POSITION DESCRIPTION: TEACHING RESIDENT ASSISTANT

HOUSING & DINING SERVICESRESIDENCE LIFE

GENERAL:
The Teaching Resident Advisor (TRA) position combines the skills and expectations of the Resident Advisor (RA) position
with an academic focus by performing Teaching Assistant (TA) duties. TRAs will be highly involved in developing
community while creating a strong academic environment within a residence hall. This community is unique among
living-learning communities across the nation. As part of the Universitys Flagship 2030 plan, the community will examine
and respond to concern around global resources, sustainability, and social innovation. TRAs will assist the Residential
Academic Program (RAP) faculty as TAs in a classroom-setting in addition to performing typical RA tasks, including oncall duty shifts. This requires being an emergency contact as well as a resource for residents in those buildings.
Similar to the RA position, the TRA position requires the ability to develop and guide a cohesive and inclusive community
while supporting the academic mission of the University through one-on-one conversations and demonstration of
personal integrity. A TRA must be accepting of all personality types, and must be open-minded, non-judgmental and
willing to celebrate diversity in all areas. It is important they be sensitive and empathetic, and able to adapt to changing
circumstances. In addition, the TRA must be able to incorporate academic initiatives into the residence hall environment
and have high involvement with classes offered within the hall.
The TRA must be able to communicate attitudes of trust, consistency, and honesty. It is also important that they be a
cooperative, contributing, and cohesive member of the hall staff. A TRA should know their own limitations and when to
ask for help. The TRA directly reports to the Residence Hall Director and the Residential Academic Program Faculty
Director.
The TRA position needs to accept the Resident Advisor expectations, which include RA training mandatory dates, Clery
expectations, alcohol expectations and more. Although the time spent by the TRA over the course of a semester will be
roughly balanced between RA and TA duties, it should be recognized that imbalances could occur on any given week
due to phasing of time-intensive activities that differ between the academic and housing aspects of a living-learning
community. It is important for the TRA to maintain regular communications with both the Resident Hall Director and the
Residential Academic Program Faculty Directors so that any imbalances that do occur do not interfere with the
performance of important academic or residence hall duties.
RA TRAINING:
Attend all training sessions. This includes, but is not limited to, scheduled on-going in-service training and diversity
in-service training. Attendance at staff meetings and staff orientation during opening periods is also required for both
fall and spring. TRAs must be available on Wednesdays from 6-8pm for staff meetings.
Return to campus in early August for training with all RAs (about two weeks before move-in). This is an intensive
training period that will continue until school begins. There is a similar, albeit shorter, training that will take place
prior to the start of spring semester in January (about a week before classes begin).
Participate in a leadership retreat in early August.
CLERY TRAINING:
All student staff must abide by the Universitys policy on sexual harassment and the Clery Act
RAs/TRAs are Campus Security Authorities under the Clery Act, and are thus required by law to report the following
crimes to the on-call system and to the CUPD immediately upon learning about the following:
o Criminal Homicide
o Sex Offenses
o Robbery
o Aggravated Assault
o Burglary
o Motor Vehicle theft
o Arson
o Liquor Law Violations
o Drug Violations
o Weapons

COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS:
Keep the Hall Director up-to-date and informed of any and all happenings in the building. A weekly or bi-weekly
meeting is held between TRAs and the Hall Director.
Attend weekly staff meetings.
Represent your Hall, the Housing & Dining Services, and the University in a responsible and positive manner.
Develop a cohesive team spirit with fellow staff members.
Maintain a sense of community ownership on the floor by addressing issues of cleanliness, appearance, conflict, and
responsibility.
Develop personal and meaningful relationships with students on floor and in classes.
Be available to your residents at a minimum of four evenings per week.
Perform administrative tasks and functions throughout the year including responsibilities such as occupancy audits,
programming reports, bulletin boards, door decorations, room damage reports, and check-in/out procedures.
Participate in an on-call rotation of one night per week and approximately 4 weekend days per semester.
Additional expectations as specified by the Hall Director.
Due to the nature of the position, actual hours worked will vary from week to week, averaging over the course of an
academic year 12 hours per week.
Using provided topics, hold intentional one-on-one conversations with at least 60% of residents in each period
(averaging three periods per semester).
TEACHING ASSISTANT/ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS:
Promote an academically successful community by engaging with students and faculty in the Residential Academic
Program (RAP) and the residence hall.
Collaborate with faculty and staff within the building in order to coordinate instructional efforts including, but not
limited to, classroom instruction and the evaluation of students in assigned classes within the hall.
Tutor and assist students individually or in small groups in order to help those master assignments in order to
reinforce learning concepts from the classroom.
Plan programs and other academic initiatives to assist students in becoming successful in the classroom.
Coordinate with academic partners and Resident Advisors to ensure in-hall curriculum and academic initiatives
complement residence hall programming efforts.
REMUNERATION:
Remuneration will consist of room and board in assigned residence hall facilities and $12.50 hourly pay for TA work.
Board is provided only when the dining rooms are open for residents. Please note that the room and board
remuneration received for this position may impact your financial aid package. If you have questions regarding this
issue, please call the Financial Aid Office at (303) 492-5091.
Please note, the period of employment is for the full academic year. Housing is not provided during winter and summer
breaks. Reappointment from one year to the next is not automatic. Staff members choosing to terminate their contract
prior to a full year will be subject to the same penalty fees for any student breaking their housing contract. However,
each situation will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Dual appointments as a Teaching and Research Assistant must
be approved by supervising Hall Director and Residential Academic Program Faculty Directors.
QUALIFICATIONS & GPA REQUIREMENTS:
Prior experience working in Residence Life or as a Resident Advisor is strongly preferred.
Preference will be given to graduate students from the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Experience working with college students in an academic setting is preferred.
Enrolled as a full time student in 12 credit hours of classes as an undergraduate or 6 hours as a graduate student to
maintain the position, unless otherwise approved by the department.
Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Pass at least 67% of all attempted credit hours with a grade of Pass, D-, or better. Attempted credit hours include
all CU hours (all campuses and continuing education) and transfer hours accepted by any other college or
university. Repeated and non-passing grades will also count as attempted credit hours even if the grade is no
longer calculated in the GPA. The following grades are not considered passing: F, I, and W.