Office
of Residence Life
2008-2009 Program
Plan
Introduction
Upon the first
day of hall opening, students will encounter Arrival Survival Teams and will
meet a welcoming resident assistant (RA) staff as they pick up keys, activity
and event information, orientation materials, safety information, and get an
early opportunity to join hall government. On their floor, the student will see
a set of information boards with tips, staff contact information, welcome signs
on their door, and the RA’s best effort to decorate floor public areas in an
informative and welcoming fashion. Technology staff will work to get all
students hooked in to the electronic campus. Connections with parents will be
established through a residence hall meeting. Students will be introduced to University
policies. Safety and security guidelines will be reviewed and discussed. From
the outset, students will be encouraged to get to know their neighbors, have
fun, and make good choices as they begin their lives as college students. After
the first “meet and greet” activity as a floor, the RA will invite students to
attend one of several first-week evening activities designed to welcome all to
campus. This is simply day one in the
residence halls at UD.
Residence
hall operations are carried out 24 hours a day during the academic semesters
and these operations are comprehensive and multi-faceted in serving the needs
of the University’s more than 7,300 resident undergraduate students. Hundreds,
if not thousands, of social and fun activities take place in the residence
halls every year. Some of these are as
simple as visiting with the RA in the lounge – some require far greater
planning. They are all part of an
integrated whole that makes up student life in the residence halls. During the time that they are occupied by our
students, our residence halls are our students’ homes. They are the places students return to after
a long day of class and where they come for sleep, comfort, solace, relaxation,
and fun. The Residence Life staff at the
Program Goals
The Residence Life program encourages
students to become engaged and active citizens by understanding how their
thoughts, values, beliefs, and actions affect the people with whom they live
and by recognizing their citizenship responsibilities at a local, national, and
global level. Exploring concepts of citizenship is a meaningless activity in
the residence halls in the absence of solid strategies for the development of
residential communities. A major premise for the citizenship priority stems
from the idea that students have significant opportunities for peer dialogue
and idea exchange in the residence hall setting. Peer interaction is not only
one of the most significant determinants of student satisfaction, but a
powerful influence in overall student success in college. Establishing a
healthy and engaging community is a pre-requisite to any exploration of
citizenship. Reaching out to students and encouraging them to share their
unique perspectives with others is also foundational. Social activities,
serious discourse, and general feelings of belongingness are all related to the
overall sense of community. The result of efforts by Residence Life staff
should be the development of strong student-to-student connections and the
creation of healthy and positive communities.
In order to develop program
goals in a meaningful manner, significant limitations were considered. The
value of putting our energies towards a limited number of program goals in
order to do them well, rather than do many poorly, was in our minds as we
crafted this proposal. Most importantly, these program goals have been drafted
through a serious exploration of the
Structural
Considerations:
The formulation of program
goals for the residence halls began with a series of structural design
characteristics and assumptions:
Proposed
2008-2009 Program Goals:
Working with the FYE
Office, the Office of Undergraduate Studies, and other UD entities that support
an institutional approach to an integrated first year experience, Residence
Life will strive to provide learning opportunities to students that contribute
to the achievement of the FYE student learning outcomes. The Residence Life program will provide
opportunities for students to:
Proposed Activities - First-Year
Residence Hall Areas
This First-Year residential plan will be implemented where
first-year students live including Rodney, Dickinson, Russell, and Independence
Complex. This plan was developed in an effort to support the educational and
social needs of the first-year students living on-campus. We have created a series
of activities that promote interaction, prompt self-reflection, and facilitate
the building of a sustainable community through exploration of citizenship. The
programs will not only support the individual needs of students and floor
communities, but will also build connection among students across all first
year complexes. It should be noted, that participation in all activities is
entirely optional.
Residence Life staff members in first-year areas strive to provide
students with the skills and resources they need to transition from high school
to college. College serves as a period of critical personal and identity
development.
Cornerstones
of the First-Year Program Plan:
Resident Assistant (RA) and Resident
Relationship:
The RA-resident
relationship can be critical to the success of a first-year student. A series of optional RA conversations are
included as part of the plan to help stimulate this important
relationship.
Community
of Stakeholders:
For our purposes a stakeholder is defined
as a person or group who can affect or is affected by
actions in the halls. We believe that students are members of multiple
communities. In each of these
communities, we hope students will analyze both their responsibilities and the
benefits of community membership. Floor
meetings will provide opportunities for students to explore these issues.
Floor Meeting Series:
The floor
meeting series offered in the first-year areas will include discussions of
sustainability and provide students with opportunities to explore the relevance
of sustainability to their lives as UD students.
Personal Development Series:
Through this monthly program series,
students will be offered opportunities for personal and individual
development. The specifics of this
series will be developed based on assessment by building staff and student
input.
Complex
Community Council (CCC) Structure:
As in the
past, CCCs will be student-governing bodies that will make meaningful decisions
about what occurs in their living environment and the types of opportunities students
in the complex have available to them. While some CCC activities are articulated in
this plan, many will be determined throughout the year by the students residing
in the residential complex.
A Vibrant and Engaged Campus:
The
Current & Relevant:
The programs
and activities in this plan are designed to anticipate and react to what is
occurring in the local, national and global landscape. Our students will have
the opportunity to participate in dialogues attuned to real world problems and
issues.
Traditional Residence Hall Activities:
While the
task at hand is the development of a program plan, the Office of Residence Life
coordinates the following activities.
Some of these are mentioned in the plan that follows in an effort to
illustrate the breadth of staff activities.
·
Welcoming
floor environments - door decorations, bulletin boards, lounge decorations,
advertising of campus events, birthday boards, etc.
·
Floor
dinners, study breaks and stress relievers
·
Facilitation
of roommate and community agreements
·
Mediation
of student conflicts
·
Programs
related to health education and wellness
·
·
Leadership
opportunities through hall governments and special interest communities
·
Talent
and art shows/contests
·
Intramural
athletics and tournaments (dodge ball, volleyball, Frisbee, soccer, field days,
etc.)
·
Video
game tournaments and traditional game nights
·
Activities
co-sponsored with dining services
·
Monthly
resident recognition activities with the National Residence Hall Honorary
·
Service
projects (book drives, food drives, volunteering, other fundraising)
·
Recycling
efforts
For a full description of how Residence
Life activities and programs will be assessed, see Appendix 2 on page 44.
The program plan that follows has many
similarities to residence life programs across the country. See Appendix
3 on page 46 for examples of the variety and types of programs being
offered elsewhere.
August/September
|
|
Title |
Description
|
Program Goals Connection |
Support for Academics |
|
Programs |
Personal Development Series |
This
program series will be developed based on assessment by building staff and
student input. Topics may include time
management, transition, home-sickness, test taking skills, budgeting,
exercise and nutrition, body image, stress management, conflict resolution, negotiating
new roles with parents, hygiene. |
1, 3,
& 5 |
|
|
The
Many Perspectives on Sustainability |
A
campus-wide program with faculty which will provide students with the
opportunity to learn about different perspectives and insights related to
sustainability. Faculty representation will include those from disciplines such as
business and economics, sociology, political science, and environmental
sciences. UD’s Sustainability Task Force will be asked to help develop this
program. Break-out group
conversations on specific topics will follow the event for students seeking
additional information and discussion. |
2, 4, 6,
& 7 |
|
|
|
Campus Safety |
Community Police Officers: Provide information about campus
safety and University programs. (building-staff) |
3 & 7 |
|
|
|
Individual Consumption Introduction |
Students will be introduced to the concept of individuals’
consumption in relation to environmental impact. This will be an important prelude to power
and energy conservation efforts in the halls. (building-staff) |
1, 3 &
7 |
|
|
|
Social Events |
Spirit Week Events |
A week of events focused on strengthening students’ connection
with each other and the UD community. Events will focus on building school
spirit and friendly rivalries among floor communities. (football game, volleyball tournament, etc)
|
|
|
|
Eat & Greet |
An event to help residents connect with their floor community.
RAs will take their residents to the dining hall for a meal during the 1st
weekend of the semester. |
|
|
|
|
1st Night Activities |
RAs will take residents to a series of activities that help them
become acclimated to the campus culture and community. |
|
|
|
|
Floor Meetings |
Building Meeting |
HDs/CCs introduce learning opportunities for the year, present info.
about residence hall policies, student code of conduct expectations, CCC
recruitment, and introduce RAs.
(building-staff) |
3 & 7 |
|
|
Opening Day Floor Meeting |
Introduction of community members and discussions about
community expectations. Facilitate community team builders to establish
connections among residents. Remind
residents about Alcohol EDU. (floor-RA) |
2, 3, 6
& 7 |
|
|
|
Community
Meeting |
All
floor residents will be able to engage in activities to discuss individual
goals, expectations, and visions for the floor community. The group negotiates among individual
expectations to develop a mutually agreed-upon statement of community
standards and a set of goals for the year. (floor-RA) |
1, 3, 6,
& 7 |
|
|
|
RA Conversations |
Individual & Mutual Goal Setting |
RAs will offer to meet with individuals and or roommates to help
them discuss their visions for the community. Residents will have a chance to
discuss their individual and mutual goals, as well as set the groundwork for
a relationship with their RA. (floor-RA) |
1, 2, 3,
5, 6 & 7 |
X |
|
Bulletin Boards |
CCC Structure and Info |
Visual
display of CCC (residence hall government) structure and election
information. |
3 |
|
|
Floor Visuals |
Floor
visuals to announce programs and activities and create a welcoming
environment for community members. |
7 |
|
|
|
Latin American Heritage Month |
Information
about the Latin American community in the |
2 |
|
|
|
Student Leadership Opportunities |
Information
about the different leadership opportunities available on campus and around
the city of |
3 |
|
|
|
National Campus Fire Safety Month |