Position Summary

Resident Assistants (RAs) are employees of the Office of Residential Education and Housing.Supervised by a professional staff member, the RA is expected to work to accomplish the objectives of Residential Education and Housing and to create and maintain an effective living-learning community within the residence hall.

The position requires a positive attitude towards RA responsibilities and Residential Education and Housing and its mission.

Overall job effectiveness is tied to the RAs ability to establish and maintain credibility and good rapport with residents, and University faculty and staff.

RAs are responsible for creating and maintaining emotionally and physically safe and secure residential communities. RAs called upon to effectively respond to and manage a variety of crisis and emergency situations.

RAs play a key role in the Residential Education and Housing and Oregon State University Cascades Emergency Management Plan.

RAs play a key role in creating environments that encourage all students to be academically and personally successful. RAs are relied upon to effectively implement department and University initiatives.

RAs are responsible for creating an inclusive environment and community through understanding, enhancing, promoting, and celebrating the uniqueness of our student residents and department staff.

As employees of Oregon State University-Cascades, RAs are University representatives, and are to abide by University policies, state, federal, local laws, and Residential Education and Housing policies in their relationships and contacts both on and off the campus throughout the duration of their appointment.

RAs, therefore, are expected not to engage in activities on or off campus that jeopardize their credibility as staff members or activities that make the university legally vulnerable.

OSU-Cascades commits to inclusive excellence by advancing equity and diversity in all that we do. We are an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity employer, and particularly encourage applications from members of historically underrepresented racial / ethnic groups, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ) community members, and others who demonstrate the ability to help us achieve our vision of a diverse and inclusive community.

Residential Education and Housing will provide a transformative on-campus experience that will ENGAGE our students in community, ENRICH their lives, and help them flourish and THRIVE.

Position Duties 1. Community Development a. Facilitate and support the Community Development Plan as directed by your supervisor, including but not limited to engaging in intentional conversations with residents, creating bulletin boards, and executing outcomes-based programming.

b. Engage in structured individual conversations with each resident in your assigned community, often requiring you to be persistent in the outreach to set up these interactions.

c. Know your residents and create and maintain strong positive relationships with residents and staff in the community through consistent individual resident check ins, group interactions, and events.

d. Identifying and facilitating connections and relationships between residents on the wing / floor.e. Promote academic initiatives in the community and refer residents to academic resources.

f. Role model academic success and engagement through resident interactions.g. Identify and respond to resident needs through consultation and referral of campus resources.

h. Create a safe space for relationship building across differences.i. Facilitate a process to build community standards among residents.

j. Convene wing / floor meetings each term.k. Be accessible on the floor / wing during evening and weekend hours to ensure availability to residents.

l. Work with your supervisor to determine your community needs to create and execute an action plan utilizing the community building tools.

m. Understand the demographic makeup of your residents to support First Year Experience, Second Year and Above, and Living-Learning Community initiatives.

n. Promote and practice social justice values within the community.o. Develop ways to support personal well-being.p. Promote, attend, and participate in the programming in the hall.

q. Work as support staff during campus programming as directed.r. Develop a strong positive relationship with the student representatives and other student organizations.

2. Administration & University-Wide Support a. Attend and participate in a weekly staff meeting, regular meetings with your supervisor, and any other assigned meetings.

b. Complete Duty Logs and Incident Reports appropriately and accurately.c. Complete interaction logs summarizing and documenting conversations that you have with residents.

d. Check email twice a day and respond as requested.e. Check staff mailboxes and hang up advertisements.f. Complete bulletin boards and door decorations as assigned.

g. Report one-on-one resident interactions and community-wide programming as directed.h. Participate in Hall Opening, Quarterly Transitions, and Closing.

Complete housing services related tasks, such as occupancy reviews, health and safety checks, resident check-in and check-out inventories, and all other assigned tasks.

i. Participate in all training and orientation.j. Check out items to residents using the appropriate software.k. Demonstrate timeliness.

l. Provide feedback in the appropriate time, place, or manner.m. Facilitate University assessment activities as required.

n. Assist with the recruitment and selection of new student staff members.o. Complete basic customer service for Conference Service guests and assist guests with their needs or connect them to the appropriate person in Conference Services.

p. Work as support staff during campus and / or Residential Education and Housing programming.q. Complete other tasks as assigned3.

Student Behavior & Crisis Management a. Confront potential policy violations and behavior that is disruptive to the community.

b. Assist residents with developing strategies on how to resolve conflict.c. Encourage residents to practice safety.d. Understand, abide by, and support the OSU Student Conduct & Community Standards and all Residential Education and Housing Policies.

e. Communicate expectations of appropriate behavior and University policy information to residents.f. Communicate any incidents and student concerns to supervisor.

g. Understand and implement emergency response protocol and procedures.h. Refer students to appropriate support services as needed.

i. Communicate with the professional staff member on call during crisis response.j. Communicate with residents the appropriate action to take in the event of an emergency.

k. Provide duty and desk coverage as assigned. This includes performing lock out assistance and other appropriate assistance as part of the desk and / or duty responsibilities.

l. Follow up with students after an incident to express care, support, or concern.m. Role model behavior expected of students as outlined in the OSU Student Conduct & Community Standards and all Residential Education and Housing Policies.

Meeting, Duty, and Training Requirements · RAs are required to successfully complete all required training sessions prior to and during service, including in-person training prior to the start of each term and online modules.

Fall Training for OSU-Cascades RAs may begin as early as three weeks prior to the start of classes and last through Welcome Week.

RAs are expected to participate in fall training in its entirety. Students interested in taking summer courses will be expected to plan their schedule around all training sessions.

Winter Training may begin as early as January 2nd, depending on the calendar and may last throughout the weekend prior to the first day of class in winter.

RAs are expected to participate in all winter training sessions.· Do not schedule any classes or other commitments on Tuesday evenings from 6 : 30-8 : 30 pm to allow for team meetings and in-service training sessions.

If a class during this time is absolutely needed to complete graduation requirements, please consult with your supervisor as soon as possible for approval.

RAs may be assigned to duty shifts while classes are not in session, and on holidays when OSU-Cascades is closed (Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Spring Break, etc.

Break duty entails being holding the duty phone 24 hours a day within a limited radius from campus.· RAs are responsible for Hall Opening and Closing and must stay on campus until noon on the Saturday after finals for Fall and Winter Terms, and may be asked to stay as late as noon on Sunday after Spring Term finals.

The RA position is classified as a 15-hour-a-week commitment on average. Therefore, RAs may be permitted to work up to 9 hours per week on campus outside of the RA role.

Other employment, assistantships, and / or campus involvement requires and advance discussion and approval from supervisor, and should be considered secondary to RA duties.

Any overnight absences from campus must be cleared in advance with your supervisor.RAs may be expected to be on campus and on duty during all-campus event weekends, as assigned by the Office of Residential Education and Housing, including but not limited to : Welcome Week and the weekend before first full week of Fall Term;

Family Weekends; The weekends prior to Finals Week (all terms); Open House Day (if applicable); and the weekend after Finals Spring Term through commencement.

• Exceptions to the above responsibilities of the position is upon the description may be approved at the discretion of the Assistant Director of Residential Education and Housing Minimum Qualifications Full Employment Eligibility Requirements can be found here :
• Must be academically enrolled in a high school, community college, or university and pursuing a program or course of study
• Must meet Academic Standing Requirements; students on academic suspension are not eligible for employment
• Must meet the applicable minimal enrollment standardHigh School student : Regularly enrolled in a high school or participating in a home-schooling programUndergraduate and post-baccalaureate student : 6 credit hours per termUndergraduate international student : 12 credit hours per term*Graduate student officially admitted to Graduate School : 5 credit hours per termGraduate international student officially admitted to Graduate School : 9 credit hours per term*
• International students may be allowed to carry fewer hours than specified above and still be considered full-time by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

A reduced course load is approved by the (OIS), and must be provided to the Student Employment Center. Additional Required Qualifications · Be a current full time OSU-Cascades student or degree partnership student with OSU-Cascades and COCC with a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.

50 or higher. Failure to do so may result in employment warning, probation, or removal from the RA position.· RAs are required to meet full time student status.

Given the time commitment needed to complete job responsibilities, enrolling in more than 16 credit hours requires prior approval from your supervisor.

• Maintain good academic and conduct standing with both OSU-Cascades and Residential Education and Housing.· Must have lived in a residence hall or community living environment at least two terms.
• Demonstrate the ability to cultivate relationships with people.· Demonstrate the ability to respond to conflict.· Demonstrate an understanding or open-mindedness to social justice.
• Demonstrate the ability to complete administrative tasks in a timely manner.This position is designated as a critical or security-sensitive position;

therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a criminal history check and be determined to be position qualified as per OSU Standard 576-055-0000 et seq.

Incumbents are required to self-report convictions and those in youth programs may have additional criminal history checks every 24 months.

Preferred (Special) Qualifications · Demonstrated commitment to diversity and social justice education, initiatives, and programs.

Demonstrated crisis management skills.· Previous experience in leadership opportunities either on or off campus. Working Conditions / Work Schedule Working Conditions / Work Schedule · Typically, RAs work in a positive residence hall environments.

While there are routine commitments, the RAs often encounter unpredictable and dynamic work schedules. The RA position routinely works indoors and most often during evenings and weekends.

Occasionally, RAs encounter the following circumstances : o Addressing high-risk medical and emergency situations.o Experiencing periods of high stress when responding to student crises with a potential to cause secondary traumatic stress.

o Communicating with members of the OSU-Cascades community and the public, some of whom may be hostile.o Lifting up to 10 pounds, and rarely up to 70 pounds.

• In addition to the duties outlined in this position description, RAs must abide by the following terms and conditions. Failure to abide by any term and condition may result in termination.

Last updated : 2024-05-24