Residence Life Professional Answers:

You have a tough situation there...but one thing I can suggest is incentive!  One thing that works on our campus is that all programs done throughout the semester are eligible for programming awards that are recognized at each of our end of semester campus-wide staff banquets.  At the end of the year, all programs are also in the running for "Programs of the Year"...and our institution also nominates these programs for ACPA Model Programming Awards.  Our insitution has a history of having many of these programs receiving this distinction...so it's a real incentive.  This tends to make some staff want to earn an award they can put on a resume'...

Also...I have a programming board in the RA Office that indicates which programs my staff have completed throughout the semester and year.  They look at it as an incentive to "fill" their spots on the board and it also adds a little bit of healthy competition, as some want to do better than others.

I meet with my staff individually every other week...and during that meeting, I have them discuss programming ideas with me.  I won't let them turn in a proposal form without having discussed the idea with me prior.  This way, I know what their plans are beforehand...and I can also make sure it has enough quality to merit credit.  This doesn't always work, but I have a relationship with the the where they know that if they don't do enough to merit credit that I won't give them credit.  It is a hard line, but as long as you are consistent and up front...it can work.  Programming is also a big portion of their performance program (contract)...so I have opportunity to say that they need to fulfill this to be renewed.

If all else fails...encourage the staff to assess the interests of their floors and do programming based on that.  It may not be the "high quality" stuff...but at least you'll know that they are meeting the needs of their individual communities.  Programming should be based on the needs of the students...so you can at least rest assured that your staff is meeting this goal.

Best of luck with everything!

Steve Crudup
Resident Director, O'Connor Hall
Dickinson Community
Binghamton University

Hello!  I am a Residence Coordinator at the University of Miami in Miami, FL.  I have been in the field for 8 years and know that supervising student staff can be frustrating when their motivation seems to ebb and flow through the semester.

I do have an idea for you to consider however.  I just did a program on Motivation for our leadership summit this semester.  I hope you can receive attachments *CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION AS A WORD DOCUMENT*  as I am sending along with this message the handouts from that presentation.  As a matter of fact, this attachment has all the things I used for handouts as well as all of my personal notes that I used to do the program.  It was very well received by the student leaders.  

If you as a supervisor can identify ways to tap into the basic human desires of your staff members, you will ignite the natural motivators inside them and they will produce new and innovative program ideas.  Don't forget that recognition and Thank You's are easy ways to motivate others to achieve and are often the things that we do the LEAST often.   Something that a staff member can hold on to as a recognition piece has longer lasting effects than pizza parties or short term external motivators.  When they can keep reading the thank you or recognizer, they can re-tap that energy that the note generated in the first place. 

Adrienne Otto Frame
Residence Coordinator
Mahoney Residential College
University of Miami

I want to take a moment to brag about my RAs for a moment.  The  month of September my RAs (7 males) completed 13 programs with a total attendance of 681.  That is 52 people per program, that is truly awesome.  Of course the programs covered only one spoke of the wellness wheel-the social spoke.  The RAs now know they have to cover three more of the spokes, and they know I won't accept anything light (movies and such).  One of my RAs just completed a voter registration drive, a political spoke.  He registered over a hundred new voters in a week.  Another is doing program concerning drug and alcohol use during National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week.  He is bringing in sociologist and other experts, this of course covers physical and emotional spokes.  One reason the programming is so successful here is because I help them, I work with them, I don't do their work for them.  I praise their efforts in public, let them get recognized for the impact they are making.  15 pre-programming guides have been turned in for the month of October, it is very awesome to work for RAs that dedicate themselves to making a difference like the way they do.  I don't know what your requirements are, but I might suggest you reiterate those requirements to your RAs in staff meetings or in one-on-one meetings.  Offer advice, ask questions, do they understand what makes a good program?  If you use the wellness wheel maybe go over it again and describe some good positive programs for each spoke.  Hope this was helpful. 

Gregg Stewart
Residence Life Coordinator
University of Central Oklahoma