Abstract:
Resident Assistants (RAs) have a challenging position. They are in charge of a floor or a hall of college students and perform various duties to ensure the best success of the students. For some universities, the RAs are required to enforce housing policies as well as encouraged to be helpful and supportive for residents. Enforcing policy can have negative results, because by enforcing policy an RA may upset a resident and possibly change a resident's views of the RA. In this analysis, the perceptions RAs think residents have of them (and what perceptions residents actually have) will be studied. The study will also look at whether or not, or to what degree, the perception residents have of RAs affects how RAs perform their responsibilities. This study was based on information collected from thirty-eight Resident Assistants at Ball State University, as well as twenty-nine residents living in various campus residence halls. This study is in no way exhaustive and should only be used as a means to gain insight and reasons for further investigation on possible factors that cause poor RA performance.
