The Resident Assistant (RA) role is unlike any other student position in the university setting. It is complicated, nuanced, and increasingly complex as the needs and expectations of residents and RAs rapidly change in a post-pandemic era of residence life. The role itself has been forced to evolve to address these changing needs. This thesis…

Employees in service-oriented, relationship-based jobs are prone to experiencing feelings of burnout. As such, paraprofessional staff in college housing environments, resident assistants (RAs), are not immune to its effects. Since navigating relationships is the root cause of burnout, it makes sense to focus on the relationships between…

Freedom dreaming offers a new paradigm that centers the experiences and realities of Latinx students on college and university campuses and re-imagines residence halls as liberatory spaces. Referencing the legacy of racism and the experiences that Latinx students have with microaggressions and other forms of oppression, this article highlights how…

The intent of this study was to explore and understand the effects of professional experience on the ethical profiles of housing and residence life staff. Through a survey design, this study used the Managerial Ethical Profile (MEP) to analyze the professional experience of members of the Association of College and University Housing Officers --…

Staff members in live-in positions often find themselves faced with a difficult choice: Leave their roles in search of a job that offers a better work/life balance or stay and hope their department is invested in making the changes necessary to support their staff. Live-in staff are in a unique position because the challenges they face in…

Restorative practices can serve as a proactive approach to address behavior in a way that not only repairs harm and restores relationships, but also creates stronger communities. Using a circle-style conversation to elicit our perceptions of the potential of these practices to support and advance liberatory principles, we sought to uncover the…

The practice of duty rounds (also called community rounds or simply duty) is overdue for critical assessment, particularly because of its reliance on surveillance culture and the potential hazards of such surveillance to building authentic community. In this collaborative autoethnography, one Black residential life professional's experience with…

Bulletin boards are ubiquitous in residence halls and may not always capture students' attention, but when they do, they have the potential to engage students in meaningful learning experiences. Our study explores how arts-based methodologies can be used in student affairs and higher education research to expand possibilities for practitioners to…

Gender-inclusive housing (GIH) continues to grow as an option for consideration at colleges and universities across the U.S. A follow-up to a 2016 study by Taub and colleagues was conducted to gauge and assess developmental growth trends of GIH within campus housing. A majority of 184 participants (n = 129) reported that their institution has…

Fostering staff well-being can no longer be the responsibility of individual staff but needs to be built into structures, practices, and social norms in residence life departments. We drew on elements of participatory action research to provide guidance for departments striving to intentionally prioritize staff wellness. First, based on literature…

The residential community is a key part of the college experience simply because students spend a large majority of their time in the places where they live. Given this fact, a student's interactions and engagement with their community can positively impact their learning experience. We utilized a constructivist, qualitative, phenomenological…

Emotional support animals are increasingly common in residence halls. This study examines the benefits and challenges of having an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) while living in campus housing, from the perspective of the animals' owners and their roommates. Using a mixed methods case study approach, we collected qualitative and quantitative data…

The minoritized identities of many resident assistants are rarely a topic of studies that evaluate their campus experiences, yet these identities are crucial in making these experiences positive. This qualitative research study helps fill this gap in the literature by reporting the experiences of 21 resident assistants with minoritized identities…

The lived experiences of Black women senior housing officers have received little attention in research about diversity in campus housing. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are more than 6,000 colleges and universities in the United States, with 2,144 serving as residential campuses. However, what is still to be told…

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged university housing operations regardless of the type of operational function. Since the pandemic began, residence life staff, maintenance and custodial staff, assignment coordinators, administrative staff, and senior housing officers have all likely had to readjust and revamp their operational protocols in…