<p>My daughter is a current freshman Chemical & Biological Engineering student with a minor in CBH. Like everyone else without a housing scholarship, we are looking at all options for next year. I would love to talk to anyone who has a child who is or has been an RA. I do not see an actual time commitment listed anywhere. Would she be biting off too much? Also, once an RA always a RA assuming good job performance, or do you have to apply each year?</p>
<p>She has talked to two different RA’s that she knows, and has gotten conflicting information. Maybe like anything it depends on the commitment of the individual.</p>
<p>Resident Advisors reapply each year. The application and interview process is highly competitive. Applicants rank their preferences of which buildings/community, but the assignments are made by Housing. Once an offer is made, the applicant may accept or decline. In the past, Resident Advisors received free housing and a stipend and could select their suite mates if they were assigned to a four person suite in one of the super suites. I’ve heard there may be some changes in the works with regards to the compensation package. Some buildings had single suites available for Resident Advisors. My D was selected as an RA last year, but decided that going ahead and moving off campus was better for her in the long run.</p>
<p>As far as time commitment, Resident Advisors are supposed to be on call for a certain amount of time, make periodic walks through the building by floor, are responsible for room checks before holidays and at the end of the year, hold floor meetings, attend training meetings, and perform other duties such as collecting roommate contracts, helping to resolve conflicts, design bulletin boards, and host activities periodically. There are times when all Resident Advisors are expected to be available and on campus such as after the National Championship.</p>
<p>I think some Resident Advisors take these responsibilities much more seriously than others. Those who take it seriously can be extremely successful. We met two extremely responsible RAs in my daughter’s building at the beginning of freshman year. They impressed us tremendously with their handling of a serious situation.</p>
<p>RA’s no longer live in singles. Some RA’s are extremely enthusiastic and caring, others are practically invisible. To be honest unless you are a freshman or have some type of issue, you will probably only interface with the RA during inspections.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that there are a lot of people applying for RA positions. In my experience, UA Housing interviews 5-10 times the amount of people it hires to be RAs.</p>
<p>RAs only get their own room in certain buildings (5 or so years ago all RAs received single rooms) and there is no pay differential for working in a less expensive residence hall.</p>
<p>My advice is to apply, interview, and see what happens. If it doesn’t work out, at least one got to meet other people and have experience with a group interview.</p>
<p>RAs do have specific time commitments, which include event planning and on-call hours during which they must be within 5 minutes of their residence hall. I’ve generally had RAs that, while they did host some small events during my evening class times, were generally unseen and unheard of unless UA/the insurance company required them to do something. This is perfectly fine with me as I view the super suite dorms as more like the college version of senior living communities.</p>
<p>Last year we reached a point where we hired a little less than half the applicants in the pool.</p>
<p>My advice to that your student attend one of the RA Interest Sessions we are holding this week or next to find out more about the position, as there will be some new roles and revised responsibilities.</p>
<p>Anyone know when the RA interest session/application/selection process will begin for 2014-15?? My D is a current freshman and is interested in being an RA next year. Thanks!</p>
<p>Perhaps you might message UA Housing. There seem to have been many changes within Housing, so things might be different than in past years. If I remember correctly the process had been in late November-early December with interviews in January in past years, but check with Housing to be sure. Some off campus sites have Community Assistants, too. They serve similar roles with additional office related responsibilities.</p>