SEAHO Report - Spring 2011 - (Page 20)

Commuter Assistant Program seaHo feature By Gina Mercanti and Zaibis Munoz Nova Southeastern University The mission of The Office of Residential Life and Housing at Nova Southeastern University is focused on the residential student population. However, it has also broadened its outreach to include commuter students. Parts of the mission are to foster student involvement and development inside and outside the classroom and assisting student to create an identity as an NSU student as well as with sub-communities within NSU. Through the Commuter Assistant Program, it has done just that. The end of the winter semester will mark one academic year of the Commuter Assistant Pro- gram-CAP. For our purposes, the term “commuter student” is defined as any NSU student who does not live in an on-campus Residence Hall. The CAP initiative seeks to actively engage commuter students on campus, currently with the focus on undergraduate students. CAP employs two undergraduate student employees as Commuter Assistants, or CAs, both of whom are now prominent and recognized leaders on campus. Residential Life and Housing provides support to CAP not only financially by employing the students, but also provides them with a work space in the freshman Residence Hall. Placing an office for commuter student involvement inside of a residence hall may seem counterintuitive, but it provides an opportunity for commuters and residents to get to know each other better. The professional staff of NSU’s Residential Life and Housing welcomed the CAs into the Fall training for the resident assistants for any applicable sessions. The CAs were brought in for team-builders, personal development sessions, as well as presentations that were geared towards understanding the NSU student population. Although initially unsure of how the RAs would respond to the CAs presence, it was anticipated that the student leaders would build a connection to each other as well as learn from one another. As a credit to both the CAs and the RAs, this expectation rang true. The CAs in essence embodies the same role to commuter students as an RA would to residents, connecting them to campus resources with intentional programming. The CAs were also involved in the planning and execution of the Off-Campus Housing Fairs, traditionally a service provided by the Office of Residential Life and Housing. The fair is an event bringing off campus property managers to campus centralizing options for students. Organizing the fairs provided a learning opportunity for the CAs, as well as a service to the NSU student population. Partly because of the student connections made through CAP, the student participation in the fairs was very successful. Many students are able to establish relationships with the CAs through the fairs and they are connected to the Commuter Student Organization. This organization is run by and for commuter students on NSU’s campus. Their programming also includes collaboration with other departments and offices on campus. contents reports news awards features regions

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Spring 2011

SEAHO Report - Spring 2011
Table of Contents
SEAHO President
One-on-Ones: Where Are They Headed?
The Five Housing Love Languages
Boys-To-Men Mentoring Program
2011 SEAHO Awards
Commuter Assistant Program
RoomBug at JMU
Residence Life Experience Transferred into Business Acumen
Fighting Committee Frustration
Virginia Tech: Ut Prosim
Seeing the Light: The Case for Fluorescent Bulbs in Residence Halls
Alabama Updates
Florida Updates
Kentucky Updates
Louisiana Updates
Mississippi Updates
North Carolina Updates
South Carolina Updates
Virginia Updates

SEAHO Report - Spring 2011