Duty Procedures

It is important for you to familiarize yourself with the duty procedures for Resident Assistants.  Please read through the sign-in procedures and expectations for Resident Assistants in the RA Handbook. The on-call Resident Director is responsible for ensuring the Resident Assistants on-duty fulfill these tasks and expectations.

Duty Sign In Procedures

When it is time to sign-in for duty:

• Meet the two Resident Assistants on-call in the RA office. A duty schedule is posted in the RA office to verify who is RA1 and RA2 that evening.
• Gather a radio, RD duty phone, phone charger and the RD duty bag from the RA office. Make sure all batteries are charged and all supplies are in the bag.  Sign out keys, radio, phone and phone charger on the master log.
• Radio to dispatch to let them know your name and that you are signing on as the RD on duty.
• Discuss any pertinent issues, community concerns or tasks with the on-call Resident Assistants. Be sure the Resident Assistants have checked the Duty Box for any letters that need to be delivered.

Duty Rounds

In order to monitor the safety and security of the community and our facilities, the duty crew completes several walkthroughs of the residential campus afterhours. While on rounds, staff members are checking for maintenance issues, community disruptions and other safety concerns. The on-call staff is expected to address potential policy violations and behavior disruptive to the community.

• Between 6 - 10 p.m., Resident Assistants are expected to complete one walkabout of their area (Phase I or Phase II).  The RAs should walk around the exterior of the area, checking for facility concerns, vandalism, and policy violations.  Additionally, this time should be used to chat socially with residents in the community. 
• The duty crew as a team completes one walkthrough of housing at 11 p.m. on weekday evenings (Sunday - Thursday).  On Friday and Saturday evenings, walkthroughs are done at both 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. The duty crew is accompanied by Police Services during walkthroughs. At these designated times, the entire crew assembles at the HCC to begin walkthroughs.
• After the last set of rounds, the duty crew returns the radios to the RA office to be charged.  Each member must first call dispatch to let them know they are signing off of the radio and will be reachable by the duty cell phone for the rest of the evening.
• The next morning, all duty equipment should be returned by 10 a.m.  Plug in the duty cell phone to charge, return and lock up the keys, and return the duty bag.

Using the Duty Equipment

All duty equipment (keys, phones, radios and duty bags) is kept in the RA office.  Keys are stored in the key cabinets on the backside wall. The other equipment is stored on the shelving unit with the charging stations. All staff members must sign out the duty equipment at the start of each duty shift, and sign equipment back in when their shift is over.

Radio

The radio is used as the primary means of communication for the duty crew and Police Services. Unless a Resident Director is off-campus, meeting with a student, or going to bed, the Resident Director should remain on radio and respond to radio communication as necessary. You might want to add what they should do when not using the radio here. Even if it’s repetitive, it would be helpful to have it here.  All radio communication is monitored by Police Services and therefore communication over the radio is not confidential.  All confidential or sensitive information should be communicated using the duty phones; radios should be used for brief and business conversations only.

• To use the radio, turn on the power and set the volume.  Switch the radio to channel 3.
• To radio someone, say the title of the person you want to talk to (e.g. "RA2" not "Chen") and then who you are.  Every radio communication should begin with something like "RA2 to RD" or "Dispatch to RD." Then, pause and wait for the person to respond before continuing.
• When you are finished communicating, you say "RD Clear.”
• When the battery is low, you will hear a repetitive beep.  You must change your radio with one charging in the RA office.

Duty Cell Phone

The duty crew must carry a duty cell phone at all times.  The duty phones are used to communicate sensitive information or talk to other duty staff at length.  The phone are for RA- related work only and is not to be used for personal calls at any time.  The cell phone numbers are never given out to students - if a student needs to get ahold of a person on duty, they must call Police Services and Dispatch will forward the call as appropriate. Only give out the number to Police Services when giving students your afterhours contact information.

Duty Key Use

It is important to be extremely careful when using or possessing the master key set.  The master key set allows Resident Directors access to any room in the residential campus - if the keys fall into the hands of a non-staff member it could jeopardize the safety and security of the community.  Resident Assistants are given an expanded administrative key set when they are on call.  These keys allow them to turn off fire alarms, access event equipment storage rooms, and lock residence hall buildings. The Resident Assistants on duty can check out the keys at the start of their duty shift.

If keys are misplaced or lost, it must be reported immediately. Rekeying buildings may be necessary when safety or security is compromised. Resident Assistants must report lost or missing keys to you within 24 hours.

• 9.3a Introduction to Duty Responsibilities
• 9.3b Duty Sign In Procedures
• 9.3c Duty Communication & Incident Reporting
• 9.3d Crisis Response
• 9.3e Resources & Contact Information

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