Resident Assistant relationships with residents can be complex and varied with far-reaching influence. On the whole, residents were satisfied with their RAs’ attempts to build a relationship (Forty-four percent very satisfied, twenty percent moderately satisfied, eleven percent slightly satisfied). Only three percent of the nearly 300,000 respondents were very dissatisfied. An additional three percent were moderately dissatisfied. The experiences between residents with relationships and those without relationships with their RA are markedly different across all areas of the Resident Assessment. Residents who reported high satisfaction with their RAs efforts to get to know them reported higher satisfaction not only with their RA’s performance, but also with facilities repairs. They were also more likely to indicate improved self-management skills and a likelihood of recommending on-campus housing and the university to others.
The Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I), in partnership with Skyfactor (formerly EBI MAP-Works), has developed the ACUHO-I/Benchworks Resident Assessment to gain insight into resident perceptions. The Resident Assessment is based on ACUHO-I/CAS professional standards, provides information on resident perceptions, and demonstrates to residents that their perceptions are important. In the 2011-2012 academic year, 299,678 students participated in this assessment. This research note explores how Resident Assistant (RA)-resident relationships affect the overall experience of residents.
- A better relationship with the RA results in higher satisfaction with the RA’s performance.
- Respondents who were satisfied with their Resident Assistant’s efforts to get to know them were more likely than other respondents to be satisfied with the quality of the programs in their residence hall.
- Additionally, these residents reported higher satisfaction with their RA’s overall performance. Ninety-six percent of residents who were satisfied with their RA’s efforts were also satisfied with their RA’s overall performance, compared to only seven percent of those who were dissatisfied with their RA’s efforts.
- A better relationship with the RA creates a more supportive living environment.
- Residents who reported satisfaction with their RA’s efforts to get to know them were more than twice as likely to feel a sense of trust, and feel like they belonged on their floor or in their community, than their peers who were dissatisfied with their RA’s efforts.
- Residents who reported that their Resident Assistant got to know them were nearly twice as a likely to feel their peers were concerned for the academic success than their peers who reported that their RA did not get to know them.
- A better relationship with the RA is also related to higher satisfaction in other housing and residence life areas where the RA has little or no responsibility.
- Residents who reported satisfaction with their RA’s efforts to get to know them were more satisfied with the timeliness of facilities repairs, compared to their peers who were not satisfied with their RA’s efforts (sixty percent compared to thirty-four percent).
- While the difference is smaller, a similar relationship exists between RA relationship and satisfaction with the value of dining plans. Thirty-seven percent of residents who had a relationship with their RA were satisfied with the value of meal plans, compared to eighteen percent of residents without a relationship with their RA.
- Residents with a relationship with their RA felt safer on campus at night. Of residents who had a relationship with their RA, sixty-five percent were satisfied with their feeling of safety walking on campus at night. Among residents who were not satisfied with their RA’s efforts to build a relationship, only thirty-six percent were satisfied with their feeling of safety walking on campus at night and 21% were dissatisfied with their safety.
- A better relationship with their RA supports students’ greater self-management and interpersonal skills.
- Residents who reported that their RA got to know them were more likely to report they are able to solve their own problems as a result of living on campus. Sixty-eight percent of residents who were satisfied with their RA’s efforts to get to know them reported being able to solve their own problems, compared to only forty percent of residents who were not satisfied with their RA’s efforts.
- Residents with relationships with their RA were more likely than their peers to report an ability to resolve conflict as a result of living on campus (sixty percent compared to twenty-six percent).
- Living on-campus enhanced the ability to study effectively in sixty-five percent of residents who had a relationship with their RA, compared to thirty-six percent of residents who did not.
- Living on-campus enhanced the ability to manage time effectively in fifty-one percent of residents who had a relationship with their RA, compared to twenty-four percent of residents who did not have a relationship with their RA.
- Students who have a relationship with their RA are more likely than their peers who did not develop relationships with their RA to be report higher satisfaction with their overall experience on-campus and at the university.
- Residents who had a relationship with their RA were more likely to be satisfied with their overall academic experience than their peers who did not develop a relationship with their RA. Sixty-eight percent of residents who were satisfied with their RA’s efforts to get to know them were also satisfied with their academic experience, while only forty-two percent of residents who were not satisfied with their RA’s efforts were also satisfied with their academic experience.
- Residents with relationships with their RA were more likely to be satisfied with their on-campus housing experience than those residents who did not develop a relationship with their RA (sixty-four percent compared to twenty-seven percent).
- Seventy-one percent of residents who had a relationship with their RA would recommend living on-campus to a friend. Thirty-nine percent of those residents who did not build a relationship with their RA would recommend living on-campus to a friend, and twenty-three percent would not recommend living on-campus.
- Seventy-six percent of residents with relationships with their RA would recommend the university to a friend. Only fifty percent of residents without a relationship with their RA would recommend the university to a friend.
Conclusion
Relationships between RAs and residents are related to a wide range of positive outcomes. Essentially, residents who do not feel their RA attempted to build a relationship with them experience college differently from peers who do have a relationship with their RA. Residents who have not developed a relationship with their RA are less satisfied with their RA’s overall performance, are less likely to feel that they belong in their residence hall, report lower satisfaction with university services, and are less likely to experience the positive outcomes of living on-campus. Not surprisingly, they are also less likely to recommend on-campus housing and the university as a whole to their friends. On the other hand, the students who have developed a relationship with their RA are significantly more likely to be satisfied with their RA’s overall performance, their residence life experience, their academic experience, and the institution as a whole.
