Developed by:
Dave McKelfresh, Director, Staff Training and Assessment; Kim Moistner-Bartlett, Vice President for Educational Initiatives, Reslife.Net

Description:
The journey of a first-year Hall Director is a unique experience. A Hall Director's "Road to Success" will have its ups and downs and unexpected twists and turns. There will be times when the path we've taken provides for a smooth journey and others when the choices we make lead to a treacherous, bumpy ride. This course will provide participants with concepts, strategies, and proven techniques to help Hall Directors navigate their way through their new position. This course is designed to expose participants to a variety of topics in a short amount of time. It will give participants an overview and better understanding of the following areas: 1) staff team development, 2) judicial administration, 3) supervision of residence hall programming, 4) hall government advisement, and 5) creating balance between one's personal and professional life.

Course Outline:
Segment 1 of this course will examine qualities of a staff team and strategies for creating one will be introduced. Hall directors will learn ways in which they can build, develop, and maintain a strong, staff team.

Segment 2 will examine the challenges and opportunities presented by residence hall programming. We'll identify ways that HDs can support their staff as they strive to succeed in this area. The course will also address the role that Hall Government and the advisement of this group plays within a residence hall.

Segment 3 will provide participants with a closer look at the role of the student judicial system. Hall directors will examine different methods for dealing with student conduct issues, strategies for conducting judicial meetings, and the role of education within the judicial system. Participants will discuss ideas for creative, educational sanctions for a variety of disciplinary issues. Finally, we will examine things hall directors can do to strike a balance between their personal and professional life.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify the qualities of a staff team and methods for building these qualities within a staff
• Implement teambuilding activities to maintain the team philosophy throughout the academic year
• Recognize the role education plays in the student judicial process and techniques for managing this process
• Possess a greater knowledge of creative, educational sanctions
• Understand basic concepts involved with the management of successful residence hall programming
• Possess knowledge of advisement techniques for residence hall governing systems
• Understand the importance of life and work balance and ways to achieve this

Participant Expectations:
Participants will be provided with 6 weeks to complete this course, and should plan to complete one segment every 2 weeks to complete the course on time.

Bios:
Dave McKelfresh is on a joint-appointment at Colorado State University as the Director of Staff Training and Assessment with Housing and Dining Services, and as an Assistant Professor in the Student Affairs in Higher Education graduate program. Dave received his Master's degree at Colorado State University, and his Ph.D. at the University of Northern Colorado. Most recently he has been a faculty member at the National Housing Training Institute in 2002 and with the ACUHO-I Stars College in 2003 at the Annual ACUHO-I Conference.

Kim Moistner-Bartlett is a Partner with Reslife.Net. She has over 12 years of experience within higher education and student affairs. She served as the Director of the Freshman Year Experience at The University of Southern Mississippi, a program she designed and implemented for the university. Prior to this commitment, she served as the Assistant Director of Residence Life for Staff and Student Development at The University of Southern Mississippi. She has also served in professional residence life positions at Temple University, Philadelphia University, and The University of Wisconsin-Stout. Kim received her M.A. in Student Personnel Administration in Higher Education from Ball State in 1992 and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1988. In addition to her work with Reslife.Net, Kim presents training workshops for student affairs professionals and student staff on a variety of topics including customer service, diversity, alcohol education and conflict mediation.