RA360: Community Development
TL;DR
Community is the foundation of all residence life departments. Community is more than residents living near each other, but a feeling. There are a number of strategies you can use to create a sense of community, such as by reflecting on your community’s characteristics (such as through a sociogram) and designing community meetings and gatherings with intention.
One of THE most important roles of any RA or student staff member in the residence halls is developing community. Sometimes the RA role is even called a “Community Assistant” or CA on colleges campuses. But how do you go about building a strong thriving community?
What is Community?
Community in a college residence hall is the sense of connection, belonging, and mutual support among the residents and staff who live and work there. It’s about more than just sharing a building. It’s creating an environment where people feel safe, respected, and valued. A strong residence hall community encourages positive relationships, open communication, collaboration, and shared responsibility, helping everyone thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.
What is community? Is it a place? A feeling? An idea? In residence life, we want to create communities that go beyond just a place where students live and sleep in close proximity to each other. We want to develop a “sense of community.”
Make your hall a home. Recognize that “home” encompasses more than just a physical space; it involves community, emotional well-being, and personal identity. Fostering a welcoming atmosphere, being approachable, and celebrating diverse identities can significantly contribute to creating a supportive environment and a sense of community.
Boyer’s Six Principles of Community
Ernest Boyer was an educator, a former Chancellor of the New York SUNY university system, and President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He is frequently associated with a report, Campus Life: In Search of Community, which outlines six principles that college campuses should strive for in creating thriving communities.
These principles can be a guide in developing your own community:
Purposeful: A college is an educationally purposeful community, a place where faculty and students share academic goals and work together to strengthen teaching and learning on the campus
Open: A college is an open community, a place where freedom of expression is uncompromisingly protected and where civility is powerfully affirmed.
Just: A college is a just community, a place where the sacredness of the person is honored and where diversity is aggressively pursued.
Disciplined: A college is a disciplined community, a place where individuals accept their obligations to the group and where well-defined governance procedures guide behavior for the common good.
Caring: A college is a caring community, a place where the well-being of each member is sensitively supported and where service to others is encouraged.
Celebrative: A college is a celebrative community, one in which the heritage of the institution is remembered and where rituals affirming both tradition and change are widely shared.
If you want to check out the original text of Campus Life: In Search of Community, you can see it here.
Understanding Your Community
Understanding the dynamics and relationships among your residents is essential for creating a positive living environment. A floor sociogram is a tool that can help you gain valuable insights into these dynamics. Your supervisor may even guide you through one of these activities.
What is a Community Sociogram?
A floor sociogram is a visual representation that maps the relationships and interactions among residents on a particular floor of a residence hall. It provides a comprehensive view of social connections and groupings within your community. By creating and examining a sociogram, you can gain insights into the floor’s social structure, friendships, and potential areas of concern.
If you’re a user of Roompact’s software, you’ve got your own form of a sociogram built in! This can be a helpful visual to use to keep track of your community.
Creating A Community Sociogram
Begin by obtaining a copy of your floor plans (or just draw one yourself). Using the instructions you can download here, start drawing and making marks on your sociogram. Take a moment to reflect on your community and what this helps you learn.
Identifying Social Clusters
A sociogram allows you to identify social clusters or groups of residents who frequently interact and spend time together. By visualizing these clusters, you can better understand the existing friend groups and social dynamics within the floor. It can also help you to create programming that caters to the interests and needs of specific groups. For instance, if there is a cluster of residents who share a common interest in a particular hobby or activity, you can organize events or workshops related to that interest. Additionally, you can identify potential residents who may feel socially isolated and work towards integrating them into existing clusters or creating new connections.
Identifying Key Influencers
A sociogram can reveal residents who serve as key influencers or connectors within the community. These individuals might have extensive connections and play a crucial role in facilitating social interactions among their peers. You can leverage their influence to promote engagement, encourage participation in floor activities, and enhance communication among residents. You can work together to develop initiatives that encourage social integration, such as mentoring programs, or social events that facilitate interactions across different clusters. Recognizing and supporting these influencers can greatly enhance the overall community dynamics and strengthen community bonds.
Addressing Potential Issues
A sociogram can also help you identify potential issues or conflicts. By analyzing the sociogram, you can detect patterns of isolation, exclusion, or strained relationships. This understanding allows you to intervene proactively and address these issues before they escalate. When a sociogram reveals isolated or disconnected residents, you can initiate one-on-one conversations, provide support, and offer resources to encourage their integration into the community. You can also identify any cliques or exclusive groups and take steps to promote inclusivity, ensuring that all residents feel welcome and valued.
Download this PDF for an example of a sociogram activity.
(Credit to Meredith Mickaliger, Occidental College, and the Loyola Marymount University Student Housing Office).
Co-Creating Community
The best communities in the hall aren’t the ones where the RA runs every program. When you stop thinking of yourself as an event planner (or the sole event planner) and start treating community as something you build together with your residents, the whole vibe changes. Residents start taking ownership, not just showing up.
- What kind of leader do you want to be in your role?
- How can you help encourage residents to take ownership in their community?
Strategies For Building Community
Using Food
Food can be a great tool for building community. It’s not just about hosting an event and having food there as a mere draw. Make the food itself the star. Hosting cooking nights, snack tastings, or cultural potlucks can help residents connect in a relaxed, welcoming environment. The goal is to create spaces where people feel comfortable, talk, and get to know each other better through shared experiences. Check out this article for more ideas:
Using Music
Music is also a simple yet powerful way to build connection in your community. Ask residents about their favorite songs to spark conversation and learn more about them. Use background music at events or study nights to create a welcoming vibe. Create a shared playlist where everyone can contribute a track. Music opens the door for deeper conversations and helps create a more connected, supportive space. Check out this article for more ideas:
Using Social Media & Online Tools
Community building doesn’t just happen in the physical space. It can also be enhanced online through group chats and social media. As a student staff member, you can leverage this to create online spaces where residents can share events, recognize each others’ successes, problem solve community issues, ask to share items, or create memories. Check out this article for more ideas:
Community or “Floor” Meetings
Facilitating Your First Floor Meeting – Words of Wisdom
by Mary Triano, Area Coordinator, Syracuse University
One of your first opportunities to initiate community is through your first floor meeting. Ask yourself:
- What tone do I want to set?
- How should I introduce myself and my role?
- How can residents get to know one another?
- What do residents need to know?
- How can we discuss the type of community we want to have?
- How can I make it fun?
Facilitating Community Standards
Another strategy for improving community empowerment, communication, and accountability is to develop Floor Community Standards. These are shared agreements developed by residents to guide how they want to live together. It’s a collaborative process where residents, with your guidance, establish expectations for respectful and responsible living.
What Are Floor Community Standards? Think of them as a social contract created by and for your floor. They go beyond hall policies (which may provide a “minimum”) and cover mutually agreed upon guidance on things not always covered by a policy. These standards might cover things like:
- Quiet hours and noise expectations
- Guest and visitation policies
- Shared space etiquette (bathrooms, lounges, kitchens)
- Communication preferences and conflict resolution
- Cleanliness and respect for belongings
They reflect what the residents value and how they want to treat each other. Importantly, the standards are written down, reviewed regularly, and updated as needed.
Your Role as RA or Student Staff. You’re not there to dictate the rules. You’re there to facilitate the conversation and guide your residents through the process. That means:
- Hosting a community standards meeting early in the semester
- Encouraging everyone to share their perspectives
- Helping residents find common ground
- Documenting the agreements in a way everyone can access
- Revisiting and revising the standards as the year progresses
This process also helps with early intervention, including issues like excessive noise or guests overstaying their welcome can be addressed more easily when there’s a shared, agreed-upon standard in place.
Creating A Fun And Celebrative Community
Making appreciation a regular part of your interactions (like acknowledging residents’ efforts, starting check-ins with something positive, or encouraging peer shout-outs) can strengthen trust and belonging. Simple activities like Gratitude Jars, Appreciation Walls, or “Star of the Floor” recognitions help make gratitude visible and fun. When residents feel seen and valued, it creates a psychologically safe space where everyone is more likely to contribute, engage, and thrive together.
Your Extended Community: Facilities & Custodial Staff
As an RA or student staff member, building strong partnerships with custodial and facilities staff is essential. These team members work diligently behind the scenes to maintain clean and functional living spaces. To foster collaboration, start by learning their names, acknowledging their efforts, and encouraging residents to respect shared areas. Act as a communication bridge by promptly reporting maintenance issues and informing them of upcoming events that may impact their work. Including them in community activities and showing appreciation can strengthen these relationships. Understanding their schedules and workloads, and advocating for solutions to recurring problems, demonstrates empathy and support. By cultivating mutual respect and open communication, you contribute to a more cohesive and supportive residential environment.
Residents vs. Friends?
As an RA or student staff member, balancing your role as a community leader with your personal relationships can be challenging, especially when you have pre-existing friendships with residents. While these connections can enhance your experience, it’s crucial to establish clear boundaries to maintain professionalism and fairness. Without proper boundaries, issues such as perceptions of favoritism, biased enforcement of policies, and blurred lines between personal and professional roles can arise. To navigate this, communicate openly with your residents about your responsibilities, set distinct limits between your personal and professional interactions, and seek guidance from supervisors or experienced RAs when needed. By proactively addressing these dynamics, you can foster a respectful and effective community environment.
Roompact’s software has some built in messaging features you can use to communicate with your community.
Questions To Ponder:
- How do you define community?
- What does it feel like to be in a strong functioning community?
- How do you help facilitate community on your floor?
- What are areas where your community could develop further? How can you help this?
RA360 Outcomes:
RAs and student staff members will be able to:
- Define community.
- Describe how an ideal community might look and function.
- Apply strategies to develop community amongst residents.
More To Explore
RA360 is a set of resources organized around skills, topics and competencies relevant to Resident Advisors and similar related student staff positions in college and university residence halls.
