Graduate Resident Success Coordinator

Graduate SMART Coordinator

Position Summary

The Graduate Resident Success Coordinator is a live-in staff member in the Office of Residence Life. The Graduate Resident Success Coordinator assists in the daily operation of a Resident Success Mentor Program that supports residential students to achieve their academic, personal, and professional goals. The Graduate Resident Success Coordinator is supervised by the Coordinator for Retention & Diversity. The Graduate Resident Success Coordinator directly supervises 10-15 Resident Success Mentors (RSMs) and assists with hall-wide programming, workshops, and crisis response.

Experience You'll Gain

  • Advising
  • Supervision and Management

Perks

  • Full Tuition Scholarship
  • $11,635 Stipend
  • Meal Plan valued at $3,438
  • One-bedroom Furnished Apartment
  • All utilities covered (water, heat, electricity, basic phone and cable)
  • Reserved Parking Space
  • Private Office and Desktop Computer

Employment Term

Position filled for the 2023-24 Academic School Year.

Time Commitment

10-month, 20 hours scheduled per week, plus an additional 8 hours based on housing and meal plan compensation. This position includes additional evening and weekend hours with live-in responsibilities.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills

The Graduate Resident Success Coordinator must be a full-time graduate student at Bowling Green State University. To be successful in this position, the Graduate Resident Success Coordinator must have a demonstrated desire to work with residence life programs and staff supervision in a residential setting. In addition, the Graduate Resident Success Coordinator must have excellent interpersonal and written communication skills, excellent organizational skills, and a demonstrated desire to work with underrepresented populations. Prior leadership experience working in a residential setting and experience advising student organizations or staff supervision is preferred. 

Responsibilities

Major Responsibilities

Programming

  • Advise programming within the SMART Program’s five priorities (Academic Success, Safety and Security, Inclusivity, Engagement, and Personal Growth)
  • Attend student-led SMART programming events within SMART
  • Design, develop, and execute large scale and All-SMART programming events
  • Help plan the SMART end-of-the-year Mentee Recognition Banquet
  • Assist in the planning of the Taste of February program and student recruitment efforts
  • Plan, develop, and execute the “Mentee of the Month” and SMART Incentive Programs
  • Develop and implement a SMART programming Capstone Project (2nd Year)

Supervision

  • Direct supervision and evaluation of five student Team Leaders and 25 student SMART Mentors
  • Indirect supervision of all SMART Program Staff
  • Follow up with SMART students who need additional assistance

Administration

  • Assist in conducting weekly roundtable staff meetings with the SMART staff and monthly meetings with all SMART students
  • Assist in coordinating SMART Recruitment/Selection process during Spring Semesters
  • Assist in developing/presenting training sessions for SMART Team Leaders, SMART Mentors, and Resident Advisors
  • Maintain and update SMART Program listserves, databases, and matching lists
  • Monitor and update all SMART Program social media and websites
  • Review and compile all meeting and interaction reports, noting concerns
  • Meet weekly with Coordinator for Diversity and Retention and weekly with the Residence Education staff

Additional Responsibilities Include

  • Participate in on-call duty rotation.
  • Serve as an Academic Success Coach for residential and residential leadership students.
  • Conduct follow-up conversations with residents on academic success issues as identified by RAs during the Falcon Success and Retention Curriculum (FSRC) conversations
  • Make resources referrals to Academic Advisors, Learning Commons, Counseling Center, Bursar, Financial Aid, and other resources relevant to academic success issues
  • Talk with students about residential resources such as the Faculty Peer Mentors, Academic Peer Mentors, and Academic Resource Centers
  • Help student identify their Academic Advisor, College Offices, DARS Reporting System, Etc. Participate on committees within Residence Life to continue to move the Office of Residence Life toward its mission and vision
  • Participate in conduct training with the potential of hearing cases if needed or if enrolled in practicum
  • Attend and participate in Residence Education staff training and selection sessions and meetings
  • Assist colleagues on the Residence Education and Residence Life team
  • Support Bowling Green State University and Office of Residence Life initiatives
  • Perform other duties as assigned

Application Process

There are many steps to the application process. If you are interested in applying for the Graduate Resident Success Mentor Coordinator position, please send a cover letter and resume to reslife@bgsu.edu.  

Step 1
Apply and be accepted into a Graduate College.
Step 2 Send your resume and cover letter to ResLife@bgsu.edu.
Step 3 Candidates are interviewed on an on-going basis.
Step 4 Decisions will be made on an on-going basis.  Notification letters will be sent to selected candidates.
Step 5 Graduate student on-boarding and training begins mid-July, 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions

Residence Life’s live-in Graduate Student Assistants typically include the Graduate Hall Directors, Graduate Leadership Coordinator, Graduate SMART Coordinator and Graduate Academic Support Coordinator. This policy applies to any individual living within a Residence Life owned/operated apartment as part of the compensation for their assistantship.  

The following persons are eligible to live with the Graduate Student Assistant and will be considered a “roommate” for the purposes of this policy.  

  • Spouse - Person of the same or opposite gender to whom an employee is legally married and defined by the BGSU Benefit Plan Eligibility PolicyPlease Note: the benefit policy document does not apply to the partner, but the criteria for eligibility to share the apartment is defined.
  • Dependent(s)

For more specific information regarding partners living on campus, please contact the Office of Residence Life.

There are numerous professional development opportunities on campus that are available to Graduate Assistants.  Every year both GAs and full-time staff attend and present at regional and national conferences. Commonly attended conferences included: ACPA, OCPA, OASPA, NASPA, NASPA-3E, and GLACUHO.

There are not funds that are provided from the Office of Residence Life, but there are professional development funds that are available through the CSP program, the Division of Student Affairs, and Graduate Student Senate.

Graduate Assistants are trained in a wide variety of areas prior to the beginning of the year and throughout the year.  Topics include (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Crisis Management & Response
  • Desk Operations
  • Student Conduct
  • Hall Government
  • Supervision
  • Housing Occupancy procedures and protocols

RA training includes topics such as (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Listening Skills
  • Mental Health Referrals
  • Recognizing and Caring for Individuals in Distress
  • Diversity Resources on Campus
  • Inclusive Programming
  • Bulletin Boards

Although traditional programming does occur in the BGSU residence halls, it is part of an overall residential curriculum.  The Falcon Success and Retention Curriculum (FSRC) is the overall framework for community building, programming, and services in the BGSU residence halls. In addition to Social Interaction, the five areas (priorities) emphasized in the model (Academic Success, Safety and Security, Engagement, Inclusivity, and Personal Growth) form the basis of our curriculum and encourage our students to successfully transition to college life, invest in themselves and their hall community, build strong relationships with others in their buildings and on campus, and remain at BGSU through graduation from the institution.

Every Hall Director team is responsible for developing and implementing the FSRC for her/his area.  Through effective leadership from Hall Directors to RA staff and Hall Council leaders, the activities, initiatives, and interactions planned for the FSRC are attainable and measurable.

All Residence Education staff can select to participate in one committee per academic year. The following opportunities have been offered in the past:

Selection - Review and update position descriptions for RA, Student Desk Manager (SDM), and Graduate Assistant (GA), RA/SDM work agreement contracts; plan Selection schedule and RA/SDM/GA Recruitment Information Sessions; devise and execute marketing plan; create interview schedule for both CSP Interview Weekends; work with Residence Education Leadership Team for selection of GAs; connect with CSP for logistics of interview process and hiring.

Training - Set RA/SDM/SMART/Hall Staff training schedule and RA/SDM/SMART/Hall Staff training learning outcomes; create assessment plan; facilitate all training logistics (e.g., presenters, meals, room reservation, etc.).

GHDs and HDs are conduct hearing officers for incidents occurring in their buildings.  Cases that can be heard and sanctioned on the residential level are violations such as quiet hours, first time alcohol offenses, disorderly conduct, etc.  Cases such as drugs, burglary, repeat alcohol offenders, etc. are typically are referred up to the Office of the Dean of Students.

The Office of Residence Life directly collaborates with the Office of the Dean of Students on conduct issues.  Our conduct philosophy is educationally-focused.  Though there are some predetermined sanctions for certain offenses, the goal is to provide the students with a learning experience for the behavior, rather than just the judicial process.   

The relationship between a Hall Director (HD) and a GHD is an important one.  The GHD will have to opportunity to learn from a professional with a Master’s degree in student affairs and higher education or related field.  GHDs and HDs work collaboratively to support their residents, supervise RAs, and manage their buildings.  HDs help the GHDs gain a multitude of experiences needed in order to excel in a full-time position in residence life and to make connections between the GHDs’ academic coursework and their positions. When the full-time Hall Director is not available, the Graduate Hall Director should be able to step in and answer questions, as well as manage the entire building operation.  

Although many Graduate Assistants choose to take an internship or job at another institution over the summer for a different institutional experience, there may be internships available for Graduate Assistants who would like to stay and work/live on campus over the summer between their first and second year of the CSP program

The Office of Residence Life provides a furnished apartment for Graduate Assistants.  These are one bedroom apartments with a full kitchen, bathroom, and living area and have the following standard furniture:

  • (1) loveseat
  • (1) lounge chair
  • (1) end table
  • (1) coffee table
  • (1) dining table with seating for two  (based on the apartment layout)
  • (1) full sized mattress set and a metal bed frame
  • (1) dresser
  • (1) nightstand
  • (1) student desk & chair
  • A stipend of $11,250 full tuition scholarship
  • Staff housing accommodations valued at $10,000
  • 10% discount at Falcon Outfitters
  • Meal plan currently valued at approximately $3,338 will be provided during the 10-month period of employment*.  Full meal service is not provided during academic breaks and at times when the dining halls are closed  
  • A desktop computer and reserved parking space are also provided, but the student covers the cost of the parking permit (~$115/year)
  • All utilities including water, heat, electricity, basic phone service, laundry, and basic digital cable service are provided at no additional cost. All apartments are air-conditioned.  

*Compensation figures are based on 2019-20.  

Graduate Assistants are not permitted to own pets outside of those within the Residence Life Community Living Standards, except fish in an aquarium no larger than 20 gallons.

Please note: All position information, including the compensation, are subject to change. The information provided on this page is a reflection of the current academic school year position. If you have any questions about the Application Process, please email us at ResLife@bgsu.edu. Thank you for your interest in the position!

Updated: 05/12/2023 10:36AM