House Adviser 2019-2020
House Adviser 2019-2020
The Purpose of HAs
The HA role is designed for students who plan to live on campus and aims to enhance the residential housing experience for students at Reed College by supporting the educational priority of Residence Life. HAs build community through programming, intentional relationships, and resource referral in agreement with the mission, vision, and values of the department of Residence Life.
Position Responsibilities
Departmental Support and Teamwork:
- Participate in and support departmental processes, including: Room Registration, HA selection process, working groups or committees, professional staff searches, storage, and social media presence
- Attend and participate in bi-weekly area group meetings, area group programming, and response to community issues
- Participate in all Residence Life evaluations and assessments (including training, programming, and staff evaluations)
- Attend and participate in all HA training sessions
- Participate in hall openings and closings, including but not limited to, completion of room/common area inventories
- Assist in staffing and coordinating Orientation Week activities as assigned by your supervisor
- Comply with all guidelines and requests related to obligated reporting, confidentiality, and e-discovery
- Adhere to all Reed College and Residence Life policies and procedures, including the AOD policy and the Housing Contract
Community Building:
- Help create a safe, healthy, and inclusive atmosphere within your area group and community in support of our educational priority
- Collaborate with your residents to establish community expectations during the beginning of the year community meeting
- Proactively address deviations from community norms and/or resident concerns that adversely impact the wellbeing of individuals or the community
- Promote dialogue and education around the Honor Principle and its application in the community
- Educate residents about Residence Life policies and procedures, the AOD policy, and the Housing Contract
- Maintain accessibility to your residents by living in your community, regularly scheduled office hours, and intentional engagement within the community
- Facilitate conflict resolution through direct communication with residents or by consulting with appropriate resources, such as your supervisor or Honor Council
- Exercise non-judgmental, appropriate student support and referral in accordance with the limitations of your job:
- Refer crisis situations to Community Safety and/or other appropriate resources
- Serve as a non-confidential resource for students in need of personal, academic, health, or mental health support services
Administrative Duties and Communication:
- Attend and engage in one on one conversations with supervisor on a bi-weekly basis
- Communicate directly with your supervisor about your personal needs related to the job in addition to resident and area group issues, unless otherwise instructed
- Create professional and/or personal goals and work with your supervisor to establish strategies and skills related to those goals
- Receive and give constructive feedback about job performance and relationship with supervisor
- Check and respond to phone/email communication with others in Residence Life within 24 hours, except on scheduled breaks from school or the position
- Pick up and hang posters from HA mailbox each week by the specified timeline
- Open and read the weekly HA newsletter and act on any relevant information, including passing on opportunities to your community and completing assigned tasks
- Send maintenance and housekeeping requests to Physical Plant in a timely fashion and inform your supervisor when issues are urgent or go unresolved
Programming:
- Coordinate programming connected to Residence Life’s educational priority and learning goals, including individual programming, community discussions, office hours, and quarterly area-wide programming
- Contribute to quarterly area-wide programming in collaboration with your supervisor and fellow HAs
- Facilitate community discussions as directed by your supervisor, including opening, closing and pre- Renn Fayre meetings
- Hold office hours two hours each week and communicate office hour attendance and changes to your supervisor
- Complete all programming documentation and administrative tasks as outlined by supervisor
- First Year Community Programming: HAs in these communities are focused on building individual relationships and supporting residents in their transition to Reed. Within these communities, we aim to have no more than 15 first years under each HA.
- Three intentional conversations with each first-year and transfer resident during designated periods and an intentional effort to connect with every other community member one-on-one
- Two passive programs per semester
- Two social programs per semester
- Upper Division Community Programming: HAs in these communities are focused on providing access to Reed resources and facilitating honorable interaction between communities. We aim for an average of 30 residents under each HA and expect there to be some size variation due to building limitations.
- Intentional effort to connect with every community member one-on-one
- In collaboration with your supervisor, plan evenly spaced and community-specific programming approximately every other week for a total of 7 programs per semester
- 2 programs are connected to on-campus resources
- Combination of active and passive programming
- Assist residents in event planning and party implementation, as needed
- Additional responsibilities vary by community:
- Language House HAs: One large-scale cultural activity or event each semester open to all of campus; supporting house members in speaking the house language
- Apartment HAs: Encourage positive roommate and neighbor relationships; Communicate with staff and residents about facilities management and safety concerns
- Co-Op HAs: Guide the establishment and maintenance of a cooperative living environment; Participate in the community as a Co-op member (including attendance at approximately 5 community dinners a week, assigned chores, grocery shopping, and weekly house meetings)
Training and Obligatory Work Periods:
HAs are expected to be on campus for the following dates in order to attend and participate in all trainings, continued trainings, and work periods.
- Spring Training and New HA Welcome: Friday, April 12, 2019
- Fall HA Training: Thursday, August 15, 2019 - Sunday, August 25, 2019
- HAs may begin moving in Wednesday, August 14, 2019
- HAs are asked to speak with their respective supervisor for information about scheduled free time during this period.
- Orientation: Monday, August 26, 2019 - Sunday, September 1, 2019
- HAs are asked to speak with their respective supervisor for information about scheduled free time during this period.
- Fall Semester Hall Closing: Friday, December 20, 2019
Halls close for residents at noon. HAs must be present for hall closing and are permitted to leave as soon as their closing responsibilities are completed. Communicate with your supervisor about timing for travel plans ahead of time.
- Paideia: Friday, January 17, 2020 - Sunday, January 26, 2020
- HAs are free to schedule their time outside of Tuesday, January 21, 2020
- Winter Training: Tuesday, January 21, 2020 (all day)
- Spring Semester Hall Closing: Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Halls close for residents at noon. HAs must be present for hall closing and are permitted to leave as soon as their closing responsibilities are completed completed. Communicate with your supervisor about timing for travel plans ahead of time.
Continued HA Trainings (CHAT): Dates and times to be determined
For your application to be considered, please submit the following:
-Recommendation Form (only for new applying HA's)
-Cover Letter and Resume submitted via Handshake that addresses the following prompts for new applying HA's:
- Tell us about a community that has been important to you and how you were involved in it
- How would being an HA contribute to your experience at Reed?
-Returning HA cover letter prompts:
- What are you looking to change next year and what challenges are you looking forward to?
- What year(s) of students do you feel most strongly that you can support (i.e., seniors, juniors, sophomores, first-years, transfers)
Applications are due prior to 12PM Noon on February 5th, 2019