Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol 49, No. 1 - 44

As our participants recommend, explicit articulations of why a process exists
and its contribution to student learning on each form or process could aid
in student development of NACE competencies.
on-campus life. Participants utilized words such as " not expecting, " " unintentional, "
and " as a result of living on campus. " While reflecting on the NACE competency of problem
solving and decision making around a facilities emergency, one student (White,
female, freshman) pointed out, " I think it gave us the opportunity to grow . . . it was very
unintentional, but I think I definitely learned more being at [college] because you are
on your own. " This student saw a facility emergency as an empowering moment within
her collegiate experience. Holding a leadership role has also provided participants with
unexpected opportunities to interact with NACE competencies. While reflecting on
problem solving and decision making, another student (Asian, female, junior) commented
on her experience as a residence assistant (RA). " I credit a lot of growth to the
RA role because it's problem solving and decision making in a different way, in a way
I never thought I would make, like emergency situations. " By serving as an RA, the
participant was able to engage with the NACE competencies of leadership and problem
solving and decision making in a way that she was not initially expecting.
Engagement with Residence Life
Another theme reflecting how participant experiences have mapped with NACE competencies
was engagement with residence life, which comprises residence life-facilitated
processes (i.e., roommate agreements, facilities work requests, interactions with residence
life staff) and student leadership positions within residence life. Table 4 (see
page 42) presents results from the intake survey showing that participants connected
NACE competencies to residence life-facilitated processes, opportunities, and staffing.
Residence life-facilitated processes. The subtheme of residence life-facilitated processes
can be defined as a resident's engagement with departmentally determined, standard
business processes such as a roommate agreement, room change, student leader
application, interaction with a residence life staff member, or a work order involving
a NACE competency. As depicted in Table 4, more than half of the participants have
had experiences with submitting a work order or communicating with a residence life
staff member, and every interview participant who self-identified as participating in
a residence life-facilitated process credited the process with utilizing at least one of
the 12 NACE competencies.
Five participants spoke about how the roommate agreement process of the residence
life department resulted in growth in various NACE competencies. When asked about
roommate disagreements, one student (White, female, junior) noted, " The roommate
contract really made me think about my written communication . . . am I communicating
my expectations clearly? " In this example, the participant was asked to complete a
form designed by residence life professionals-a roommate agreement-with a specific
process in mind, which utilized the NACE competency of written communication.
Volume 49, No. 1 * 2022 41

Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol 49, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol 49, No. 1