Use Training Sessions to Prepare RAs for Their Duties

Madison, Wis.—June 25, 2008 — Adequate, up-to-date resident assistant (RA) training is becoming more important as more students are arriving at college with mental illness and other concerns. In this online seminar, Brian Van Brunt, director of counseling and testing at Western Kentucky University, and Jason Ebbeling, associate dean of student affairs at Menlo College recommended that RA training includes:

1) Information on when RAs should refer--rather than attempt to solve--a problem

RAs are often the first contact for students in distress or who need counseling, Van Brunt said. As a result, it’s crucial for RAs to know when they don’t have the skills necessary to resolve a building problem or a full-blown crisis.

During the seminar, Van Brunt and Ebbeling reviewed a three-level rubric RAs can be trained to use to make decisions about when to call in help.

“I think it’s really important in terms of RA training to talk to students about how they can back away from situations,” Ebbeling said.

2) Role-playing in communication and conflict management skills

RAs need time to practice what they have learned in training, Van Brunt said. As a result, role-playing is an important part of RA training.

“I think explaining this stuff on paper is one thing,” Ebbeling said. “But I think actually having people exercise and practice these skills is what can make a difference between someone who [is] a good conflict resolver and someone who struggles a bit more.”

Van Brunt and Ebbeling role-played four conflict management techniques later in the seminar.

3) Background in student development theory

“Obviously, there’s been a lot of work on how much college students change from when they start college to when they complete college,” Ebbeling said. “It’s a huge time of growth for them, and we really need the theory to guide our practice.”

The theory can help RAs understand the changes residents are going through and to help those students place their experience into a context of growth and change, he said. Theory can also help RAs anticipate what kind of help might be needed at what time of year.

If you missed the live event, you can order the program in CD or print transcript format, both of which include the presenter's handouts.

Magna Publications is a leading publisher of newsletters and other information products in the higher education segment. Magna also manages onsite and online conferences on topics of interest to higher education.

For more information please contact David Burns, Publisher, Magna Publications, Inc., at 608-227-8109, or dburns@magnapubs.com.