Residence Life at the University of Puget Sound - Updated 1/25/2017
Student leaders in the Office of Residence Life are essential to upholding our mission to provide an inclusive and vibrant living community that fosters holistic learning for Puget Sound residential students by empowering them as leaders and extending their academic experience. As representatives of the Division of Student Affairs, Residence Life student leaders are committed to engaging in and demonstrating self-exploration, academic commitment, the ability to meet deadlines by working independently and interdependently, display initiative, and have a basic working knowledge of university policies and procedures. Furthermore, student leaders should be able to refer students to resources such as Counseling Health and Wellness (CHWS), the Office of Intercultural Engagement (OIE), the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching (CWLT) and other support offices. Student leaders encourage student responsibility and accountability and maintain an overall positive rapport with community members. Student leaders are responsible for upholding the Residence Life mission to create and maintain inclusive housing for all students. The following position description applies to all student leadership positions in Residence Life: Resident Assistant (RA), Resident Community Coordinator (RCC), Resident Programming Assistant (RPA), Greek House Coordinator (GHC).
A. Qualifications/Expectations
As a university representative, Residence Life student leaders are expected to comply with all published university and residence hall policies, as well as applicable federal, state, and local laws. In order to be eligible for a student leadership position in Residence Life, candidates must:
B. Supporting the Academic Mission
In support of the University’s mission statement, Residence Life student leaders will assist students in active inquiry and reasoned independence. Student leaders are expected to do the following:
C. Interpersonal Relationships
During day-to-day contact with residents, a Residence Life student leaders should:
D. Leader Classifications
In addition to the above responsibilities and expectations, Residence Life has multiple student leadership positions to support our unique and diverse living environments:
Resident Assistant (RA)
Resident Assistants live and perform leader services in more traditional, predominantly first-year living communities such as Todd/Phibbs, Regester, Seward, Schiff & Harrington, and Anderson/Langdon. RAs are the primary means of support for residents in these communities, responsible for checking in regularly on the health and wellness of members of the community, and promoting community standards. RAs are expected to perform leader services for approximately 20 hours per week.
Resident Programming Advisor (RPA)
Resident Programming Advisors support the Residence Hall Association (RHA) in one of six communities – Anderson/Langdon, Regester and Seward, Schiff and Harrington, Smith and Oppenheimer, Todd/Phibbs, and Trimble. This leadership position has all of the responsibilities of a Resident Assistant/Resident Community Coordinator, with the added opportunity to work more directly with traditional programming in the community by co-advising an RHA. RPAs spend just over 20 hours per week completing their responsibilities.
Resident Community Coordinator (RCC)
Resident Community Coordinators live and perform leader services in Smith Hall, Oppenheimer Hall, Trimble Hall, Thomas Hall, and the neighborhoods (on-campus houses, including Langlow House). RCCs are responsible for supporting students in their growth and development as continuing students living on campus, as well as maintaining healthy and safe living environments. A Trimble RCC is on-call (checking the building for health and safety concerns) only on weekend nights. Trimble RCCs are expected to perform leader services approximately 20 hours per week. House and Thomas Hall RCCs are expected to perform leader services approximately 10-15 hours per week, and are on-call only on weekend nights.
Greek House Coordinator(GHC)
Greek House Coordinators (GHC) live and perform leader services in the fraternity and sorority houses/housing. Each Greek chapter has one GHC, who is an active member of that organization. GHCs live in their respective chapter residence and are responsible for supporting fellow live-in members in their growth and development as continuing students on campus, as well as maintaining a healthy and safe living environment. The GHC position does not serve on an on-call rotation and typically performs leader services approximately 10-15 hours per week fulfilling the various administrative and interpersonal aspects of the position.
E: Remuneration
Payment for student leader services varies depending on the student leadership position. Responsibilities vary between positions, as outlined below:
F: Probation and Terms of Release
New student leaders have a probation period until Fall Training has completed. Upon successfully comnpleting Fall Training, new students leaders are removed from probation to begin the year.
Failure to perform leader services, failure to support the mission of the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Residence Life, or other position responsibilities as designated by a professional staff member of Residence Life will constitute grounds for disciplinary action.
Disciplinary Process:
Disciplinary action taken could be progressive or summary action depending on the severity of the situation.
-Progressive actions are accumulated and generally used for minor policy violations, performance problems, or repeated concerns. The progressive steps are as follows:
-Written Warning-Probation-Termination
-Summary action (typically termination) generally will result from serious policy violations or performance problems.