RA Academics = Success

This week is a somewhat nervous time for us in Residence Life. We are balancing the new students arriving, the departure of those who decided over break not to return, and grade reporting. Like most areas of campus at Southeast, and like many schools, we have specific standards for our Resident Assistants in terms of grades needed to remain on staff. In order to be a Resident Assistant you need a 2.65 cumulative grade point average (gpa). While this is not an unreasonable target, it can from time-to-time be a challenge for some students. Add in the pressure of being in a fish bowl, or as one author noted, “living under the microscope of someone’s curiosity” and the RA job is not always helpful to ones grades.

This past fall semester is one that myself and Kendra, the Hall Directors, and the other Residence Life staff take great pride in. We are very proud of the academic work complete by the Resident Assistants and the results are clear. Our office is proud to have 24 RAs, out of 99, with a 4.0 fall gpa. If we expand the numbers a little we see that we have 45 RAs with a 3.5 gpa or higher, so more than half the RA team was cum laude meaning "with honors" or higher for their fall semester. Additionally, the overall semester gpa for RAs is 3.43, up from a 3.10 for fall 2011.

I cannot overstate how important these grades are to each person. As the Director and Associate Director for Residence Life they are important for two additional reasons:

1. The Hall Directors and RAs who participate in our selection, training, and supervision are doing something right in terms of who they are selecting. This does not mean we don’t have areas we can improve upon, but we should all take some pride in having developed a RA program that is effective in identifying above average students and supporting them as they manage the RA and classroom expectations of their Southeast experience.  
2. Each RA, whether they like it to not, “is living under the microscope of someone’s curiosity.” While residents do not know how successful a student their RA is, RAs serve as role models for many of the students on their floors. Their academic success as a RA has a positive impact on their community. They demonstrate to others that they can effectively manage their classroom and out of class room work and be successful at both.

Kendra, the Hall Directors, and the entire Residence Life staff are proud of the work of our RAs this past fall semester, but we are more proud of how many of them were successful in the classroom.  

Good luck with the spring!