Graduate Assistant - Residence Life

Graduate Assistantship – Residence Life 

Department: ​Office of Residence Life​ 

Position Title: ​Graduate Assistant​ 

Supervisor Name & Title: ​Michelle McCullers, Associate Director of Residence Life​ 

Academic Year: ​2025-2026​ 

Provost Tracking #: ​FY26-SA-37​ 

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to): 

Staff Development, Training, and Co-Supervision 

Present and participate in professional and student staff training. Topics may include, but are not limited to, community development, diversity and inclusion, crisis management and response, student wellness, sexual assault and violence prevention, bystander intervention, and conflict resolution. 

Attend weekly one-on-one meetings with their supervisor to discuss student staff, residents, and community concerns. 

Attend weekly area staff meetings and co-host weekly student staff meetings. 

Facilitate the programming model through the approval, evaluation, and tracking of RA programs. 

Participate in the annual Resident and Graduate Assistant selection process. 

Perform and support collateral assignments for departmental functions. Graduate assistants will work out of the main office to support a variety of administrative tasks and projects including support of New Student Orientation, Move-in, Move-out, room changes, and building walkthroughs. 

Student Development 

Analyze current room inventory and seek to understand, match, and reassign students based on observed compatibility factors, student needs, department guidelines, and University resources. 

Practice effective listening and communication skills when meeting with students and student staff.   

Manage current room assignments.  

Demonstrate effective problem solving and referral skills when working with students. 

Mediate disagreements among students and facilitate the room change process as necessary. 

Crisis Response 

Serve on the resident assistant on-call duty rotation. Staff members will serve on a weekend (Friday-Saturday-Sunday) duty rotation that will be created in consultation with other area staff members. During these duty nights, you will be called upon to respond to any St. John’s University Student Code of Conduct and Residence Life Handbook violations as well as student crises. Document and refer students as needed. 

General Responsibilities

Administer room condition and key inventory processes. 

Coordinate with Facilities Management to ensure timely response to work order requests. 

Facilitate opening and closing building procedures. 

Conduct health and safety inspections. 

Manage key inventory. 

Ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and maintain confidentiality in the maintenance of student information and record keeping. 

Use Banner and StarRez resident management systems which consist of accessing, updating, and modifying student information. 

Provide customer service to students, guests, and other St. John’s employees seeking assistance at the Office of Residence Life 

Attend weekly departmental meetings. 

Other duties as assigned by Director of Residence Life or designee. 

Eligibility Requirements 

Applicants must be enrolled full-time (9+ credits) in an approved academic program (see below). 

Must maintain good academic standing and meet the enrollment requirements. 

Must commit to working 20 hours per week as part of the assistantship/fellowship. 

Accepted Academic Programs 

​​Due to the wide range of responsibilities for this position, the Office of Residence Life seeks applications from a diverse array of majors and backgrounds with specialties in:  

​Business, Marketing, Education, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Hospitality, Mental Health Counseling, Psychology, Social Work, Accounting, Actuarial Science, Audiology, English, Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Public Health, Public History, Risk Management, School Counseling, Sports Management, Theology, Teaching Literacy, History​ 

Required Qualifications 

​​Previous Residence Life, Student Life, and/or Housing experience. 

​As the position is time-intensive, you may not have any full-time commitments outside of the department (ie. Part-time employment, student teaching, internships, and/or other assistantships). 

​Graduate Assistants for Residence Life must reside in housing provided by St. John’s University. 

​​Compensation & Benefits 

Tuition Remission: 

$8,750 per semester covering tuition only.  

Stipend (Fall through Spring) 

$4,000 

This position is offered for one academic year only—Fall 2025 and Spring 2026—provided the student maintains full-time enrollment of at least 9 credits each semester.