Fall 2011 - Summer 2013

• Utilized four separate programming models for students on campus

  • First Year Experience (topics included: Academic Achievement, Civic Engagement, Community Development, Relational Leadership)

  • Sophomore Year Experience (topics included: Academic Engagement & Success, Leadership & Purpose, Interdependence & Commitment to Core Values)

  • Upperclass Experience (topics included: Independence, Intercultural Exploration, Leadership, Academic Success, Connected Living)

  • Honors Experience (topics included: Academic, Cultural/Intellectual, Professional)

• One Residence Life Department with Area Coordinators that oversaw specific areas was shifted to Assistant Directors who were hired based on areas of expertise

• One Associate Director & One Assistant Director focused on Academic Initiatives (LLCs & FIRs)

Notable Dates:

• August 2012 - Conversation with Leadership Team about changing role of RA

• October 2013 - Attendance at ACPA Residential Curriculum Institute at Saint Louis University

• Fall/Winter 2012/2013 - Read Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” to develop our own departmental why statement

• Spring 2013 - Convened a committee to explore the possibility of a residential curriculum

  • Developed four learning goals, learning outcomes, strategies

• May 2013 - Invited Dr. Keith Edwards & Dr. Kathleen Gardner to campus as a joint workshop with University of South Carolina to learn about residential curriculum (overcoming our writer’s block)

• Summer 2013 - Worked with graphic design office (Campus Banner + Design) to create icons and graphics for REM

• Summer 2013 - developed lesson plans for year one of implementation

Fall 2013 - Spring 2016

• Launched close to 40%

• Pushback from RA staff about Tiger Talks (spying on residents)

• Still allowed programming built by RA staff in community

Notable changes

Educational Plans - Community sociograms, SWOT analysis, and Community Plan presentations

• Each community developed their own lesson plans and sequencing to address the specific needs of their communities. All communities did the same first eight week process of engaging with residents to learn as much as they could about them, and then took the information gathered to formulate a plan for the rest of the year.

Educational Strategies of Phase 1 of REM

• Tiger Talks - Tiger Talks were intended to be organic conversations that had a deeper meaning from just a regular conversation. RAs would track Tiger Talks in a Google spreadsheet with the resident and the topic of the conversation. There was no set amount of Tiger Talks required for RAs (we determined that it should be dependent upon the resident and their needs)

• Events - We tried to eliminate the language of programming. Events were developed and designed by communities in order to meet the learning outcomes of REM. When an event was designed, community members were asked to submit a lesson plan of the event for our library.

• Bulletin Boards - As a form of passive programming, bulletin boards were used to share information related to REM learning outcomes. Communities determined which learning outcomes would be covered by bulletin boards each month.

Big projects of Phase 1: Archaeological Dig, Defining Learning Goals & Outcomes, Branding considerations for staff, Building Buy-In among staff

AY 2014-2015

• October 2014 - Community sociograms, SWOT analysis, and Community Plan presentations

• Spring 2015 - Shifted the EDSA 3900 class into a pre-service class for students prior to being employed as an RA

• Transition to a new VP Student Affairs

AY 2015-2016

• August 2015 - Departmental Shift - Moved from one department of Residential Life to two departments (Res Living & Res Learning)

• Fall Professional Staff Training Objectives:

  • Recognize the difference between a programming model and a curricular model

  • Identify the benefits of implementing a Residential Life curriculum

  • Outline the components of the Residential Experience Model

• Table Tents for Student learning initiatives

Big projects of Phase 2: Assessment of the paraprofessional staff experience, determining new ways to engage with residents

AY 2016-2017

• Development of monthly reports to highlight Dr. Peggy Maki's concept of "Realtime Assessment"

• Changed monthly reports to open ended responses

• Integrated budget requests into the Community Plan process

• Conclusion of Student Life Curriculum - focus on REM only

AY 2017-2018

• REM Development Series for Partners

AY 2018-2019

• RA position descriptions changed to incorporate REM

• Initiative to expand curriculum into all facets of Clemson Home (including business operations, facilities, and custodial staff) - this initiative was tabled following the reorganization into Finance & Operations

• Spring 2019 - Shifted RA selection to Spring to allow for alternates to take the class

AY 2019-2020

• August 2019 - Reorganization to shift University Housing & Dining out of Student Affairs and into Finance & Operations

• October - Community Showcases focused solely on Sociograms and SWOT analysis (internal use only)

• Fall 2019 - Standardized all lesson plans across all departments

• March - May: Adapted educational strategies focused on well-being and living in community for RAs that stayed on during Covid-19

AY 2020-2021 - COVID-19

• August - Clemson Home in the Cloud (Virtual Engagement Strategy via Canvas)

  • Delayed move-in (mid-September)

  • Limited face-to-face contact shifted all strategies to virtual

  • Introduced REM through online learning (discussion boards, Webinar Wednesdays, Virtual Events, etc.)

• October - No Sociograms, SWOT analyses, or Community Showcases

• Introduced new educational strategy - IM (Interactive Messaging)

  • Difficulties with Implementation due to lack of structure for RAs

• First semester focus was on handling Covid-19 operations

  • REM was on the back burner for a lot of staff members

  • REM Task Force created to develop lesson plans for Spring 2021

  • 20+ staff members (FT + Grads) attended ICA virtually

• Spring 2021

  • REM Committees started: Educational Strategies, Resource Gathering & Partnerships, Assessment, and Professional Development

  • Consulted with Resident Assistant Advisory Board on lesson plans for Fall 2021

AY 2021-2022

• First time introducing First Year (FY) & Continuing Students (CS) tailored educational strategies (came from work form 2020 committees)

• Specific lesson plans for FY and CS

• 4 REM committees: Educational Strategies, Resource Gathering & Partnerships, Assessment, and Translating REM

• Introduced community monthly Feedback Loops as a form of assessment

What's Next:

• Expanding understanding of working in Finance & Operations

• Expanding REM despite lack of student affairs curriculum

• Making diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority in REM

• Continuing campus partnerships through REM (FiRs)