You must be a PennWest Graduate Student for the Spring 2025 semester to be considered for this Graduate Assistantship position. If you have not yet been accepted to a PennWest graduate program and are interested in applying for this position, please contact Associate Director Samantha Johnson at SJJOHNSON@PENNWEST.EDU.
QUICK HIGHLIGHTS: Tuition coverage up to nine credits per Fall/Spring semester. On-campus housing is covered by our department (live-on required). Stipend of 20 hours per week at $7.25 per hour.
**Minimum Qualifications: Experience living in a residence hall/ understanding of Residence Life and Housing.
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Graduate Hall Director Position (PW Edinboro)
Description 2024-2025
Position Summary
The Graduate Hall Director (GHD) is a full-time, live-in campus housing graduate student who is under the immediate direction of an Associate or Assistant Director for Residence Life and Housing. The GHD is responsible for the supervision, growth, and development of undergraduate staff members and residents. The GHD assists Residence Life and Housing in maintaining a cohesive, safe, and secure environment within the residence hall. The GHD maintains office hours for students to drop in for contact/meetings and pre-scheduled appointments. The GHDs also serve in a weekend on-call rotation with professional staff to address immediate concerns that may arise.
GHDs are chosen based on leadership experiences, communication, and interpersonal skills, interest in working with students to develop a positive community, and willingness to be actively involved in their own personal growth and development. As a live-in position, the GHD is supervised by their respective Associate or Assistant Director (AD) and/or full-time Residence Life and Housing staff. The GHD will supervise the Community Assistant (CA) staff in their respective hall/area regarding duties assigned by their supervisor(s).
Remuneration
GHDs will be provided with campus housing, tuition up to nine credits per semester, and will be required to work 300 hours a semester or up to 20 hours per week. The rate of pay is $7.25 per hour. The compensation is for the entire period of employment, including all training sessions.
Requirements and Qualifications
· Enrolled as a full-time (9 credits) student within a graduate program at the time of employment.
· Must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA throughout the term of employment. If a student’s GPA, both semesterly and/or cumulatively, falls below 3.0, they will be placed on position probation (within Residence Life & Housing) and will need to agree to an academic behavior plan developed by the student and supervising AD.
· Have good conduct/judicial standing and remain so through the term of employment.
· Maintain confidentiality of sensitive student information.
· Must have residence hall living experience as an undergraduate or graduate student for at least two semesters. Prior Community Assistant/Resident Assistant experience is preferred.
· Complete a successful interview and have positive references.
· Must live in campus housing assigned by the Residence Life and Housing office during the term of the GHD position.
· Will be required to purchase a meal plan, as a student residing on campus.
· Required to complete all paperwork, clearances and trainings prior to employment start date.
Appointment Period
· The GHD role is annual (academic year fall and spring), with the opportunity for renewal based on performance review and departmental need.
· Fall training will begin in early August and spring training will begin a week prior to opening in January. Attendance at training is required or the position may be rescinded if not able to attend.
- Graduate Hall Directors will be required to move in earlier than Community Assistant staff. As GHDs will have their own training to complete.
Position Learning Outcomes
· Relationship and community building
· Problem-solving and crisis management
· Promoting an environment that advances diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
· Implementing Residence Life and Housing processes
· Organizing community engagement activities
· Time management and punctuality
· Enforcing policies, rules, and regulations
· Paraprofessional experience supervising CA staff
· Task-oriented, regularly scheduled 1:1 meetings, as well as weekly staff meetings with CAs.
Position Placement
· GHD Staff placement is at the discretion of the Residence Life and Housing staff.
· Residence Life and Housing assess the needs of each community, as well as the abilities that an individual staff member can bring to that resident population and the staff team.
· Residential Learning Communities may have specific requirements for membership; GHD positions are aligned with those requirements.
· Residence Life and Housing also strongly considers any “conflict of interest” that may affect placement. For instance, individuals with family or personal relationships with residents or student staff, etc. may not be placed with the same staff.
· The Residence Life and Housing office reserves the right to make changes to placement location prior to and/or during the academic year if deemed necessary.
· In the event the residence hall has configuration changes, Residence Life and Housing reserves the right to reassign the staff to other responsibilities commensurate with GHD room salary equivalents.
Specific Responsibilities and Expectations:
· Administration:
o Maintains and tracks programming expectations for assigned areas
o Assists with bi-weekly CA one-on-ones
o Assists Assistant Directors with administrative and staffing needs
o Submits maintenance requests
o Assist with key inventories for assigned building(s)
o Assist with monthly health and safety inspections of the residents’ rooms.
o When applicable, assist and attend weekly staff meetings to provide information, address community concerns, etc.
· Work five scheduled hours in the main office of Residence Life and Housing
- Assists the Campus lead and Management tech with office duties
- Answers phones and completes administrative office tasks
- Assist with walk-ins and their needs
- Assist student workers with tasks and problem-solving
· Maintain high visibility in halls assigned
- Conduct weekly office hours and post schedule for availability in each building
· Two hours per week will be spent walking assigned buildings in the evenings and checking in with CAs sitting desk. This time should also be spent attending evening CA programs or campus events for visibility and RLH representation.
· Represent RLH for admissions events.
· Assumes “on-call” responsibilities for a designated area of campus for approximately 1-2 weekends each semester including weekends as determined necessary by the AD.
· Encourages and supports undergraduate staff in the implementation of programming within, but not limited to, the residence halls.
· Maintains a continuous line of communication among the undergraduate staff, residents, their supervisor (Associate or Assistant Director), and the Residence Life and Housing Office staff.
· Assists with semesterly CA Evaluations.
· Assists the department in the selection and ongoing development of undergraduate staff members.
· Assist with CA selection and training as advised
· Attend RLH department meetings.
· Performs other duties as assigned.
As the GHD advances through the position, additional work and responsibility may be assigned regarding Residence Life and Housing, this responsibility will be directed by professional staff and the AVP of Residence Life and Housing and will be designed to continue to professionally develop the GHD. Examples may be but are not limited to more responsibility supervising CAs, administrative work, and training.
Evaluation
The evaluation process for the GHD position is designed to facilitate improvement in the performance of the GHD and determine eligibility for rehire. Formal, written evaluations of the GHD will be given at the end of each semester using the Performance Evaluation Rubric. The rubric is an explicit summary of the criteria for assessing each of the outlined position responsibilities, as well as levels of potential achievement for each criterion. The performance evaluation is designed to help clarify expectations for performance and specifically address areas of excellence from those needing significant improvement. Throughout the semester, the GHD will also have consistent individual supervision with an Assistant or Associate Director. During this time, the supervisor will provide informal feedback on job performance as well as suggestions for improvement before receiving a formal evaluation. The GHD evaluation form can be obtained from your supervisor.
Special Notes:
Extracurricular activities and campus involvement outside of Residence Life and Housing are encouraged provided it does not create conflicts with the responsibility of the GHD position. Outside commitments such as part-time jobs and other leadership opportunities need to be approved by the AD before accepting commitment. Should outside commitments interfere with completing GHD responsibilities, the GHD will be given an opportunity to resign outside commitments in order to improve performance.
Due to the nature of the work performed at the university, there is a potential need for 24-hour coverage. Employment is contingent upon satisfactory performance evaluations. The term of this agreement is for a period of not more than one academic year. GHDs are required to report for any event deemed to be All Hands On Deck (AHOD) which includes their own training, hall opening for staff training and building preparation, and remaining through all of the closedown process.
Position is contingent upon Human Resources background checks.