Residence Advisors

What is a Residence Advisor? 

A Residence Advisor (RA's) are full-time students or alumni employed by the BCIT Housing Office who live in the residence and provides support to the 333 residents who call Maquinna Residence home. The RA team helps to create a positive academic residence environment and acts as the front line of the residence management team.

Residence Advisors are many things. They are rule and policy enforcers, resource people, counselors, role models, activity coordinators, building managers and, most importantly, friends!

They are approachable, resourceful and very good listeners. When in need, they are your "go to" person. When you move into Maquinna, they'll be one of the first people you'll meet.

Why do we have Residence Advisors?

RA's enable a positive residence community for you to live in. While being responsible for the enforcement of residence rules and policies is part of their job, they are also great listeners, organize fun recreational activities and keep everyone involved in campus life. They are a resource to ensure that your experience at Maquinna is a happy one.

When are they available?

RA's live in residence and are generally in and around residence Monday to Thursday evenings. On the weekends there is an RA duty schedule which ensures the residence always has an RA on site, but also ensures each RA gets time off.

What are the benefits of being a Residence Advisor?

There are so many great things about being a Residence Advisor! Being an RA is a unique opportunity to develop your communication skills, be part of an efficient working team, and enhance your leadership and interpersonal skills.

You’ll have the chance to learn valuable life skills in training and on the job! RA Training in itself is an excellent opportunity to develop your personal skills in areas such as crisis intervention and prevention, assertiveness training, emergency response, team building, event planning, suicide awareness, personal style indicators, and much more.

Aside from the excellent potential for personal growth, being an RA provides valuable work experience that helps build career success, proves to future employers that you can handle a position of responsibility and authority and it looks great on a résumé! And if you need even more reasons to apply...

Other benefits include:

• FREE rent of a 700 sq. ft. private apartment on campus
• FREE parking, utilities and high speed Internet
• $1000 per term honorarium
• Team building retreat getaway
• Valuable work experience to add to your resume
• For student RAs – no commute to school and easy access to the gym and library
• For alumni RAs – a great opportunity to limit your living expenses while getting started in your career
• A great opportunity to work with a great team, learn new skills, meet new friends and have some fun!
• Approximate value: $1, 250 per month

What do Residence Advisors do?

Residence life

• Assist students in adapting to residence and academic life at BCIT.
• Enforce rules and policies.
• Liaise between residents, Housing Office and other student services.
• Organize residence-wide and house activities.
• Identify and encourage leadership and participation in residence life and involvement in the residence community.

Student support

• Advise, counsel and consult with residents, and provide support and referral.
• Respond to emergencies.

Building management

• Conduct orientation of new residents.
• Check-in new arrivals and check-out students leaving residence (recording any damage to rooms).
• Work with residents to keep the residence clean and report any problems in the condition of the facility.

Time commitment

• Must be available for RA Training for the last three weeks of August.
• Must be available for entire academic school year (September – May).
• Must be able to attend bi-weekly RA meetings.
• Is in and around residence on most weekday evenings
• Is on-duty for portions of weekends per an RA Duty Schedule, which is complied during the first week of each term.

How to become a Residence Advisor

Recruiting takes place at the beginning of each year and applications are accepted from mid January to mid February.

You are eligible to apply if:

• You are a BCIT student or alumni. Singles or couples may apply. Applicants with children cannot be considered because of lack of suitable facilities.
• You have previous experience in: leadership, communications, working in a team environment, and preferably experience living in residence or working with young adults.
• You have first aid training or can successfully complete level 1 First Aid before mid August.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact to us at 604-432-8677 or housing@bcit.ca