Resident Advisor in RedwoodAt — CSUF - Housing and Residential Engagement

The Resident Advisor (RA) is a student leadership position within Housing and Residential Engagement. RAs are live-in student leaders who foster community connections, support student wellbeing, and promote academic success within residential environments.

Key aspects include:
Core Focus: Building meaningful connections with residents, facilitating conflict resolution, supporting academic success, and implementing the Residential Engagement Model
Time Commitment:
Duties: On-call emergency response (including overnight duty), community programming, policy education, room inspections, and administrative tasks
Training: Mandatory trainings in August, January, and ongoing in-services throughout the year
Timeline: Full academic year commitment (August 2, 2026 – May 15, 2027)

Learning Outcomes  

Demonstrate effective communication and mentoring skills by facilitating intentional conversations with residents that support their personal development, academic success, and sense of belonging within the residential community.

Apply crisis management and critical thinking skills to respond appropriately to emergency situations, resident concerns, and policy violations while maintaining composure and following established protocols and procedures.

Facilitate conflict resolution and mediation by helping residents navigate interpersonal conflicts, roommate disagreements, and community concerns through active listening, fair assessment, and collaborative problem-solving.

Implement community engagement initiatives by designing and executing residential programming that promotes inclusivity, wellness, and academic support while assessing the effectiveness of these efforts.

Training  

Conduct bi-weekly one-on-one coaching and mentoring sessions to provide personalized feedback on the student's interactions with residents, discuss challenging situations they encountered, and guide them in applying communication and conflict resolution strategies. These sessions will allow for reflective practice and skill development tailored to individual learning needs.

Facilitate structured role-playing scenarios and case study discussions during staff meetings where RAs practice responding to crisis situations, policy violations, and resident conflicts in a safe environment before encountering them in real residential settings. This will build confidence and critical thinking skills through simulation-based learning.

Provide direct observation and real-time feedback during community engagement activities, room inspections, and resident interactions, offering immediate coaching on professional communication, de-escalation techniques, and appropriate decision-making to reinforce desired behaviors and competencies.

Tasks/Duties  

Communication & Mentoring Skills: Conducting and documenting individual check-in conversations with residents, including proactive outreach to students who appear isolated or struggling academically.

Crisis Management & Critical Thinking: Completing incident reports and Maxient documentation that accurately reflect resident concerns, policy violations, and emergency responses with appropriate detail and professionalism.

Conflict Resolution & Mediation: Facilitating mediation sessions between residents experiencing conflicts, with needed supervisor observation and feedback on listening, fairness, and problem-solving approach.

Community Engagement & Programming: Planning, promoting, and executing residential programming event each semester that supports wellness and community connection.