What is The Future of RDs? – Adaptation

Guest Post by Cynthia Moberly, Residence Life Professional

Resident Directors, Hall Directors, Community Coordinators—the list of titles could go  on and on, but their work is generally the same: They are full-time professionals that live  on campus and are the professional foundation of the field of Housing and Residence  Life. They are generally the first line of defense in emergencies, the first person to meet  with a concerned student, and the person that RAs look to for supervision and  guidance. The role has expanded and changed over time, but what might the future of  the entry-level Residence Life professional look like? Who is the typical RD going to be  in the coming years? Let’s examine some trends that point to where the RD role is  headed. 

The non-traditional applicant: More than ever, adults interested in RD roles already  have partners, children, pets, first careers, experience in other fields, and an  established life post-college. Fewer and fewer applicants have taken the traditional path  of Resident Assistant to Graduate Assistant Hall Director to Hall Director. Many have  been working in another area of education, and some are even pivoting from a different  sector entirely. Departments cannot see this as a weakness—they should consider the  strengths that non-traditional paths offer their departments and revise their criteria. 

Masters (especially in HESA) required: In addition to folks with non-traditional  Residence Life backgrounds, RD applicants are looking for departments willing to hire  bachelor’s level candidates or those with varying degree specialties. Candidate pools  reflect this trend clearly. Some institutions have expanded their roles to broadly be  master’s preferred rather than required, while others have gotten creative with the  various roles, titles, and compensation levels offered based on education level. RDs will continue to diversify in their educational backgrounds including whether or not they  have a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs. 

Living on campus: The idea of professionals living on campus has never been such a  polarizing idea as it is today. On one hand, RDs are in one of the rare professions  where you are generally compensated with a salary in addition to free housing and  some type of meal plan. No rent, no utilities, and free food—how could this not be  enough to attract qualified candidates? Of course, salaries vary widely as does the  quality of housing and dining amenities. On the other hand, living with 300 18-year-olds,  sometimes directly below or next to them? That can be a tough sell for someone used  to living in an off-campus home or whose kids’ bedtime is 8pm (quiet hours aren’t until  midnight, thank you). I find more and more professionals hoping to live adjacent to  students— “living on but not in,” and expect that this trend will continue. RDs want a  certain level of independence and privacy that you don’t get when your front door opens  onto the first floor of the residence hall. 

Salary and Compensation: Not only do RDs long for more privacy and independence,  but they desire to be compensated more appropriately. Departments across the country  have struggled to keep up with the demand for salary increases in entry-level roles, especially as the economy struggles to get past the crisis caused by COVID-19. This is  a huge reason for RDs and other professionals leaving the field entirely. Compensation,  hand in hand with requirements such as a master’s degrees and previous experience, is  a huge barrier to recruiting and retaining RDs. Salaries must broadly increase steadily  for the role to remain similar to what it has become. 

Acceptance and Inclusion in the Workplace: RDs are not willing to put up with living  and working in an environment where they cannot be authentically themselves. BIPOC,  LGBTQ+, and Disabled RDs expect that departments do the work to prepare  themselves to hire diverse candidates of all backgrounds. RDs are more willing than  ever to advocate for themselves and their peers and expect HRL departments to act in a  socially just manner. RDs want to see someone that looks like them higher in  administration (not to mention that students and RAs want to see this, too) to stay  motivated in their career. 

Moving on up: RDs are often balancing many facets of their roles on top of managing  the logistics of their communities. They are not only a go-to resource to the students in  their buildings—they are supervising and managing staffs of RAs and often desk staff  and other live-in student staff positions, advising student organizations, counseling  students in crisis during and after business hours, participating in on-call rotations,  planning and executing events, speaking to parents, managing facilities emergencies,  chairing and serving on departmental or university committees, (and much more) while  taking on more than ever during staffing and budget shortages. While the RD role may  be entry-level, RDs are certainly handling extremely important work that can cause  extreme burnout. However, RDs who are committed to staying in the field are often met  with barriers to moving up. The bottlenecking effect in HRL departments causes a lack  of opportunities for RDs interested in moving into Area or Assistant Director roles. In  recent years, the bottleneck effect has eased slightly as mid-level positions become  more accessible to people with slightly less experience, but RDs continue to desire  support from their departments in their desire to move up. Many industries allow entry level professionals to be promoted within 1-2 years if they show excellent work, and that  is not usually the case in HRL. Even the best employees stay in the RD role for several  years or leave the field before opportunities to be promoted arise. 

While applicant pools differ at every institution, the future of the RD position depends greatly on how we adapt our target audience for the role. RDs have adapted to the role over time, and now the role must start to adapt to the RDs themselves.