2024-25 RA Application Overview
Application Deadline
Friday, December 15 at 5:00 pm
Applications Closed
Welcome to the Resident Assistant Application Process
By completing an application, you are expressing interest in one of the most important student leadership positions available at IUPUI. Resident Assistants are community leaders, peer educators, friends, advocates, and team players. You get an opportunity to serve others, to develop your skills, to gain valuable university contacts, to work with some of the most talented students at IUPUI, to learn about yourself and others, and to be a part of a supportive team working together to make your community a great place to live. As one staff member said, “You go from feeling like you’re just at the university, to being a part of the university.”
If hired and placed in a position, you will play a critical role in shaping a community where residents thrive. Being a member of the Housing and Residence Life team can be one of the toughest jobs you will ever experience. The demands of this position can be hard, but the benefits are extremely rewarding.
On this page, you will find all the information that you will need to complete an application, along with answers to many of the questions you may have.
To apply, candidates must:
- Be enrolled as a full-time Indiana University undergraduate student at the sophomore, junior, or senior level during the 2024-25 employment period.
- Hold a cumulative 2.5 GPA (based on IU hours) at the time of application and maintain a 2.5 semester/cumulative GPA through the application and employment period. GPA from transfer credits will not be considered.
- Complete at least one semester (fall or spring) as an enrolled student at IUPUI before starting the position.
- Be in good academic, disciplinary, and employment standing with the university.
- Be able to successfully complete a background check conducted by IU Human Resources.
- Have the ability to return to campus prior to the start of the academic year to participate in RA training.
Employment Period:
Residence Life positions are contracted for one full academic year (consecutive fall and spring semesters). The contract period includes all pre-service and in-service training. All staff are required to be in-residence and to participate fully in all training and operational activities which commence prior to the opening of the residence halls. RA staff are expected to stay a few days after finals end in the fall and a few days after Commencement in the spring.
2023-2024 Timeline
Wednesday, November 1st, 2023: The 2024-25 RA application opens!
Friday, December 15, 2023: All applications must be turned via online application. Candidates will receive an email to their IU email account with their full application for their records.
Friday, December 22, 2023: Candidates must have their online information module completed by this date to be eligible to interview. Candidates are added to the module after applying for the position.
Early January 2024: Candidates are notified of their status in the process via email after Fall 2023 grades have been finalized and a good standing check is completed.
Saturday, January 20, 2024: Eligible candidates will participate in a group interview during either the morning (9am-12pm) or afternoon (1-4pm).
Thursday, January 25 & Friday, January 26, 2024: Eligible candidates will participate in an individual interview. Candidates will sign up for their 1-hour slot.
February 2024: Residential Based Learning Communities (RBLCs) will interview candidates for their communities.
Wednesday, February 28, 2024: Offers for positions will be sent. All candidates will be notified of their standing in the process on this day.
Spring Semester To-Do:
- All eligible applicants will participate in a group process. You will be assigned to either the morning or afternoon session after winter break.
- We will conduct individual interviews by invitation based on performance in the group process. All applicants will receive an email detailing whether they have been invited to an individual interview.
- Based on performance overall, Housing & Residence Life will select and assign candidates. This process will occur in late February 2024.
- NOTE: Should you be selected, you will complete a 6-week Resident Assistant class in the spring semester beginning in March. Sections are offered Thursday from 5-7 p.m. and Friday from 1-3 p.m.
Complete the Application Module
All candidates must complete an asynchronous online module for their application to be considered. The module takes 30-45 minutes to complete and will review eligibility for employment with Housing & Residence Life, the interview process and timeline, and the work RAs, SJRAs, and FAs do in their roles. Often, the perception of these roles is different than the daily work that our student staff really do.
Completion of the online information session is required for your candidacy in our student staff roles. Candidates will be added to the module after their application is received. The module must be completed by Friday, December 22 to be considered for the position.
If you have any difficulties accessing the online module when you’re added, please email hrlstaff@iupui.edu.
Completion of the online information session is required for your candidacy in our student staff roles. Candidates will be added to the module after their application is received. The module must be completed by Friday, December 22 to be considered for the position.
If you have any difficulties accessing the online module when you’re added, please email hrlstaff@iupui.edu.
Resident Assistant Position Overview
Resident Assistants (RAs) provide leadership in a residential community on the IUPUI campus. The RA is responsible for building community among residents, supporting diversity and inclusion, enforcing policies, providing after hour services and maintaining an atmosphere conducive for academic and personal success. Each RA reports to a Residence Life Coordinator who provides guidance and feedback in meeting job expectations and support for developing your skills and abilities that will lead to future professional and personal success.
| RA Role | Skills You Build | What You Do |
|---|---|---|
| Community Developer | Relationship Building Community Building Skills Interacting with Difference |
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| Peer Educator | Helping Skills Critical Thinking Designing and Executing Plans |
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| Community Manager | Conflict Mediation Problem Solving Crisis Response |
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| Administrator | Time Management Resiliency Prioritizing |
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*This is an overview of many of the responsibilities an RA is expected to manage as part of their role. To review the full Terms of Employment, please email hrlstaff@iupui.edu.
Social Justice Position Overview
Social Justice Resident Assistants or SJRAs are social justice equity and inclusion-focused RAs who work within Housing and Residence Life (HRL). SJRAs engage with multicultural content, understanding diverse perspectives, facilitating discussions around DEI and social justice topics, creating and implementing DEI initiatives on campus and in the residential communities, and responding to bias incidents within HRL. There will be an SJRA in each of our residential communities and they report to the Residence Life Specialist for Equity Initiatives.| SJRA Role | Skills you build | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Social Awareness & Research | Engaging in peer-reviewed and scholarly research Aware of impacts of social identities Life-long learner |
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| Inclusive Environments | Being present in communities Addressing concerns around bias Creating & implementing educational materials |
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| Advocacy | Advocacy Collaboration Developing positive relationships |
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| Peer Education | Intentional and Educational Initiatives Resource and Consultant Community Advocate |
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*This is an overview of many of the responsibilities an SJRA is expected to manage as part of their role. To have specific questions regarding the role answered, please email hrlstaff@iupui.edu.
Facility Assistant Position Description
Facilities Assistants, or FAs, are the newest live-in student staff position in Housing & Residence Life. FAs are critical in maintaining our communities and do so through an emergency response rotation, and through checking their assigned communities.| FA Role | Skill you build | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Community Responder | Teamwork Skills Critical Thinking Crisis Response |
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| Proactive Manager | Analyzing Information Problem-Solving Tracking & Inventorying |
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| Administrator | Time Management Resiliency Prioritizing |
|
*This is an overview of many of the responsibilities an FA is expected to manage as part of their role. To have specific questions regarding the role answered, please email hrlstaff@iupui.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a student staff member, you're generally expected to spend at least 15-20 hours per week on your floor or in your building, but that is only a guideline. Your floor or building is your home, and you and your fellow staff members are responsible for developing the community environment in that home. Sometimes that means spending a lot of time in your community planning and implementing initiatives, which means at times you will need to plan ahead to balance academic and personal time.
In addition to individual supervisor meetings and training in August and January, RAs have staff meetings every Tuesday night from 9:00pm-11:00pm. RAs are also on-call (or on duty) at least once a week where they must be in their community, conduct rounds, and be available for residents.
Based on our anticipated occupancy for the 2024-2025 academic year, we will have 50 RA positions, 4 SJRA positions, and 6 FA positions available. These numbers include both new and returning staff members. Our current staff do not express interest in continuing their employment until late January.
We expect that being a student staff member will be your top priority after your academic work. Outside obligations that require you to track your hours, via the university time system (Kuali) or on paper, will be approved on a case-by-case basis. This may include, but is not limited to, on-campus jobs, internships, leadership positions, work-study positions, and some scholarship based employment. Co-curricular activities or leadership positions that do not require you to track your hours for pay are acceptable as long as they do not impede your ability to complete the RA job expectations.
RA training begins approximately three weeks before move-in. The exact date for return for the fall 2024 semester is still being determined; however, an exact date will be known by the time positions are offered. RAs are also expected to stay in the halls later into the end of each semester and after Commencement in May until the halls officially close.
Our goal is to hire the most qualified candidates to be Resident Assistants. We use the Preference Sheet as a guide for individual interviews and to make the best community match as possible. Ultimately, the more flexible you are, the more chances you will have to be placed. However, we ask that you are honest in your community preferences and only select communities in which you will accept an RA role.
Compensation includes a room or apartment in the community where the staff member is employed, a $4,000 stipend distributed in bi-weekly pay periods, and a 100-swipe per semester meal plan.
Every student’s financial aid situation is different. If you have questions about your financial aid, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services.
RAs are employed for one term at a time and may reapply for up to two additional terms. A term is identified as one academic year, so it is possible for you to serve three terms as an RA.
If you have any additional questions regarding the selection process, please email hrlstaff@iupui.edu.
Residential Based Learning Communities & the Resident Assistant
Residential Based Learning Communities (RBLCs) are floors, areas, or buildings where students request to live near others that share an interest in a particular social cause or academic area. They give students the opportunity to enjoy the usual advantages of living in campus housing while providing added benefits of living amongst a group of students that have similar goals and interests. RBLCs offer regular events and programming that help build a strong connection with the IUPUI campus, and also bring together faculty, staff, and students around their shared focus.
The Resident Assistant Role:
For each of the RBLCs, Housing and Residence Life looks to hire RAs who have a vested interest in the theme for the RBLC. RAs within an RBLC work collaboratively with not only housing staff, but also the liaisons from other campus entities that work with their RBLC. RAs will work with their supervisor and liaisons to provide programming and initiatives related to the RBLC theme. You do not have to have lived in an RBLC to express interest in serving as an RA for one of these communities, you just have to be excited and passionate about aligning the theme with the living experience.