The things we say and the things we actually do

Some of our leadership talks a lot about how we are a premier residence life department and how being an RA is one of the top leadership opportunities at our institution. But the more I think about and the longer I'm working here, the more I'm starting to wonder how much of that is just talk. I think we're a department with the potential to become great - and I definitely think that's where we want to go - but we're not there yet. And there seems to be a lot of resistance to becoming truly one of the best departments; or at least what I would consider one of the top departments.

For example, a colleague said something about the language I use - hmm, yeah, so I talk about learning outcomes and assessment and student learning; isn't that what the staff of a premier residence life department should do? If we sit around and play games and talk about ice breakers and building community, we will never be one of those departments people look to. Don't get me wrong, community building is vital; it's the first step; but there should be more, shouldn't there? There should be education and learning. And how are we going to get there unless we start talking about student learning, unless we develop learning outcomes and strategies to accomplish them? And yes, maybe I could "tone down" my language and use fluffier words, but how can we expect anyone else to take us seriously if we don't take ourselves seriously? How can we expect presidents of universities to see the value in Student Affairs, when we don't use language used in the rest of the academic world?

I've grown up in Austria where we don't have residence halls. Students just live in apartments in town or student housing managed by a landlord. There's nobody to "build community" and "enforce policies." When you're 18 and in college, you're an adult and you are treated as such.
Having grown up there, I sometimes struggle with the concept of Residence Life here - or at least how some professionals define the purpose of Residence Life. Yes, living on a floor that has a close community is fun and makes college life more enjoyable, but is it that important? No, not really. But education and helping students learn more about themselves, that IS important; that's something that our students will benefit from, our society will benefit from - and I see a value in striving for that, in working in a profession that has this goal. And so, while a lot of my time is spent with community-building, policy-enforcment and administrative tasks, the things I value, the reasons I'm in this profession, all relate to educating students, helping them learn about themselves, diversity, leadership, realizing what they're passionate about and how they can live out those dreams...and so I won't stop talking about student learning and learning outcomes and student development theories and and and, because once I stop talking about that, I will have lost my reason to work in this field.