Graduate Residence Hall Director
Position Summary
Graduate Hall Directors (GHD) are a part of our live-in staff and assist in the daily operation of an undergraduate residence hall. GHDs assist in the supervision of student staff such as, Resident Advisors, Student Desk Managers and Desk Clerks; as well as the administration of hall-wide programming and crisis response.
Experience You'll Gain
- Supervision and Management
- Adjudicating Conduct
- Advising
- Front Desk Operations
- Crisis Management
Perks
- Full Tuition Scholarship
- $11,635 Stipend
- Meal Plan valued at $3,438
- One-bedroom Furnished Apartment
- All utilities covered (water, heat, electricity, basic phone and cable)
- Reserved Parking Space
- Private Office and Desktop Computer
- Opportunities to attend national conferences (GLACUHO, NASPA-IV East, ACPA, NASPA)
Employment Term
Now hiring for the 2023-24 Academic School Year.
Time Commitment
10-month, 28 hours scheduled per week based on housing and meal plan compensation. This position includes additional evening and weekend hours with live-in responsibilities.
Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills
The Graduate Residence Hall Director must be a full-time graduate student at Bowling Green State University. To be successful in this position, the Graduate Residence Hall Director must have a demonstrated desire to work with residence life programs and staff supervision in a residential setting. In addition, the Graduate Residence Hall Director must have excellent interpersonal and written communication skills, excellent organizational skills, and a demonstrated desire to work with underrepresented populations. Prior leadership experience working in a residential setting and experience advising student organizations or staff supervision is preferred
Responsibilities
Major Responsibilities
The specific responsibilities of the position are negotiated between the Graduate Residence Hall Director and the Residence Hall Director with the approval of the Assistant Director for the area where the hall is located. Typical areas of responsibility may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Supervise, advise, train, evaluate, and hire a Resident Advisor (RA) staff, including personal and professional development of RAs and creating a sense of team and camaraderie amongst staff
- Co-supervise the Student Desk Manager (SDM), who also supervises the front desk. The GHD will work with the SDM to hire, train, supervise, and evaluate the student desk staff
- Develop a well-rounded community within the building, focused on the FSRC priorities.
- Opportunity to co-advise Hall Council, or the student governing body within the residence hall
- Develop relationships with and be visible to residents in the building
- Become familiar with available resources on campus and be able to communicate those resources to residents
- Serve on the duty/on-call rotation
- Counsel students and respond to crisis situations that may occur in the residence hall
- Conduct meetings with students who have violated the Code of Student Conduct. Determine appropriate consequences and results of these meetings, including referring cases to the University Level or assigning educational sanctions
- Communicate effectively and respectfully with residents, families, faculty, advisors, and other constituents found on-campus
- Distribute and assist with all paperwork and other administrative duties
- Attend and participate in staff training sessions and meetings
- Attend and participate in staff selection sessions and meetings
- Participate on committees within the University and Residence Life to continue to move the Office of Residence Life toward its mission and vision
Additional Responsibilities Include
- Manage the hall budget
- Create and facilitate professional and personal development for both Resident Advisors and other student staff in the office
- Present or co-present sessions during student staff trainings (Resident Advisor, Community Assistant, Academic Peer Mentor, SMART, Student Desk Manager, and/or Desk Clerk)
- Represent the Office of Residence Life at recruitment and large admissions functions
- Support Bowling Green State University and Office of Residence Life initiatives
Application Process
There are many steps to the application process. If you are interested in applying for the Graduate Hall Director position, please send a cover letter and resume to reslife@bgsu.edu.
| Step 1 |
Apply and be accepted into a Graduate College. |
| Step 2 | Send your resume and cover letter to ResLife@bgsu.edu. |
| Step 3 | Candidates are interviewed on an on-going basis. |
| Step 4 | Decisions will be made on an on-going basis. Notification letters will be sent to selected candidates. |
| Step 5 | Graduate student on-boarding and training begins mid-July, 2023. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Residence Life’s live-in Graduate Student Assistants typically include the Graduate Hall Directors, Graduate Leadership Coordinator, Graduate SMART Coordinator and Graduate Academic Support Coordinator. This policy applies to any individual living within a Residence Life owned/operated apartment as part of the compensation for their assistantship.
The following persons are eligible to live with the Graduate Student Assistant and will be considered a “roommate” for the purposes of this policy.
- Spouse - Person of the same or opposite gender to whom an employee is legally married and defined by the BGSU Benefit Plan Eligibility Policy. Please Note: the benefit policy document does not apply to the partner, but the criteria for eligibility to share the apartment is defined.
- Dependent(s)
For more specific information regarding partners living on campus, please contact the Office of Residence Life.
There are numerous professional development opportunities on campus that are available to Graduate Assistants. Every year both GAs and full-time staff attend and present at regional and national conferences. Commonly attended conferences included: ACPA, OCPA, OASPA, NASPA, NASPA-3E, and GLACUHO.
There are not funds that are provided from the Office of Residence Life, but there are professional development funds that are available through the CSP program, the Division of Student Affairs, and Graduate Student Senate.
Graduate Assistants are trained in a wide variety of areas prior to the beginning of the year and throughout the year. Topics include (this list is not exhaustive):
- Crisis Management & Response
- Desk Operations
- Student Conduct
- Hall Government
- Supervision
- Housing Occupancy procedures and protocols
RA training includes topics such as (this list is not exhaustive):
- Listening Skills
- Mental Health Referrals
- Recognizing and Caring for Individuals in Distress
- Diversity Resources on Campus
- Inclusive Programming
- Bulletin Boards
Although traditional programming does occur in the BGSU residence halls, it is part of an overall residential curriculum. The Falcon Success and Retention Curriculum (FSRC) is the overall framework for community building, programming, and services in the BGSU residence halls. In addition to Social Interaction, other areas emphasized in the model form the basis of our curriculum and encourage our students to successfully transition to college life, invest in themselves and their hall community, build strong relationships with others in their buildings and on campus, and remain at BGSU through graduation from the institution.
Every Hall Director team is responsible for developing and implementing the FSRC for her/his area. Through effective leadership from Hall Directors to RA staff and Hall Council leaders, the activities, initiatives, and interactions planned for the FSRC are attainable and measurable.
All Residence Education staff can select to participate in one committee per academic year. The following opportunities have been offered in the past:
1. Recruitment & Selection
2. Training
3. Diversity & Belonging
4. Engagement & Recognition
5. FRSC & Curriculum Development
GHDs and HDs are conduct hearing officers for incidents occurring in the buildings. Cases that can be heard and sanctioned are violations such as quiet hours, first time alcohol offenses, disorderly conduct, etc. Cases such as drugs, burglary, repeat alcohol offenders, etc. are typically referred up to the Office of the Dean of Students.
The Office of Residence Life directly collaborates with the Office of the Dean of Students on conduct issues. Our conduct philosophy is educationally-focused. Though there are some predetermined sanctions for certain offenses, the goal is to provide the students with a learning experience for the behavior, rather than just the judicial process.
The relationship between a Hall Director (HD) and a GHD is an important one. The GHD will have to opportunity to learn from a professional with a Master’s degree in student affairs and higher education or related field. GHDs and HDs work collaboratively to support their residents, supervise RAs, and manage their buildings. HDs help the GHDs gain a multitude of experiences needed in order to excel in a full-time position in residence life and to make connections between the GHDs’ academic coursework and their positions. When the full-time Hall Director is not available, the Graduate Hall Director should be able to step in and answer questions, as well as manage the entire building operation.
Although many Graduate Assistants choose to take an internship or job at another institution over the summer for a different institutional experience, there may be internships available for Graduate Assistants who would like to stay and work/live on campus over the summer between their first and second year of the Masters program
The Office of Residence Life provides a furnished apartment for Graduate Assistants. These are one bedroom apartments with a full kitchen, bathroom, and living area and have the following standard furniture:
- (1) loveseat
- (1) lounge chair
- (1) end table
- (1) coffee table
- (1) dining table with seating for two (based on the apartment layout)
- (1) full sized mattress set and a metal bed frame
- (1) dresser
- (1) nightstand
- (1) student desk & chair
- A stipend of $11,250 full tuition scholarship
- Staff housing accommodations valued at $10,000
- 10% discount at Falcon Outfitters
- Meal plan currently valued at approximately $3,438 will be provided during the 10-month period of employment*. Full meal service is not provided during academic breaks and at times when the dining halls are closed
- A desktop computer and reserved parking space are also provided, but the student covers the cost of the parking permit (~$125/year)
- All utilities including water, heat, electricity, basic phone service, laundry, and basic digital cable service are provided at no additional cost. All apartments are air-conditioned.
*Compensation figures are based on 2020-21.
Graduate Assistants are not permitted to own pets outside of those within the Residence Life Community Living Standards, except fish in an aquarium no larger than 20 gallons and/or ESAs/Service Animals.
Please note: All position information, including the compensation, are subject to change. The information provided on this page is a reflection of the current academic school year position. If you have any questions about the Application Process, please email us at ResLife@bgsu.edu. Thank you for your interest in the position!
Updated: 05/12/2023 10:34AM