The Resident Advisor (RA) role is for students who want to be leaders and create community for the Office of Housing and Residence Life. The RA assumes responsibility for fostering an environment that supports the academic and personal development of students. The RA works closely with the Office of Residence Life in order to maintain a level of consistency between the living area and office in regards to community standards. The role requires dedication, flexibility, commitment and enthusiasm as the RA will actively respond to the changing needs of the residential community. Please be on the lookout during the year for any RA Info Sessions.
Below is a list of dates and locations for the RA Selection Information Meetings. This is the first step in the process and all interested applicants are required to attend a session and sign in. Most sessions will take place in-person.
Office of Housing and Residence Life
350 Spelman Lane, SW
Atlanta, GA. 30314
404-270-5344
housing@spelman.edu
Mon. - Fri. | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
How to Apply to Become an RA
There is a formal process for RA selection that takes place mainly during the winter term of the academic year. Interested applicants are required to complete the following steps:
Attend a RA Selection Information Meeting
Submit an application (only accessible if you attended an information meeting)
Participate in a group process selection session (details will be emailed to selected candidates)
Participate in an individual interview (details will be emailed to selected candidates)
The Resident Advisor role is a student leadership team member who lives and works in a residence hall on campus. RA’s are responsible for building communities on their floors, providing resources to residents, developing programs for their floor, some administrative work, attending team meetings, and being on duty for their hall. The RA’s are supervised by a full-time professional staff member known as a Resident Director (RD). They serve on a team ranging from four to twelve RA’s, depending on the hall. RA’s on average work approximately 20 hours a week.
Our student leader training process occurs at the start of each academic year and provides you with information to challenge and teach you how to connect with the residential community.
Training is required for student leaders, so you should plan accordingly. If you are not available for training, you will not be able to serve as a Resident Advisor.
Training topics will include:
Community Building/Engagement
Communication/Listening Skills
Confrontation/Assertiveness Skills
Crisis Response Skills
Counseling/Conflict Mediation
Leadership Styles
Ethical Decision Making/Problem Solving
Time Management/Self-Care and more
The Resident Advisor role is dynamic, in that it requires a lot of critical thinking, and students who are Resident Advisors can count on serving in a variety of different ways. For specific questions you can reach us at raselection@spelman.edu. In general, the RA role is focused in six topics:
Developing Resident Relationships—The RA will build meaningful relationships with individual residents within their floor and hall communities. Throughout the year, the RA will serve as resource gatherers, referral agents and peer counselors. The RA will employ effective listening skills while getting to know residents beyond the superficial level and helping connect residents within the residence hall communities. Our goal is to help residents learn life-management skills, to help them feel a sense of belonging, to have the confidence in their intellectual capacities, to clarify their attitudes and values, and ultimately, to assume responsibility for themselves as adults.
Building Inclusive Communities—The RA will work to create a safe, comfortable and inclusive environment where residents, guests and community members can study and have their basic needs met. Furthermore, the RA will be responsible for promoting a sense of belonging by establishing the foundations for a community.
Practicing Ethical Leadership—The RA will represent themselves and the department honestly and ethically. This includes maintaining privacy, respecting information that needs to be kept confidential, reporting information that must be shared to appropriate people, ensuring responsible use of resources, access and equipment, and making ethical decisions around College policies and state/federal laws.
Ensuring Safety and Security—The RA will help to maintain the safety and security of residents and residence hall facilities through fulfilling regular duty assignments as well as through their regular presence in their residence hall community. The RA will enforce the College's housing and residence life policies fairly and consistently, as well as respond to crises and notify appropriate personnel. The RA will assist in connecting residents with appropriate support.
Completing Administrative Tasks—The RA will assist in the smooth operation of the residence hall, as administrative tasks are important to the overall operation of the hall and connection with students. The RA will complete administrative tasks in a thorough, accurate and timely manner as directed by their supervisor and/or other housing staff.
Active Team Player—The RA will function as a member of an RA team and the department. The RA will be a contributing member of a team by respecting and supporting others and working effectively within a group. The RA will be expected to support members of a diverse team that includes other areas of housing as well as campus partners.
The nature of the RA role is such that its responsibilities are determined not so much by a time clock or a calendar, but by the needs of residents. Some periods, such as training, opening and closing, will require more time than average, but other responsibilities will arise that cannot always be anticipated and scheduled. Key time commitments include:
Duty—The RA will work approximately one duty night a week and one duty weekend a month. Duty entails staying in the hall between 5 p.m. and 8:59 a.m. on the date you are on duty; being accessible via phone; walking the building to do security checks; and responding to any issue, incident or needs that arise. In addition, The RA is expected to share duty responsibilities over break time when the halls remain open (Thanksgiving, spring break, fall break, MLK weekend, Easter, etc.).
Opening, Closing and Breaks—The RA serves a fundamental role in getting the halls ready to open and closing them down for breaks and at the end of the school year. As such, RAs arrive early and depart late at fall break, Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, as well as stay later at the end of the year when the buildings close.
RA Training—In the fall, mandatory RA training begins approximately two weeks before classes begin and continues through the beginning of the fall semester. The training schedule often goes for the entire day and includes evening responsibilities for prepping the hall.
Regular Meetings—Meetings include mandatory weekly team meetings (Tuesday’s 7 - 9 p.m.) and weekly or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings with hall supervisors.
It really depends on the year. We typically hire for approximately 30-40% of our staff each year, this typically ranges between 14-20 student leaders being hired and placed.
Due to the competitive nature of the role, Residence Life cannot place every RA candidate that is deemed hirable. Due to this, we keep an alternate list of candidates who may be picked up at any time during the year should there be a vacancy that occurs.
Only if you are interested in living on campus regardless of the outcome of being selected as a Resident Advisor. All candidates must submit a housing application.
No. Resident Advisors are hired for the role for both on campus residence halls and off-campus Spelman sponsored housing. During the application process you can express your interest in halls however placements are not solely limited to this interest.
No. The Resident Advisor role is a yearlong commitment. There is a reappointment process that takes place each year should you be interested in returning to the role.