In some cases, all staff will use common strategies referred to as departmental strategies. Some departmental strategies are for particular types of communities where appropriate.
RA and Resident One-on-One Conversations
All Resident Assistants will meet one on one with each of their residents several times a year. These one-on-one conversations are meant to build strong rapport with residents while helping residents access resources in an intentional way.
Corridor/Community Meetings
Resident Assistants use corridor/community meetings to build community, assess and meet community needs, plan community events, and disseminate information.
Community Agreements and Community Standards
The Community Agreements process is meant to empower residents to make decisions about policies, behavior, and use of space/common property within a corridor or apartment community. Resident Assistants will facilitate these conversations.
Bulletin Boards
Resident Assistants post a new bulletin board every month.
- An August bulletin board welcomes and introduces students to the community
- An April bulletin board outlines hall closing procedures
- Bulletin boards intentionally address one or more learning outcome from the Pillars of Success
Roommate Agreements
Residents are encouraged to complete and discuss their Roommate Agreement with their roommate. The roommate agreement is an electronic document conducted through students' Housing Portal. If a roommate conflict emerges the Roommate Agreement should be used and, if necessary, revised.
Community Leadership Teams
All communities have Community Leadership Teams to engage student leaders in various learning outcomes within the Pillars of Success. Resident Assistants assist Professional Staff in recruiting students to participate in this departmental strategy. Community Leadership Teams are charged with three areas: 1) social and community building initiatives, 2) programming related to the Living Learning Community goals, and 3) advocacy for student and university issues and needs.
Living Learning Community Kick-Offs
Living Learning Communities are central to the residential education experience at Miami University. All Living Learning Communities create and implement a LLC kickoff event that introduces residents to the goals for each particular LLC.
Conversations with Students
Professional staff initiate conversations with many students in their community for a variety of reasons. The purposes of these conversations are to express care for the student and the community, share information if necessary, and where appropriate, make a follow-up plan with the student. Reasons professional staff initiate meetings with student include but are not limited to:
- Regular one-on-one meeting
- Proactive conversation with higher-risk student
- Student-of-concern follow up
- Academic intervention
- Conduct follow up