The Office of Residential Life (ResLife) will decrease the number of Head Residents (HRs) next year and reduce the responsibilities of the position. This decision was prompted by an external review of ResLife conducted last year by the Association of College and University Officers-International (ACHUO-I).
Completed in the spring, the review observed flaws in the system for supervising Residential Advisors (RAs). The reviewers suggested eliminating the HR position and increasing the number of Area Coordinator (AC) positions.
HRs currently supervise RAs and help with dorm community building, administrative details, residential programs and problem solving. In turn, the HRs report to an AC. However, there is not an HR for every group of RAs, in which case the RAs sometimes report directly to the AC such as Hi-Rise and In-Town.
The Undergraduate Residential Life Committee (URLC) said that the HR position was too valuable to be dissolved.
“We felt that it was valuable to keep the position, but that it would be useful to standardize what the different levels of authority are,” said Rebecca Solow ’04, co-chair of URLC and WSA chair of Student Affairs Committee.
Based on their input and other ResLife members’ opinions, ResLife has decided that next year all RAs will report to an AC who will work in partnership with the HRs.
“The HRs will no longer directly supervise [the RAs], but work closely with ACs to make sure each area is positive and responsible,” said Dean of Student Services Mike Whaley. “The only thing we’re changing is the supervisory piece.”
“It’s more of an evolution of position than a dramatic change,” said Brandon Buehring, AC for Foss Hill, Clark Hall, and 200 Church.
Butterfield A and B HR Colin Bumby ’04 said that this change is “the wrong direction for Wesleyan.”
“It reduces responsibility,” Bumby said. “Essentially what’s happening now is that the HRs have a significant role in maintaining the building and supervising student staff. All this would be turned to [the administration]. Every time the administration looks to reduce the student responsibility they reduce the students’ ability to learn through extracurricular means.”
The number of AC positions will be increased from three to five and the number of HR positions will be decreased from seven to five. The projected benefits of these changes are a simplified supervision chain and improved resources for students, according to the professional ResLife staff.
The HR position is considered to be a senior RA. They are usually junior and senior undergraduates who have shown excellence as RAs.
“The HRs have a considerable amount of responsibility,” Buehring said. “I’ve been incredibly impressed with the HRs this year in handling their administrative and residential duties as well as their team building. I think it’s a lot of pressure on an undergraduate student and there are lots of things an AC can help out with.”
In contrast to the HR position, an AC is a member of the ResLife professional staff. According to the ResLife website, their responsibilities include providing support and guidance to RAs, creating socially-just communities, managing program houses, coordinating staff training and implementing programs for freshmen.
“Overall the report was really helpful to set a direction over the next few years,” Whaley said. “Not all of the things recommended were a surprise, but it was helpful to hear them from an outside source. The URLC has recommended to move forward on many of the recommendations, but also [found] many are off-base.”
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