray said. Of the RAs who do quit during the school year, it is most common for them to relinquish their positions halfway through their junior year.
Other reasons RAs leave are due to graduation, study abroad opportunities or they were let go. RAs are let go due to policy violations such as drinking or doing drugs. Anyone who is let go or who chooses to leave can always reapply.
“The best RAs are the ones with experience,” Ray said. “Who better to tell you about the consequences than someone who has been through it?”
There are 50 student positions within the housing department at UI, and 40 of those are RA positions.
Although it can be stressful, retention rates of RAs are high most of the time, Ray said. Since 2009, fall to spring semester retention rates are about 90 percent. Fall 2011 to spring 2012 showed a 100 percent retention, while fall 2012 and 2014 to spring 2013 and 2015 showed a drop to 86 and 88 percent, respectively.
RAs have to plan a certain number of programs a year, keep a GPA above 2.5 if they are an undergraduate student and be a policy enforcer, Ray said. RAs also do rounds during the weekend and are on call at least two weekends a semester.
One responsibility RAs have is programming for their residents. RAs have to gain a certain amount of points each semester off of programming. Roach said this is harder in some communities than in others.
RAs are responsible for their academics, Ray said. They have to come up with an academic plan if they intend to take more than 16 credits per semester or if their semester GPA dips below 2.5. In those cases, RAs are on academic probation and are required to meet with their housing adviser and with a tutor.
“The thing that trumps housing is academics,” Ray said.
Free room and board in addition
David Betts | Blot
to a $50 to $100 textbook scholarship are compensation for an RA’s work. This compensation can affect a student’s financial aid, Ray said, because it is a monetary value of assistance toward a college education.
Roach would not recommend a student take an RA position just for the compensation. He said the people who should be RAs are the ones that genuinely want to help people.
The reason for the larger drops in 2012 and 2014 Ray attributes to people who took the RA position just for the room and board.
“It takes a rare person to be an RA,” Smith said.
Current Theophilus Tower RA, Ryan Franz, said he loves his job. Franz, a second-year operations management major and first year RA, said he enjoys planning programs with his eighth-floor residents.
While Franz would never say the job is bad or too hard, he does admit it can be hectic and stressful at times. RAs decorate bulletin boards in their halls, program events with other RAs and have to be an emergency responder in certain situations.
Through all the stress, Franz said being an RA is great. The room and board was an incentive for him to join, but he also wanted to help people. Franz hopes to come back again next year as an area assistant within University Housing, or even as an RA.
Ray said RAs give up a lot for nine months. He said he wished residents could see how much work RAs do, because most of the time they are just seen as RoboCop policy enforcers.
“(RAs) don’t get the credit they deserve,” Ray said. “I respect them.”