Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
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 →
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 contests@roompact.com from your institutional email address (*.edu) with... Continue Reading →
During ACUHO-I's Residence Education Conference (and the Business Operations, and Housing Facilities Conferences) we'll be holding a social! Date: Tuesday, October 27th, 2026 Time: 5pm-7pm Location: On The ROX The social will have some free adult (and non-adult) beverages and nibbly bites. It's right across the street from the Hyatt Regency, next to the Sheraton.... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, Crystal connects with Demarcus Merritt, Sr., Assistant Director of Residence Life at George Mason University, on how burnout and the expectation to "push through" have become normalized within housing and residence life. Through a thoughtful conversation on supervision, wellness, move-in culture, and professional sustainability, Demarcus challenges us to rethink... Continue Reading →
When you think about preparing for a new academic year as a student staff member, your mind probably goes straight to everything you need to accomplish. Complete training. ✅ Learn your policies. ✅ Set up your community. ✅ Prepare your bulletin boards. ✅ Meet your staff team. ✅ Make sure you are ready for residents... Continue Reading →
There is a strange transition that happens when you move from entry-level housing work into mid-level leadership. For years, many of us watch Assistant Directors, Associate Directors, and Directors from a distance and create assumptions about what their jobs - and lives - must look like. We hear things like, “You’ll lose money if you... Continue Reading →
Students in college will almost certainly face some loneliness, whether that’s when they first arrive and don’t know anyone or later in the year when they feel everyone else has connections but them. While some loneliness is expected in the residence hall, it is also something that Residence Life can help tackle. Here are my... Continue Reading →
Move-in day is arguably the most chaotic, sweat-drenched, and high-stakes day of the entire academic year. For RAs and student staff members, it’s the ultimate "go time." You’re balancing logistics, heavy boxes, and roughly a thousand questions about where the nearest trash chute is. But beyond the physical exhaustion, move-in day is where the real... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, host Paul sits down with a member of the Roompact Blog Cohort, Matthew Inman, to discuss a wide range of topics from focusing on students' socio emotional learning to Pizza Hut (yes, Pizza Hut). As a recently graduated Masters degree student from Clemson University, Matthew also reflects on lessons... Continue Reading →
Move-in is exciting, chaotic, loud and usually uncomfortably hot. As a Resident Advisor or other student leader, it's easy to feel like it’s an intense challenge, and like you need to have amazing conversations with every resident you see. First - you’re going to rock it, no matter what. Second - some of the best... Continue Reading →
Whimsy has become an internet phenomenon in the year of 2026 - and for good reason! The concept of whimsy has helped bring joy and fun into small moments during day-to-day life. From adding sprinkles to a coffee to getting lost on purpose, whimsy is how a lot of people are intentionally slowing down and... Continue Reading →
It’s that time of year again. The residence halls are quiet, the air conditioning is (hopefully) blasting, and you’re probably sitting in a multipurpose room chair for the eighth hour today. RA training is a unique kind of marathon. Between the policy deep-dives, the "Behind Closed Doors" role-plays, and the endless icebreakers, it’s easy to... Continue Reading →
In this episode of Roompact's RA*Chat, we discuss the unique challenge that comes with the RA and student staff role: balancing being a community leader while still being a college student yourself. From navigating friendships with residents, to handling uncomfortable social situations, and from maintaining professional boundaries, to protecting your own well-being in the student staff role. Whether you’re struggling with saying “no,” figuring out how close is too close, or trying to maintain a healthy social life while on staff, this episode offers honest advice and practical strategies for maintaining balance in the residence halls.
The first car has not even pulled into the parking lot yet, but your day has already started. You have walked your floor more than once, finished setting up your door decorations, attended training sessions, and maybe even answered a few questions from anxious families passing through. Although residents have not arrived yet, your role... Continue Reading →
For many of us in on-campus housing, we plan for it the entire year - Move-In. It’s become the main event, and that’s understandable: it’s our first impression, involves overlapping processes, and provides a rather intimate view of what we do and how we do it to every stakeholder imaginable. And because of all this,... Continue Reading →
Belonging is a continued focus of Student Affairs research, often looking at how students feel belonging to institutions. Housing is often looked at on college campuses as a supercharger for belonging, when I did a quick online search I noticed that belonging or connection came up in every single Resident Advisor posting I looked at.... 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.
In this episode of Roompact's ResEdChat, join our host Noah Montague and guest Siobhàn Anderson-Judkins as they talk about student staff supervision. Student staff, RAs, or whatever other acronym your institution uses are all coming into the role for different reasons; so how can we best supervise them? How do we hold them accountable while also being... Continue Reading →
As a Resident Assistant (RA), you learn about resources you may not have realized existed at your institution. You learn how to recommend resources to your residents and even how to offer to go with them to the resource when you feel they need it at the moment. A topic that may not be covered... Continue Reading →
There is something about a long drive that refuses to let your mind stay in one place. The pavement seems to stretch on forever in front of you. You don’t see anything familiar behind you. Mile after mile, stop after stop, conversations replay, memories and feelings resurface, a busy mind becomes quite yet filled with... Continue Reading →
Belonging is a continued focus of Student Affairs research, often looking at how students feel belonging to institutions. Resident Advisors are often looked to on college campuses as a supercharger for belonging, when I did a quick online search I noticed that belonging or connection came up in every single Resident Advisor posting I looked... Continue Reading →
