Residential Experience

Your time with Residential Life is more than a place to eat or sleep. Our hope is students living in the halls will make meaningful connections and develop skills to maintain their personal health to help them achieve success long after they leave the residence halls and the Missouri S&T campus. 

Connecting across campus

Living in the residence halls offers a unique social opportunity unlike most others. Whether you're studying for a midterm with floormates or bonding over community dinners, there are countless opportunities to connect with others in the halls and across campus. Our resident assistants help build these connections through informational meetings, group chats, and bulletin boards to keep you informed about your community.

Working towards a better "you"

While classes focus on preparing you for the workforce, Residential Life focuses on helping you improve your personal health and wellness. You'll have access to resources, both in the halls and on campus, designed to help you understand what it means to be well. From interacting with organizations like Miner Wellness and counseling services to in-hall programs focusing on mental and physical health, or even just speaking with your resident assistant one-on-one, our halls offer you  a variety of tools to help you succeed both in and out of class.

Success beyond Reslife

Living on your own can be overwhelming, but the residence halls provide a safe environment for you to figure it out. You'll experience independent living and responsibilities while learning valuable communication skills through community meetings and roommate interactions designed to help you to express yourself in constructive and mindful ways. In addition, the residence halls help you tackle the professional world head-on through student leadership opportunities, career fair prep, and various campus resources.

Living Learning Communities- Freshmen

One of the easiest ways for you to experience everything residential life has to offer is on-campus residential learning communities. Living Learning Communities (LLCs) are specialized living environments that connect students based on special interests or experiences. Each LLC is unique and centered on a distinctive theme. Students who choose to live in an LLC have the opportunity to closely engage with campus faculty and partners, access to intentional events and programs, and dedicated staff members who work to make the community a success. Here's a list of the current LLCs along with the location in which the community is located.

  

  

Programming

We foster strong communities by encouraging students to make connections. We support this through an assortment of social events and programs that help you with your college experience. Some programs provide social opportunities, while others focus on personal, professional or academic growth.

Student programming examples

  • Community/floor dinners and meetings
  • Social events such as game nights
  • Intramural involvement
  • Leadership development workshops
  • Faculty involved dinners or events
  • Academic success workshops including in-house writing tutors
  • Career readiness workshops and programs with Career Opportunities and Employer Relations
  • Volunteer opportunities

Academic Support

Academic support is a priority for Residential Life. There are a number of resources provided to students living in the residential living areas, from connections with faculty to locations to help you study. Here are a few you can utilize.

Study Lounges

Study lounges are located on each floor in Thomas Jefferson, Residential Commons and University Commons, while Miner Village has a club house with study spaces available. Student lounges in the residential living areas are equipped with dry erase boards, tables, and chairs perfect for those evening review sessions.

Computer Learning Centers (CLC)

Thomas Jefferson, the Residential Commons, and Miner Village all have CLCs maintained through Information Technology. You can enjoy the convenience of having access to networked machines and printing you may use with your university printing quota.

Faculty Involvement

 Residential Life greatly values faculty involvement in the residential living areas. Connecting you to faculty outside of the classroom promotes a sense of community on campus. In addition, these interactions allow for you to feel more comfortable approaching faculty with academically related issues or concerns.

Learning Enhancement Across Disciplines (LEAD)

The LEAD Program provides learning forums to students who wish to increase their understanding of concepts and content in a wide variety of foundational courses. Thomas Jefferson and Residential Commons offer several LEAD sessions throughout the year in addition to the variety of sessions offered on campus. Learn more

  

Student Leadership Options

Interested in helping improve your community? Take advantage of the leadership programs we offer or become a residence hall community leader.  You can also serve as your floor's officer, join your residence hall complex council or serve in the Residence Hall Association. There are lots of opportunities to get involved.

Hall Government

If you're interested in a way to actively voice your opinions about facility improvements, room and board rates, and Residential Life policy, then Hall Government might be the route to pursue. Each residential complex has elected officers and voting delegates known as a hall association. The officers and delegates of each hall association discuss issues in their respective complexes at meetings open to any and all residents of the complex. Representatives of each complex then report back to the Residence Hall Association (RHA), the governing body over all of the residential living areas. These organizations work to provide additional programming and events in each living area as well as provide feedback directly to the Department of Residential Life.

Residence Hall Associations

Interested in learning more about the hall association in your complex? Here is some additional information about each governing body.

Residence Hall Association (RHA)
Outer Campus Housing Association (OCHA)
Thomas Jefferson Hall Association (TJHA)
Residential Commons Hall Association (RCHA)
University Commons Hall Association (UCHA)

Student Staff Positions

Residential Life also offers a wide variety of student employment opportunities. From our desk workers who learn customer service skills while  managing the front desks of the different complexes, to our residential assistants who build communities, resolve conflicts, and provide support in the residential areas, every student worker helps to make the residential experience at S&T. Here are some more details about the student staff positions available.

Prerequisites for Resident Assistants

  1. Achieved sophomore status, or the equivalence of two semesters of academic work
  2. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.40, which must be maintained while employed
  3. Maintain enrollment as a full-time student while employed
  4. Lived in the residence hall for a minimum of two semesters

The Resident Assistant is an integral position within the Residential Life program. RAs live on each residence hall floor or community. Their role is to provide resources and support to help you succeed. They provide information targeted to address academic success, personal development, and professional growth among other topics. They help address any issues that may come up for you during your time living on campus and can direct you to the appropriate resources. One of the RA’s most important roles is it to connect with their residents in order to foster a sense of community on campus.

The Senior Resident Assistant position maintains the same duties as an RA. However the SRA is a second year staff member who also serves as a staff mentor for first year staff members. They are responsible for assisting in training and developing first year staff members on conflict mediation, policy enforcement, and community development.

Similar to the RA position, the REP position is tasked with supporting students living on campus. The REPs do this primarily through very targeted, intentional programs that they plan and implement in the different living areas. They are tasked with collaborating with various campus offices to put on events in the halls that touch on topics that are relevant to students at specific times of the year.

The Head Resident position is a student supervisor position given to a select number of returning staff members. HRs are responsible for assisting with the ongoing development and training of their area staff, assisting with RA hiring and selection processes, and assists the resident director of each area in the day-to-day operations of each residential area.

Each residential living area has access front desks which serve as a point of contact for residents. Front desk workers provide customer service to students by assisting with mail, room lock-outs, equipment check-out, and contacting on-call staff in the event of emergencies.

The Senior Desk Assistant position assists in the overall supervision of the front desk.  The SDA in each residential living area is responsible for: maintaining accurate records, assisting in the training and development of desk assistants, scheduling desk hours, and responding to concerns.