Office
of Residence Life
UPPER-DIVISION
HALLS
2011-2012
Introduction:
The
upper division residence halls include Central,
The
upper division plan includes activities to promote student interaction, attend
to social needs, and generate opportunities for students to contribute to
community life. The upper division plan
continues to provide students with opportunities for reflection and exploration
of citizenship while also providing opportunities for them to examine their
undergraduate goals and plan for their future success within and outside of the
University.
Staff
members are expected to follow the guidelines within the program plan in
developing and advertising activities.
An emphasis is placed on partnering with professionally trained staff,
students, and/or faculty whose involvement will enrich the proposed plan.
With
the exception of the floor and building meetings held at opening, all
activities detailed in this plan are attendance-optional. Students will not face penalties, perceived or
real, for failing to engage in residential activities and programs. Staff and
students will be informed that no activity in the residence halls is mandatory
for students to attend.
Repeating
themes in the program plan are noted below.
The selected themes place a heavy emphasis on student-to-student
interaction and connection. This is in
response to assessment data from the 2010 Floor Feedback Survey. This survey showed
that residents in upper division residence halls would like additional
structured opportunities that facilitate resident interaction.
Repeating Themes in the
Upper Division Program Plan:
Community Meetings:
Community
meetings are about the residents – a time for them to learn what is happening
in their community, discuss any events that might be coming up in the residence
halls or elsewhere on campus, and a time for them to get to know each
other. To that end, the Resident
Assistant will have responsibility for bringing forward relevant information
ranging from Complex Community Council elections and break closing information
to Recyclemania and student code of conduct policies. Resident Assistants should build the topic
portion of their meeting based on their Resident Connection conversations and
discussions with their Residence Hall Coordinator or Hall Director. Through Resident Connection conversations,
Resident Assistants will invite residents to develop and facilitate a social
activity to take place during the Community Meeting. Resident Assistants will be available as a
resource to the activity if it needs to be facilitated and funding will be
provided by the Office of Residence Life. These meetings will happen each month
at the floor level (or combined floors as appropriate).
Weekly Service Initiatives:
Complexes
will design and hold weekly service opportunities for interested students to
“give back” and socialize with other students in the community. This series has been successful in the first
year area during the 2010-2011 academic year and it is anticipated that rising
sophomores will again participate in these activities in their 2011-2012
residence hall communities. The
successes include raising awareness about service organizations, attendance by
a large number of varying residents at events, and cohorts of students
developing relationships based off of common interests. These are all of the types of resident to
resident interactions desired by the upper division population. Each complex will take on one initiative for
the entire year organized by the Complex Coordinator and the Student Engagement
Advisor (SEA) with oversight of the program belonging to the SEA.
·
Independence
South will put on a coffee house program benefiting the American Red Cross
·
·
Central
Complex will host craft nights to benefit the Boys and Girls Club
·
Community News:
Each
complex will promote news of the complex and community on a monthly basis. Centralized information will be compiled by a
committee of staff chaired by a Residence Hall Coordinator. Postings in the community news should include
relevant UDaily articles, information shared from other units on campus,
environmental sustainability information, activities from the program plan, and
any topics students would like to contribute.
The Complex Coordinator will have oversight for all items posted in the
monthly news for their complex. The news
medium will be electronic which can take the form of an electronic document
sent via email to residents, a blog, Facebook, or other electronic methods
which are attractive to residents and appropriate for the information.
Environmental
Sustainability:
In
order to promote the
Fall
Art Show
Students
will have the opportunity to make displays made from recycled items. Each complex will host an art show of these
displays. Pictures will be taken of each
display and put on-line for voting by each of the complexes. The top displays will then be part of a
centralized art show during Art Under the Stars where
a final voting will occur from judges representing residents, RSO’s and
administrators.
Spring
Yard Sale with Concert
Two
Sales – Laird Turf (Indy South and Towers) and Trabant (
The
Upper Division professional staff team will partner with RSOs who have an
environmental sustainability focus to organize the yard sales. Students will have the opportunity to bring
their unwanted items to the yard sale location and will be given a credit for
the “value” of that item. Yard Sale
Credit or cash can be used to purchase items during the yard sale. Donated items will be sought which have a high
interest for purchasing (i.e. gift certificates, etc.) to entice people to
donate more. Each yard sale team will
work with facilities to also give credit for carpet brought for the carpet
recycling program. All left over items
will be donated to Salvation Army and/or UDon’t Need
It and all money collected will be donated to the RSO’s charity of choice.
A
student talent concert will occur the evening of the yard sale to celebrate the
successes of the sale and showcase information about the successes of the
university around environmental sustainability from the past year.
Monthly
Efforts
Monthly
environmental sustainability activities will become part of other monthly
events. Staff can choose to incorporate
one of the following ideas into weekend events, resident connection activities,
or community meetings. When possible, events
will be ongoing and incorporate competition into the activity.
·
Family
Feud style competition – Teams of residents will have the opportunity to be
part of a quiz style competition.
Participating residents will be asked questions on environmental sustainability
based on information available from the University of Delaware website, winning
team goes on to the next week’s competition.
·
Complex
Clean up – Teams of residents will have the opportunity to go room to room to
collect recycling items and make a mascot from those items recycled.
·
Community
or contained gardens – Residents will have the opportunity to create a garden
in a designated location or use recycled bottles or egg cartons for mini
terrariums. Ongoing tips for making your
garden grow or transplanting seedlings will be offered to keep residents
interested and informed.
·
BYOP
(plate) and BYOM (mug) – Residents will be encouraged to bring their own items
to use during events where food is involved.
Residents will receive a ticket to enter a raffle at the end of the
semester and/or credit for the spring yard sale.
·
Bike
Tune Up – Residents will have the opportunity to tune up their bicycles as well
as have them marked through UDPD’s property identification program.
·
Sustainable
Dining – Residents will have the opportunity to meet with the campus dietician
to learn how to eat a healthy and environmentally sustainable diet.
·
Weekly
trips to the Co-Op Farmer’s Market – Residents will have the opportunity to
visit the Newark Farmer’s Market located at the Co-Op on
·
Community
Garden – Residents will have the opportunity to go to UD’s
Resident Connections:
The
RA-resident relationship can be critical to the success of a residence hall
student. In the upper-division halls, the role can often evolve from one of
support, common in first year areas, to a partnering relationship. Community
meetings, residence hall student government (CCC), and the promotion of campus
events will continue to be priorities as ways to promote resident
connections. In addition a series of optional
Resident Assistant to resident conversations are included as part of the plan for
students who wish to participate. Additional
training will be delivered on a monthly basis by the professional staff in the
upper division area to provide content information on the topical area.
The
conversations are designed to connect residents to the relevant campus resource
for the month’s topic(s) as well as to the After Class Showcase (see below) activity
for the month. Resident Assistants will also ask residents for assistance with
upcoming Community Meetings (see below).
Conversations will also focus on specific needs expressed by the
resident to the Resident Assistant. Resident
Assistants will also pay attention to the needs of our residents who are upper
division students, but are new to campus such as transfer, Associate of Arts
graduates, and international students.
Resident
Connections Topics:
|
Month |
Topic |
|
September |
Welcome,
get to know each other, connecting residents to other residents, resident expectations/goals
for living in residence hall, Student Initiative Fund |
|
October |
Connect
residents to campus resources for: Choosing a major (Center for Counseling
and Student Development, Academic Units); internships ( |
|
November |
Wellness
|
|
December |
Building
closing, winter session updates |
|
January |
Connecting
residents to each other |
|
February |
Welcome
back, contributions to community (service initiative connections) |
|
March |
Preparing
for the next stage – moving off campus &/or graduation |
|
April
* |
Relationships
with roommates and significant others |
|
May
* |
Being
safe on and off campus with specific emphasis on personal and property safety |
* These topics are
introduced during the opening floor and building community meetings held during
opening. These topics are repeated in
the specified months as these topics are historically prominent issues for upper
division students during these time frames.
After Class Showcase:
Each
month, the complex staff will develop an activity in collaboration with a
Division of Student Life unit or a student services unit (i.e. Writing Center,
Communication Fellows, Library Workshops, Academic Enrichment Center, etc.) to
highlight the work and/or a specific event of that unit. This will allow our students to learn new or
enhance skills as well as be encouraged to take advantage of services offered
on campus with which they may not yet be familiar. Residence Hall Coordinators and Hall
Directors will work with the Resident Assistants and residents to decide which resource
would best serve residents during that month’s activity. The Complex Coordinator will coordinate
invitations to campus units.
Student Spotlight:
The
monthly student spotlight is a way for the entire community to recognize the
outstanding work done by our residents. Efforts
that should be spotlighted can include academic success, community
contribution, environmental sustainability, and extracurricular activities. Nomination for recognition can be done by
students and staff members. Students
will need to provide permission to be spotlighted and will have full editing
oversight for all information posted connected to this recognition. When appropriate, this recognition should
lead to the student’s nomination for the National Residence Hall Honorary “Student
Spotlight” award for the month in which they are recognized. Recognition can be done by building, area, or
complex as appropriate for the structure of the complex. The Complex
Coordinator will be responsible for setting up procedures for publicizing,
nominating, selecting, and posting information about monthly spotlights.
Faculty Connection
Opportunities:
A
wide variety of opportunities will be made available for
Weekend Events:
Weekend
socials are a time for our residents to relax with their fellow community
members. To highlight the high
percentage of students involved with registered student organizations (RSOs)
and the diverse offerings of these organizations, staffs are encouraged to
partner with residents involved in RSOs in developing these activities. Weekend events will take place each week and can
take place during Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings on building or
complex levels.
Bulletin Boards:
Bulletin
Boards are an important visual representation of both information and the
community. Resident Assistants will have
access to a number of bulletin board topics developed by a variety of Residence
Life staff members which have been approved by the Associate Director. RAs will be provided with current information
and encouraged to create a creative display.
Topics may include: Items related to the program plan (i.e. Resident
Connections, We are UD, Faculty Connection Opportunity, etc); recognition
themes celebrated by the University (i.e. Hispanic Heritage Month, Constitution
Day, Earth Week, etc.); and topics proposed and developed by residents. Bulletin boards will be changed monthly with chosen
topics and quality approved by supervisors in the buildings.
We Are UD:
A
monthly posting will be crafted, with the participation of appropriate units,
to offer information on major commemorative dates such as Latino Heritage Month,
African American Heritage Month, World AIDS Day, Earth Day and others. The
monthly posting will also provide students with a listing of activities,
events, and campus lectures should they wish to explore the topic further. Resident Assistants can encourage attendance
based upon what they know residents enjoy or opportunities they are looking to
take advantage of on campus.
Student Initiative Fund:
The
Student Initiative Fund (SIF) is an Office of Residence Life opportunity which
allows residents to create events in the residence halls designed to initiate
and continue resident interaction. Upper
Division students prove to be a great resource for programming ideas and their
desire to meet other residents on their floor can be met in part by encouraging
use of SIF. Residence Hall Coordinators
and Hall Directors will work with the Student Engagement Coordinator to develop
an initial SIF kick off event will be held in each complex to make residents
aware of this opportunity and residents will be encouraged throughout the year to
develop activities to be funded through the SIF to increase interaction. In the past three years, the SIF has been utilized
by many upper division residents and this level of participation will be
encouraged to continue.
Complex Community
Council:
Complex
Community Councils (CCCs) are leadership groups that exist in each complex.
Students will be encouraged to participate and become an active member of their
community through the CCC. Student participation will allow them the opportunity
to share thoughts and have an influence on the community. Each CCC is advised by the Complex
Coordinator with assistance from the Residence Hall Coordinator and Hall
Director staff. Residence Life Staff
will provide a kick-off event to introduce students to the CCC, facilitate the
election process to maximize student involvement opportunities, and provide
meeting space appropriate for all students to take part in their CCC regardless
of involvement level. Ongoing CCC
activities will be developed by members of the CCC and will take place each
month, supported by Resident Assistants and Hall Directors through promotion
and attendance.
Department Wide
Opportunities:
Staff
and residents will have opportunities to participate in a variety of additional
activities supported by the Office of Residence Life. Examples of this include “Art Under the Stars” which takes place in Central Complex and is
planned by both staff and students; Special Interest Housing (