Introduction:
In the spring of 2016, John Mark Shorack a resident assistant at San Diego State University, in collaboration with Reslife.Net and the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) conducted a survey of North American housing departments on their Resident Assistant (RA) compensation packages. This research and survey results hope to respect the valuable contribution of RA’s to every campuses residential experience, their responsibility to work with excellence and the responsibility for housing departments to create a positive environment for their employees to strive and succeed economically, professionally and academically. We hope the present data will allow programs to understand compensation norms to permit self reflection on the compensation packages that they are providing to their Resident Assistants.
NOTE: Percentages have been rounded to nearest whole number.
Housing Capacity:
This survey included 204 university housing departments, with a variety of housing capacities:
29 % of respondents had a housing capacity of up to 1000 residents
36 % of respondents had a housing capacity of from 1000 to 2500 residents
14 % of respondents had a housing capacity of from 2501 – 4000 residents
21 % of respondents had a housing capacity of over 4000 residents
Current Length of Service:
| 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities | |
| 1 year | 22% | 7% | 7% | 12% | 12% |
| 2 years | 67% | 78% | 79% | 79% | 76% |
| 2 years plus | 10% | 15% | 14% | 9% | 12% |
Length of Service Summary Based on Averages:
76 % of RAs hold their positions for 2 years.
88 % of RAs hold their positions for 2 or more years.
Compensation:
| Room | 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities |
| Not Provided | 12% | 13% | 3% | 19% | 12% |
| Single Provided | 83% | 82% | 79% | 77% | 80% |
| Shared Double Provided | 5% | 6% | 18% | 4% | 8% |
| Meal Plan or Cash Supplement | 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities |
| Provided | 62% | 68% | 75% | 76% | 70% |
| Not Provided | 38% | 32% | 25% | 24% | 30% |
| Stipend | 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities |
| 0 – $1000 | 19% | 18% | 30% | 14% | 20% |
| $1001 – $1500 | 7% | 4% | 7% | 7% | 6% |
| $1501 – $2000 | 5% | 3% | 4% | 14% | 7% |
| $2001 – $2500 | 7% | 4% | 7% | 5% | 6% |
| $2501 – $3000 | 0% | 5% | 7% | 12% | 6% |
| $3001 – $3500 | 2% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 4% |
| $3501 – $4000 | 3% | 5% | 2% | ||
| $4001 – $5000 | 5% | 4% | 9% | 5% | |
| $5000 or more | 7% | 5% | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| No cash stipend provided | 53% | 49% | 33% | 23% | 40% |
Compensation Summary Based on Averages:
80 % of RAs receive a single room.
8 % of RAs receive a shared double room.
12 % of RAs do not receive this benefit.
70 % of RAs receive a meal plan or cash supplement.
30 % of RAs do not receive this benefit.
40 % of RAs receive no cash stipend
13 % of RAs receive $1000 – $2000 as a cash stipend
12 % of RAs receive $2000 – $3000 as a cash stipend
6 % of RAs receive $3000 – $4000 as a cash stipend
5 % of RAs receive $4000 – $5,000 as a cash stipend
6 % of RAs receive $5000 or more as a cash stipend
Work Requirements/Limitations:
| Work Requirement (Front Desk) | 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities |
| No work requirement | 60% | 53% | 48% | 47% | 52% |
| 1 – 5 hours/week | 26% | 34% | 41% | 44% | 36% |
| 6 – 10 hours/week | 12% | 12% | 11% | 9% | 11% |
| 10 plus hours/week | 2% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| Work Limitations (Second Job) | 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities |
| No work limitation | 4% | 12% | 7% | 9% | 8% |
| Yes: 1 to 5 hours/week | 9% | 11% | 11% | 16% | 12% |
| Yes: 6 to 10 hours/week | 56% | 58% | 71% | 63% | 62% |
| Yes: No limit on hours | 32% | 19% | 11% | 12% | 19% |
Work Requirements Summary Based on Averages:
52% of RA’s are not required to work a Security Desk
36% of RA’s are required to work 1-5 hours a week
11% of RA’s are required to work 6-10 hours a week
1% of RA’s are required to work more than 10 hours a week
Second Job Limitations Summary Based on Averages:
8% of RA’s are not allowed to have a second job.
12 % of RA’s are allowed to have a second job not exceeding 1-5 hours a week
62% of RA’s are allowed to have a second job not exceeding 6-10 hours a week
19% of RA’s are allowed to have a second job with no weekly hour limit.
Other Benefits:
| Meals During Fall Training | 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities |
| Receive Partial | 26% | 32% | 32% | 40% | 33% |
| Receive Full | 69% | 68% | 68% | 60% | 66% |
| Not Provided | 5% | 1% | 3% |
| Receipt of Priority Registration | 1 – 1000 Residents | 1001 – 2500 Residents | 2501 – 4000 Residents | 4001 Residents | Average Percentages of all housing capacities |
| Yes | 12% | 12% | 14% | 7% | 11% |
| No | 88% | 88% | 86% | 93% | 89% |
Comments Section: Most Common Alternative Benefits
- Parking Pass at no charge
- Preferred Parking Spot
- Discounts at the College/University Bookstore
- Paid Leadership Training Opportunities
Comments Section: Unique Benefits
- Payment of 3 class credits per semester by housing/residence life department
- Scholarships to RA’s provided by housing/residence life department
- 40 hours of sick time per year and two floating holidays provided to RAs.
- Benefit package including $6,500 tuition benefit annually, in addition to housing, meals and stipend.
Link to Additional Supporting Data:
http://www.acuho-i.org/resources/research-data/sponsored/completed-research
Note: A username and password are required to access the ACUHO-I archive library. If you do not have a username and password you can create a guest account that will allow you into the library to view this data.
Submitted by John Shorak, Resident Assistant – Graduated Spring 2016, San Diego State University; & Terri Scanlon, Managing Director, Reslife.Net