Summer Resident Assistant (SRA) for University Level Students (2024)

SRA - serving University Level students

Open Positions

Stanford Summer Session is hiring approximately 55 Stanford undergraduate students to serve as live-in residence hall staff as Summer Resident Assistants (SRAs) for visiting & matriculated undergraduates. Summer Resident Assistants are employees of Stanford University. The positions are part-time and tasked at ~20 hours per week.

All staff must be available to move into their summer residence on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, complete online training, and attend an evening in-person training session. Most positions will be assigned to the 10-week summer term, ending at 12 noon on September 3, 2024. A small number of positions will end earlier, ending at 5 PM on Sunday, August 18, 2024.

Note: the SRA position is employment through Stanford Summer Session, which is separate and distinct from R&DE or ResEd. Although the SRA position has many similarities to the RA position during the academic year under ResEd, the SRA role is unique.

Program Overview

Stanford Summer Session admits around 530 visiting undergraduate and graduate students for the Summer Quarter – Stanford’s fourth academic term. These students enroll in courses and share living space with approximately 1,000 Stanford students who elect to stay on campus during the summer months. Visiting students complete a selective admissions process to participate in the program. These students enroll in 8 or more units; Stanford students may take courses as well, or engage in on- or off-campus research or employment opportunities.

Summer Session students are academically focused and also eager to participate in Stanford’s campus life and culture. They come to campus expecting to participate in a residential based community and engage with other visiting students and current Stanford students. Every Summer Session residential community provides vibrant programs to engage students in Stanford culture, enrich their academic experience, create social and community connection, and promote health and well-being. Summer Session also offers programs that span the residences and bring together different residential populations for academic and social programming.

SRAs are assigned responsibility for a specific dorm that houses a particular population of students. Most dorms include a varying ratio of visiting and matriculated Stanford students. One dorm will exclusively house the International Honors Program which brings college students from around the world to live on campus and participate in the program.

Visiting students will leave campus at the end of 8 weeks; most Stanford students will stay on campus for 10 or more weeks. All Summer Session students and staff have access to campus services and recreational facilities.

Position Overview

Summer Resident Assistants support individual student development, build a healthy and inclusive community and are visible summer role models and leaders for residential students. Staff help develop educational opportunities that complement and extend classroom learning as well as planning recreational and social activities.

It is imperative that applicants understand that the Residential Experience organizational structure during the summer is distinct from the structure that oversees residential education during the regular Stanford academic year and functions outside of the new neighborhood model. SRAs are supervised by unique summer staff members known as House Directors (HDs). House Directors report to the Assistant Director for Residential Experience for the Summer Session program. Many House Directors are hired via a selective internship program that specifically attracts individuals from across the country seeking careers in student support and higher education. HDs bring a wealth of student affairs experience from their home institutions to the Summer Session staffing structure, and provide a crucial layer of supervision and guidance. As highly motivated graduate students, HDs are responsible for directing all aspects of the residence hall they are assigned to for the summer.

SRAs will work with both visiting undergraduates and Stanford students who remain on-campus for the summer. They are expected to know and enforce both University and Summer Session policies and community expectations, and to orient resident students to these policies and expectations. Some of these policies and expectations differ in the summer from those of the Stanford academic year. Additional information about Summer Session rules and responsibilities is explained later in this job description.

Essential Functions

Role Model and Leadership. Residential student staff members are highly visible within the Summer Session community, and they are expected to conduct themselves professionally, both in and out of the residence, at all times. Residents often seek advice from their staff, and therefore, staff should be able to be an active and effective listener, communicate support to students, and refer issues of concern to the appropriate Summer Session staff. All staff should model respect for all people and work together to build a community based on equity and inclusion.

Community Development. SRAs should be highly accessible in the residence and around campus, especially during the evening and weekend hours. Residential student staff members are required to live in their assigned residence and dine frequently with residents. SRAs serve as the primary orientation staff for Summer Session visiting undergraduates. As a large number of Summer Session students are international students, residential student staff members must exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity. In addition to orienting international students to the US college classroom and US culture, staff should be prepared to address concerns unique to international students and work to build an inclusive community.

Student Intervention and Crisis Management. Summer Session residential student staff members are at the forefront of student interaction and are most familiar with students’ needs, challenges and concerns. As such, SRAs are expected to act as a mediator during conflict situations; identify concerns and refer students to appropriate resources; address inappropriate resident behavior and policy violations; and assist during urgent and emergent situations (fire, health, safety, etc.).

Programming. Residential staff are responsible for designing, planning, executing, and staffing a variety of programs throughout the summer, either social or co-curricular in nature. These programs may be organized for all students living in undergraduate residence halls, or may be restricted to an individual house or population of students. Staff are encouraged to use their interests and passions, as well as those of their residents, to develop creative, informative, and educational programs. Programs should aim to enhance the academic and social experience of the communities served, should be implemented consistently throughout the summer, and should take into account the academic calendar and other trends observed in the community. Staff are also expected to support Summer Session program-wide events by encouraging resident participation, assisting with facilitation of activities, and organizing in-house programing to support these events.

Support of Summer Session Initiatives. Summer Session coordinates a number of community-wide events , such as talent shows, dances, intramural tournaments, speaker series, Day-of-Service events, end of program celebration and more that require SRA support. In addition to planning and coordinating programming within each residence hall, all summer student staff are expected to sign-up to support three to four of these community-wide events, which occur on a weekly basis throughout the Summer Quarter. Sign-ups for specific events will be coordinated by professional Summer Session staff members or House Directors, and time spent working will be included as part of the weekly time commitment.

Terms of Employment

Stanford Affiliation. SRA applicants must be current Stanford Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors. SRAs may staff the summer immediately following their graduation in June (their terminal summer). Staff must be eligible for Housing.

Good Academic Standing. Summer Resident Assistants must be in good academic standing with the University.

Living in Residence and Community Dining. Room and board is part of the compensation for this position and SRAs are required to live in the space provided by Summer Session for the duration of the assignment. They are the residential student staff member in the assigned residence and address residential concerns. As such the SRA is required to stay in a private room provided by Summer Session which includes a meal plan and shared community bathroom.

SRAs are expected to be present and visible in the dorm to be a resource for residents. This expectation includes eating some meals with residents through the provided meal plan.

Outside Obligations. Staff may pursue outside work or other activities on- or off-campus up to 20 hours per week. Other jobs at Stanford, combined with SRA work hours, cannot exceed 40 hours per week. Staff must disclose information about their outside work or other Stanford jobs and courses to the Assistant Director for Residential Experience in Summer Session, and Summer Session professional staff may consult with SRA’s other employers as needed. Staff should not have regular outside responsibilities that prevent them from participating in evening and weekend SRA responsibilities.

On-call. The residential student staff members work as a team to ensure on-call coverage of all Summer Session residences. SRAs serve as part of the on-call rotation, which includes late night hours (9pm-2am). Each staff member can expect to have 3-10 on-call shifts during the summer to address emergent and urgent issues.

Conduct and Policy Enforcement. Residential student staff will adhere to, administer, and enforce policies and procedures as outlined in the Summer Session Program Handbook, the Stanford Residence Agreement, and all other University and Summer Session policies. Staff must be willing to address, document, and handle disciplinary situations and serve in a position of authority in the residences and within the Summer Session community.

Alcohol and Drug Policy. Summer Session residential staff members are not allowed to consume, possess, or be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or controlled substances:

In or near the residences of high school students participating in Summer Session;
While on-duty or on-call;
SRAs under the age of 21 may not consume, possess or be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or controlled substances on campus at any time during their tenure.
SRAs over the age of 21 may possess and consume alcohol, but not marijuana or controlled substances, in their private residential space. They may not supply or consume alcohol with any resident or underage staff.

SRAs are highly visible role models and should conduct themselves accordingly. Failure to abide by the Alcohol and Drug policy will result in immediate termination of employment and suspension of housing and dining privileges.

Overnight Away and Guests. Staff may not be away from campus overnight without permission requested well in advance from both their House Director and the Assistant Director for Residential Experience. SRAs may have guests in the residence to the extent allowed by the Housing Agreement.

Training and Welcome Weekend. Staff are required to attend and actively participate in all staff training sessions. SRAs are required to move in by Tuesday, June 18, 2024, complete online training, and attend an evening in-person training session. In-person SRA training is June 19-21. Training will last all day and often extends into the evening hours. Staff are required to attend and participate in Welcome Weekend (June 22-23, 2024) events. Failure to attend training or participate in Welcome Weekend is grounds for dismissal and loss of housing and dining privileges.

Background Check. Staff must successfully complete a LiveScan fingerprint background check before Welcome Weekend. The Live Scan appointment should be completed by June 4, 2024 to allow sufficient time for processing and results to be received by Stanford.

Ideal Candidate

The SRA position is an exceptional opportunity in leadership development. Applications from mature and highly motivated applicants with a strong leadership background and potential for success in this unique residential context are welcomed and encouraged. The successful candidate will demonstrate initiative, creativity, responsibility, and maturity. They will be able to work independently and as part of a team, with exceptional decision-making skills in ideal and high-stress situations. They will demonstrate leadership among peers and the ability to lead a diverse group of students. They will have creative ideas and the skills and capacity to follow through on them. The ideal candidate will have an eye toward creating, planning, and executing engaging events for a diverse audience.

Compensation

Compensation during the employment contract dates will include pay of $18/hour, housing (private room), dining plan (15 meals/week or stipend, for eligible students), and student fees (housing technology fee and the campus health service fee).

Staff are expected to work 20 hours per week. Stanford Summer Session provides a $25/month cell phone stipend (pro-rated), which will be paid via Stanford payroll. Stanford does not reimburse cell phone costs. A Summer Session cell phone is provided during on-call shifts.

Please note that the compensation is only for the employment contract dates rather than the entire summer; however, spring-to-summer housing is included for staff who are living on campus during Spring Quarter. Housing for weeks 9 and 10 in summer is also included for SRAs who are assigned to the IHP program (8 weeks) and choose the option to continue living on campus those weeks.

Application Details

To apply for a residential staff position, please complete the online application and indicate your program preference. The application asks for a resume and reference. Qualified applicants will be invited to an interview. Applications submitted by 3/13/24 will receive priority consideration. We will continue to accept applications after this date until all positions are filled.

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Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note: Visa sponsorship is not available for the SRA position. All candidates must be eligible to work in the U.S. and live in the U.S.

SRA applicants must be able to complete the onboarding process in person on Stanford campus prior to or by June 13, 2024.