RA (Discipline Responsibilities)

Job Responsibilities: The Resident Assistant will be expected to help students to understand the limits and guidelines established through the education of students. Resident Assistants will confront students who are unwilling to abide by those established rules and regulations. Most common encounters with residents in a disciplinary capacity:

• answering individual questions at floor or building meetings regarding policies and community standards.
• explaining the judicial process and sanction procedures to students.
• confronting behaviors that are inappropriate in the community.
• following up with students on their floor/building who have been documented in order to assure the student understands that their behaviors, and not their character, are in question.

Training you are given for your discipline role:

• Prospective candidates are interviewed and assessed on their willingness to hold their peers accountable to community standards.
• Fall training offers many workshops on the student handbook, community accountability, positive confrontation skills, and on policy enforcement.
• Returning RAs mentor new staff on the many ways of succeeding in your role.
• "Mock Hall" - ask a current staff member about this!

What happens if I am not comfortable dealing with discipline? You must accept this role in an educational capacity. You are in charge of facilitating community in your area, and this sometimes requires you to address behaviors that are not conducive to positive development of our students. Remember, you are confronting behaviors and not people. Throughout training and in the first few weeks of employment, you will overcome most of the barriers associated with the discipline process. RAs who continue to shy away from confronting residents will not earn the respect of their residents or staff. Discuss your concerns with a member of the professional staff during your interviews. How will my experience with discipline situations apply to a future job after graduation?

• Employers recruit candidates who know how to confront inappropriate behavior in the workplace, and they look for candidates who can maintain positive relationships with others while doing so.
• Discussing the consequences of people's actions in a community meeting demonstrates your interest in setting down expectations early in order to avoid conflict in the future.
• Serving as an informational resource for the overall judicial process in another aspect of your job as a resource for information. This shows future employers that you are approachable and knowledgeable on procedure