Resident Assistants

Resident Assistants (RAs) are student leaders selected by the Residence Life department to live alongside their peers to build connections and help maintain the standards of the residential communities. Resident Assistants offer support to students who are having difficulty with roommates or other community members, need assistance finding the appropriate on-campus resources, need maintenance requests submitted, and much more. 

Duties & Responsibilities

It is important to note that while this is not a list of all the responsibilities of an RA, it gives a general idea of the expectations of student leaders within the Residence Life and Housing staff.

• Resident Assistants must attend a training that begins about a week and a half before the start of the semester. RAs attend weekly staff meetings on Wednesdays during Common Hour, from 10:40 to 11:40 a.m.
• RAs serve on an on-call rotation with other staff who live on campus. During this rotation, RAs will complete rounds of campus at night, walking the residence halls to ensure the buildings are secured and the communities are staying within guidelines. RAs also respond to phone calls from residents or professional staff that assist residents between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
• RAs should know their residents by name and are responsible for a specific floor or group of residents throughout the year. RAs will submit maintenance requests for the members of their community and communal areas, communicate issues and concerns for the community to their supervisors, and occasionally check in on the mental and social well-being of their residents.
• RAs also do inspections of the residential rooms twice a semester to ensure the room is being kept clean and residents are following all guidelines outlined in the Residential Contract. RAs also stay after the semester to help the department prepare to close the buildings.

RA Recruitment & Selection

For those interested in joining our team, our recruitment and selection process is traditionally held at the beginning of the spring semester for employment starting the following fall semester. To apply for the position, you must have lived on campus for at least one semester, either at Queens or at another university, and plan to be enrolled full-time throughout the next academic year. Students must maintain a good academic and conduct standing with the university to be selected as and remain Resident Assistants.