Thank you for your interest in becoming a resident adviser! The application for 2024-25 will open on 10/11/23 and close at 11:59 pm on 11/13/23. No late applications will be accepted.
Please be sure to read all requirements and qualifications before you submit your application.
Questions? Please contact Residential Life at reslife@columbia.edu
Application and Interview Requirements
To be considered for the resident adviser role, you must complete:
- A resident adviser application
- An individual interview
- A group interview
Qualifications
- Current full-time undergraduate first-years, sophomores or juniors in Columbia College or Columbia Engineering
- Guaranteed Undergraduate Housing: Resident Advisers must have guaranteed housing status at the time of their application. Combined Plan applicants must receive guaranteed housing via the housing lottery in order to maintain active candidacy.
- Course Load: Resident Advisers must maintain full-time student status and be registered for and earn a minimum of 12 credits per semester.
- Grade Point Average: Resident Advisers must maintain a semester and cumulative 2.5 GPA.
- University Standing: Resident Advisers are expected to be and remain in good University and community standing.
- Available for August 2024 training and move-in
- Attendance at mandatory NSOP programs during your first year at Columbia: As we welcome students into Columbia during NSOP, we require attendance to several NSOP programs (Under1Roof, Title IX, Bystander Intervention). As prospective student leaders, we feel it's imperative that any future RA has attended these important programs.
- Not found responsible for violations of the Gender-Based Misconduct Policy
Additionally, applicants for a Fraternity or Sorority Life resident adviser position must not be their organization's president.
Compensation
- All RAs receive a $14,000 honorarium.
- Due to the higher volume of resident concerns and in alignment with the first year area meal plan requirement, RAs that work with first year students also receive a meal plan valued at $585.
- RA candidates are highly encouraged to speak with Financial Aid should there be specific financial questions or concerns.
Expected Availability and Time Commitment
The duties and responsibilities of an RA, and the time required to complete them on a week-to-week basis, cannot be quantified in an hourly manner. During certain times of the academic year, more work will be required, while at other times, the workload of the role will be minimal. As such, the following overview provides a general sense of the responsibilities and time commitment of the position.
Weekly:
- Participate in an hour-long team meeting (day and time vary depending on collective availability of RHD/GHD and RA team members)
- Attend a one-on-one meeting with their Graduate Hall Director/Residence Hall Director (GHD/RHD)
- Maintain regular and frequent communication with GHD/RHD
- Check and respond to Residential Life emails at least once per day Monday through Friday
- Assist in monitoring and reporting facilities and maintenance issues on the floor and in the community
- Check in on residents as needed and as instructed by GHD/RHD
- Maintain bulletin boards and flier boards and make regular updates
General:
- Serve in a duty rotation. Individual duty nights vary depending on team size.
- The duty rotation in the fall semester ends on the day following the last day of final exams. In the spring, duty ends the day after non-senior move-out for RAs in the first year area and the day after senior move-out for RAs in the upperclass area.
- Holidays: At least one RA from each sub-area team will serve on duty during fall break, Thanksgiving break, and spring break.
- Facilitate programs for assigned communities under the direction of the GHD/RHD
- Attend August RA Training in its entirety
- First Year RAs: Support First Year Move in, NSOP related activities, Bacchanal, and move-out for non-seniors
- Upper class RAs: Support First year bag drop, upper class move-in, Bacchanal, and move-out for both seniors and non-seniors
- Floor meetings: RAs are expected to host floor meetings throughout each semester to distribute pertinent information to residents and to address community issues as needed. At minimum, RAs will host floor meetings at the open of each semester and at the close of the spring semester.
- Connect conversations: During the first half of each semester, RAs will designate time to complete one on one connect conversations with each of their residents.
Responsibilities
Community Development/Engagement
RAs work with residents to create a living-learning environment that promotes academic growth, personal responsibility and community accountability through the initiatives outlined in the RA Community Engagement Plan. RAs are expected to know their residents and be aware of personal, social and academic concerns.
RAs should encourage students to take responsibility for their own actions by establishing community standards that promote the ideas of common courtesy and consideration for others.
RA Community Engagement Plan: Via resident engagement, RAs will work to understand the needs of their community. With the assistance of their GHD/RHD, the RA will plan, initiate, and evaluate approximately 4-6 programs of a social and/or recreational nature per semester (depending on resident/community needs). RAs are expected to submit and monitor budget/spending information in a timely fashion.
Residential Life initiatives: RAs are expected to support Residential Life initiatives (i.e. RHLO, NRHH, Hall Council, FIR, etc.) and may be required to occasionally assist with activities including FIR events and hall council recruitment.
Connect and Re-Connect Conversations: RAs will facilitate semesterly intentional, individualized conversations with each of their residents that allow for meaningful interactions. RAs will engage in follow-up conversations and other action planning (alongside their GHD/RHD) to further connect with and support residents that are disengaged and/or may be experiencing other challenges.
Community Presence: RAs will work to establish and maintain presence within their assigned residential community.
Duty & Student Support
RAs quickly and effectively handle incidents that arise with residents utilizing a knowledge of policies and procedures from the Guide to Living and the RA Manual. RAs document incidents through Maxient in a timely fashion and follow up with residents as directed. In their work supporting residents and on duty, RAs may initially encounter mental health concerns, incidents of gender based misconduct, and medical emergencies. Please note that RAs are never alone in navigating these concerns. Trained Residential LIfe staff are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support RAs in navigating these concerns (including on-site response) as needed. In addition, an RA’s GHD/RHD is available to support them following the management of a challenging incident and can refer them to campus resources as needed.
Knowledge of Policies and Procedures: RAs are expected to maintain a knowledge of the Guide to Living and the RA Manual and will model and enforce policies and procedures when assisting with resident interactions and in crisis situations. RAs should be prepared to enact all emergency and crisis procedures related to their role.
Documentation of Resident Concerns and Interactions: RAs are expected to document all emergency situations, safety concerns, security concerns, policy violations, roommate conflicts, gender-based misconduct, and bias-related incidents through formal documentation in the Maxient system. Documentation of any incident must be immediately completed after the incident concludes. Any incident that comes to an RA’s attention should be documented; an RA does not need to be On-Duty to document an incident.
Duty to Report: As leaders within Residential Life, RAs have the duty to report any information received when acting in an RA capacity that involves gender based-misconduct, mental health concerns, incidents of bias, discriination, or harassment, or if they learn of a situation where a resident is a harm to themselves or others.
Duty Expectations: RAs are expected to serve within a duty rotation as an initial responder and reporter of emergency situations and Guide to Living policy violations in the residence halls. Each RA team will work collaboratively, alongside their GHD/RHD, to schedule equitable duty shifts throughout a given semester. Duty extends from 9PM - 8AM daily, including holidays (Labor Day, Election Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after, MLK Day).
Conflict Resolution and Mediation: RAs will provide support for roommate/community conflicts through facilitation of roommate/community meetings as needed while maintaining professionalism and remaining unbiased.
Confidentiality: RAs are expected to maintain confidentiality when managing residential issues/concerns.
Role Modeling
Resident Advisers must role model appropriate and inclusive behavior at all times as responsible community members and representatives of Residential Life – on campus and beyond. This includes, but is not limited to, responsible alcohol use, monitoring online self-content, and upholding university policies and school-specific conduct policies. RAs must promote respect and foster diversity in the residential community.
