Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
Abstract: Throughout this webinar, you will have the opportunity to learn about some of the scariest assessment stories out there. The near 0% response rate on a survey. A 20-page report poured over for months that no one ever touches again. Do you feel the chills of data past upon you yet? Join us for... Continue Reading →
The academic year is in full swing. You’re supervising student staff, building community, answering emails, navigating yet another roommate conflict, and putting out a million little fires. Then your duty phone rings at 2 a.m. You probably got into this work because you wanted to make a difference. Maybe you had an incredible Res Life experience yourself. Maybe... Continue Reading →
🍂 New Academic Year, New Look 🍂 A new academic year deserves a new look, and that's just what our software received. Read on to find out what else is new. From Our webinars From Our Fellows From Our Podcast From Our Blogs In this Edition: Software Training Software Updates Door Dec Winners Poster/Advertising Contest... Continue Reading →
IT'S HERE! Roompact is holding its annual residence hall "poster" contest! This contest is open to student staff (RAs, CAs, etc.) at schools who currently use Roompact's software on their campus. Send us your one best poster (or social media images... or similar type "advertisements") you've created this year (for an informational/educational campaign, a program,... Continue Reading →
Roompact's door dec competition is now closed and we're ready to announce the winners. We received 110+ entries (!), so picking ten was incredibly difficult. We tried to select a diverse group of winners that reflected the diversity of the submissions themselves. Thank you to all who entered! Your ideas are now a resource for... Continue Reading →
As an RA, hosting programs that build community is a big part of your role. However, simply having a program and asking people to come isn't enough to build human connections. The goal of programming isn't just to check off an RA requirement; it's to support students, foster community, and create a sense of well-being... Continue Reading →
“Buy-in” is one of the most common challenges in student affairs. Whether it’s residential curriculum, assessment, or new initiatives, staff are often told they need to “get others on board”—but rarely given tools that actually work on a Tuesday when they’re trying to do their job. This session reframes the conversation. Instead of focusing on convincing people to care, we’ll explore how everyday work can be designed so that key priorities are easier to follow through on—and harder to avoid. Participants will walk away with practical ways to build expectations, simplify processes, and reduce friction in their own roles, regardless of position.
Full-time live-in staff might feel like they are the oldest person in the building. Maybe feel a little like they are the supposed “adult” in their residence hall who is there to follow up with student conduct issues, students of concern, and make sure that their Resident Assistants are doing their jobs. They could feel... Continue Reading →
This webinar introduces supervisors of student and professional staff teams in residential life to participatory processes as a foundation for effective team leadership. We'll cover practical tools for inclusive decision-making, active listening, and co-creating community norms and agreements with your team. You'll also learn how to use circles as a structure for building connection and navigating difficult conversations, alongside frameworks for approaching conflict and accountability in your residential community.
Throughout the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, there is a great deal of a spike in the reliance on AI in today’s college students. One of the more concerning areas that AI is appealing to students is using user data to inform responses, catering to an audience in a way that tells an individual what they... Continue Reading →
Bring On Opening! As residence hall opening season approaches, we've got updates for you and some helpful information to make sure you're prepared and ready. First things first, check out the opening checklist to make sure your Roompact environment is ready to go: Review The Opening Checklist ⬆️ Software Updates ⬆️ We've made a number... Continue Reading →
Commonly, the advice given to students experiencing loneliness is encouraging them to join a student organization or other group. This isn’t necessarily bad advice, but it is definitely not enough. Students experiencing loneliness are generally seeking out connection and support from a social lens, and when we as professionals just encourage joining an organization, it... Continue Reading →
With the release of Toy Story 5, and topics floating around on student loneliness, I couldn’t help but notice a connection. I remember seeing the fourth Toy Story in a drive-in and thinking “that’s it, this is the last of these amazing movies.” But the creators saw a market years later that I had never... Continue Reading →
Creating a sense of belonging and an atmosphere that we often describe as a student’s new “home away from home” is central to the work that we do as Housing and Residence Life practitioners. But, there isn’t a singular “right” way to do it– if there was, wouldn’t we all be doing so uniformly? And... Continue Reading →
Abstract Oftentimes, RAs will resist a new process or complain about how a problem is solved, but asking for their input does not always lead to a positive solution. This session will show supervisors how to use design thinking with their RAs to solve problems and create processes. Outcomes Participants will be able to define... Continue Reading →
IT'S BACK! Roompact is holding its ninth annual door dec contest! This contest is open to student staff (RAs, CAs, etc.) at schools who currently use Roompact's software on their campus. Create a door dec with the name “Roompact” on it and email it to us at [CLOSED] from your institutional email address (*.edu) with... Continue Reading →
Summer training for student staff members is usually jam-packed with learning policies, absorbing information, and acting out real-life crisis scenarios. Although all of this is incredibly important for being a trained student staff member, we often forget that there are many ways student staff members can and should learn to incorporate fun into their roles.... Continue Reading →
Abstract It's easy to copy and paste RA Training from year to year or from other institutions, but what does YOUR campus need? This session will bring practitioners together to discuss approaches to planning RA training whether you are starting from scratch or looking to improve upon the foundations you have in place. With reflective... Continue Reading →
