Anyone who has worked in housing is familiar with the concept of staff “wearing many hats” and the way tasks are often categorized as “other duties as assigned.” These are even more commonplace on the campuses of small colleges and universities. Sure, there may not be as many students to manage, but the broad range of their needs is no different from any other campus. The ACUHO-I Campus Housing Index tells us that, for campuses with fewer than 3,000 beds, the median student to live-in-staff ratio is 368:1. At the same time, senior housing officers at small colleges and universities report a median of three reporting levels within their organization, whereas there are five levels at schools with more than 7,500 beds. That means the responsibility for conduct, programming, business processes, conflict resolution, crisis management, marketing, and a number of other areas must be spread out among a smaller number of staff members or managed through loose partnerships with other campus departments. This results in flexibility and ingenuity because, again, there remains a spectrum of diversity within the small-campus universe.
Just consider the two institutions where we, the authors, work and how they vary in location, size, and history, as well as in the staff members who work at each of them. First, there is the Curtis Institute of Music, where Steven Couras works as the associate dean of residence life and off-campus housing. Curtis is a private conservatory college founded in 1924. It is one of the most selective higher-education institutions in the country and has fewer than 200 students, all of whom receive a merit-based, full-tuition scholarship. Talent, music, and the student experience are at the forefront.
Couras’s appreciation for the small college experience began at Stockton University, located in the Pinelands of New Jersey. Both as an undergraduate student leader and now as an active alumnus, he experienced memorable and impactful experiences as well as Stockton's dedicated work in building a strong sense of community through programming, leadership, and engagement on their campus. This environment is due to solid student development and residential life offices with exceptional leadership in both, past and present.
As the senior housing officer at Curtis, he oversees all areas of residence life that now also include preparing students to move off-campus and guiding them through the process. Additionally, he leads and manages the residence life team, residence life conduct, housing operations, programming, and other traditional residence life and housing areas. Additionally, he sits on a number of committees, including the President’s Cabinet, CARE team, the Council for Inclusive Excellence, and workplace safety. It’s not surprising to learn that his day-to-day can look different depending on the time of year, day of the week, or what happened the night before.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Occidental College in Los Angeles is home to about 2,100 students. There, Isaiah Thomas is the assistant dean of students and director of residential education, housing services, and student conduct. The picturesque historical campus was founded in 1887 and has produced a number of scientific, artistic, and political accomplishments. Similar to Couras, Thomas was inspired by small, intentional communities when he was a student at Colorado College. He got to know the faculty and staff well, and he engaged inside and outside of the classroom in meaningful ways. He now enjoys the opportunity to cultivate that same type of experience for the students of “Oxy.”
In his role as assistant dean of students, Thomas oversees residential education, housing services, and student conduct departments. While he says he will always be a “res-lifer,” this role challenges him to think not just about the residential student experience, but other facets of the college experience. Every day is unique and Thomas may find himself in the morning working closely with the residential education team discussing advancing the residential programming model in the morning before shifting to meet with colleagues in facilities management to discuss furniture replacement plans during the afternoon, and then finishing the day working hand-in-hand with the academic affairs faculty on developing a new shared academic integrity commitment and misconduct process.
Part of the dichotomy of working at a smaller campus is that one’s professional responsibilities often are broader than they would be at other schools. This amount of generalization, no matter where one is on their professional path, is one of the most appealing aspects for those who work on campuses like Curtis or Occidental.
Couras remembers how, when he took on the new role as a senior housing officer, he was challenged to reach new leadership and decision-making levels, but he also recognized how he could directly impact students and the overall community in ways he might not have been able to at a more traditional and larger university. Similarly, one of the many benefits of working in a small college is that one has the opportunity to grow and advance more often. Working in different functional areas of higher education and student affairs helps with advancement and even opens up doors down the line.
Thomas adds that, for him, working at small schools, having his hands in multiple pots, and working with a multitude of professionals and students is what he most enjoys. Despite the fact that, at any given time, he has many balls in the air at once, everything he does is focused around the mission of supporting student success in all facets and ensuring that students are poised to face the very real challenges of the world that awaits them.
Wearing many hats and taking on those additional duties when assigned can stretch a small college’s or university’s housing staff. However, it can keep staff more connected with students and colleagues. It takes many people wearing many hats to make the magic of small schools happen. And while that work can take on many different forms, its purpose remains the same: provide students with the best living environment possible, support them in their education, and prepare them to thrive upon graduation.
