Housing and Residence Life: Community & Engagement | Competencies & Learning | Care & Case Management | Assessment
When I entered my third year as a Resident Director, I itched for the days when I finally had a seat at the leadership table – making actual contributions to departmental decisions, dedicating most of my time to long-term departmental planning, processes – vowing that when I was in a position of leadership, I would... Continue Reading →
For many of us working in student affairs, whether fresh out of our undergraduate programs or a few — or fine, many — years into our careers, it can feel exhausting to field the steady stream of Resident Advisor questions that dissect every policy, procedure, and email. It can feel like there’s always something. Our... Continue Reading →
Residence life is one of the most change-saturated environments on a college campus. Students arrive during moments of transition, staff juggle evolving expectations, and institutions regularly introduce new priorities, policies, and pressures. In this context, change can either feel intentional and supportive or confusing and destabilizing, often simultaneously. Change models provide residence life professionals with... Continue Reading →
You can look at change in one of two ways: either the thought of adapting and trying new things feels daunting and super scary, or it excites you. Either way, the only constant in life is change and that’s exactly what our students do year after year. They evolve, and so do their expectations of... Continue Reading →
This blog series features different writers responding to the prompt, "How is the rising generation of college students changing residence life practice?" Read More From The Series Re-evaluating Traditions Today’s college students are not interested in “what we’ve always done”, and they’re not afraid to show it. When first year students unapologetically call students just... Continue Reading →
Every year, Roompact puts out a ton of content on topics of interest to college student housing and residence life professionals. This year included nearly ~300 new posts, including ~70 new podcast episodes. Come take a look at our most viewed content of 2025. In our most viewed post of the year, it was the... Continue Reading →
As the year draws to a close, Residence Life professionals might feel one of two ways: you’re either careening toward the end of the semester full-tilt, hair getting increasingly tangled, shooting espresso with alarming frequency, OR the office is getting a little quieter each day with more and more folks taking time off, events and... Continue Reading →
Does anyone else celebrate Spotify Wrapped release day? I certainly do. It sits firmly in my top 5 holidays of the year (nestled between Groundhog Day and Thanksgiving). As I mentioned in a previous Roompact article, music is a powerful way to foster a unique connection with someone. Spotify Wrapped allows us all to share... Continue Reading →
The Institute for the Curricular Approach in October was more than just a professional development event; it was a reaffirmation of our roles as a community of educators who are fundamentally invested in the holistic growth of our students. Engaging in the Institute provided a vital opportunity to pause, reflect, and collaboratively strategize on how... Continue Reading →
We know through our student educational work, whether within a curricular model or otherwise, that student learning happens with or without us. While every school has its own needs and philosophies informing their process, most schools incorporate current RAs in some part of the process. Participating in interviews on the other side of the table, so-to-speak,... Continue Reading →
Roompact is running a blog series where a variety of authors weigh in on the question, "How is the rising generation of college students changing residence life practice?" Each author provides a unique insight into their point of view. We'll be adding more as we go. Check them out... https://blog.roompact.com/2026/02/reslife-generational-change-parental-control/ https://blog.roompact.com/2026/01/reslife-generational-change-ready-or-not-the-future-is-now https://blog.roompact.com/2026/02/reslife-generational-change-adapt-to-survive https://blog.roompact.com/2026/02/reslife-generational-change-start-with-hello-rethinking-residential-education-from-the-ground-up/ This blog... Continue Reading →
As we work with student leaders, we know that most of them do not plan on going into student affairs, or even Housing and Residence Life for the long term – essentially, we’re hoping they translate the skills and lessons they learn in our time with them to future positions and professional opportunities. However, many... Continue Reading →
If you work in Residence Life, you’ve probably been at a family gathering or social event where someone asks, “So… what exactly do you do?” And then you find yourself trying to explain a job that somehow includes crisis response, student development, event planning, facilities management, counseling, and occasionally amateur plumbing. So, for everyone who... Continue Reading →
In an effort to expand our support of schools, we developed the Fellows program. Roompact Fellows act as scholars-in-residence to provide support to Roompact schools. They will be contributing to our blog, podcast, and webinar series throughout the year. They'll also be available and present at our R2 conference! An additional service they will provide... Continue Reading →
We’ve all been there - you have a long night of duty, rushing around campus from one crisis to the next, and now you’re sitting at home, unwinding from the night. You might pop a favorite movie on (Shrek 2 was always my duty night comedown movie), eat a sweet treat (Cosmic Brownies have a... Continue Reading →
The student staff hiring process looks very different today than it did just a few years ago. With each new generation of students comes new challenges and opportunities for how we recruit, interview, and select our resident assistants and other student leaders. Today’s college students live online. Their social circles, studies, and even job searches... Continue Reading →
It’s late fall, and that means everyone on the semester cycle is looking ahead to the much-needed Thanksgiving and winter breaks. We crave the deep rest, slower schedules, and lack of deadlines that longer breaks can provide. But just around the corner—BAM. RAs are returning to campus, you’re getting full-swing into mid-year training with both... Continue Reading →
Residence life supervisors spend a lot of time and energy supporting staff who are struggling, and rightfully so. But you can’t forget about the anchors of your team. You know, the ones who turn things in early, show up to every event, and volunteer before you even finish the sentence? That’s right, I’m talking about... Continue Reading →
