Date Approved

5-6-2021

Embargo Period

5-7-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. Higher Education Administration

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Wright-Mair, Raquel

Committee Member 1

Dale, Dianna

Committee Member 2

McCombs, Tyrone

Keywords

resident assistants, student leadership, Title IX, training

Subject(s)

Resident assistants (Dormitories)--Training of; Rape--Law and legislation

Disciplines

Higher Education

Abstract

Resident Assistants juggle various roles as student staff members to ensure residents are supported and safe. Yet, RAs are widely considered to be some of the most under-trained and ill-prepared employees on college campuses (Letarte, 2012). At many institutions, RAs are considered Responsible Employees under Title IX which means they are required to report instances of sexual misconduct when they are made aware of them. Often times, this is done against the will of the survivor; a phenomenon referred to as compelled disclosure (Holland et al., 2018). The purpose of this study was to explore the potential harm caused to survivors of sexual misconduct by putting such great responsibility into undergraduate student staff. As a researcher, I conducted a survey of residential students and RAs at Rowan University to determine the effect this dynamic has on RA's ability to build relationships with their residents. Additionally, I sought to determine the level of knowledge Rowan's RAs had of mandatory reporting requirements and whether the training they receive is effective. The results of this study provide support for the need of further research to be done as the current literature is limited on such a severely important and prevalent topic.

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