What is The Future of RDs? – It’s Multifaceted

Guest Post by Stephanie Carter-Atkins, Residence Life Professional

I have had the distinct pleasure of being in this field for 20 plus years, I say that softly because I don’t look a day over 35 (at least that’s what I tell myself). In this time I have been in Resident Director roles and supervised Resident Director roles or similar titles depending on the school and other staff on up the line. In all of this time, I have seen our profession shift from an almost hands off approach to having staff in the residence halls to something not quite like in loco parentis but seemingly close. By that I mean, there seems to be a desire to have more professional staff on campus to help shape the lives and direction of today’s college students. Which in my opinion is great but the rate in which the pipeline for those wanting this work is slowing down, it doesn’t quite make this possible. 

The future of the RD role is multifaceted. If you follow the “pipeline” path the future looks less like a Master degree in Student Affairs/Counseling (the typical path) holding individuals doing the work. This is due to the lower enrollment in Student Affairs graduate preparation programs nationally. Which could lend itself to a more diverse graduate degree holding individuals doing 

this work. I mean there is nothing that says someone with a Public Policy degree doesn’t want to take advantage of free/reduced rent or the other actual benefits that may speak to them and/or the needs of their family, so why not open our doors to more people? Or it could mean we as a field get more comfortable with dropping the Masters preferred/required language from our job descriptions and try to appeal to those fresh out of undergrad who bring this same level of desire and excitement to work with college students. As someone who sits in the seat of hiring RD/RD like positions, I personally don’t see a concern with this. I would take a coalition of the willing with a Bachelor’s degree and be fully staffed over us holding tight to the you must have a Master’s degree and we struggle to fill spots any day of the week. This mentality is not wide enough spread in our field for it to feel like an ok thing to do. Yet, we struggle to fill roles, we struggle to pay what many feel is a true living wage for the things staff in this role often are asked to do. Therefore I ask, what is really the alternative? 

Now, let’s walk down another path, let’s say the future of the RD role remains as is…Master’s degree preferred/required with some experience. I imagine the future then holds a more specialized or focused position on the road ahead. Or atleast one that requires staff be prepared on all fronts to deal with increased DEI efforts and initiatives (even if you can not call it that in your state), staff who are able to stay on the cutting edge of technology and how to best integrate it in the work we are doing, staff who are prepared to drop everything and attend to the mental health of students and staff who are ready to spring into action when a crisis or emergency situation (large or small) presents itself on campus. This is not an expansive list but it is the tip of the iceberg. I imagine someone is reading and thinking this is my life now, this ain’t the future and you’re probably right. I think the future will bring a more acute focus on these matters and many more. Mostly because our field is ever evolving either due to state or national government getting in the mix or parents and other constituents sharing their thoughts and opinions on how they think we should run our Housing and Residence Life programs and the staff who work within it.

Either path the future is a place we are currently shaping today. I have thoughts and opinions of it either way and I am not sure if there is a right or wrong answer. I just know change is coming and we must be flexible and ready to accept it or as a field it will be our demise.