Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 59

imparting knowledge" and works within
an "educational establishment" such
as an institution of higher education.
As this type of position is exempt from
a minimum salary requirement, it
opens possibilities for those live-in staff.
For example, could the exemption be
applied to live-in staff, and what would
be required to do so? Would teaching
an RA leadership class once a year be
sufficient? These are questions that, as
yet, are unanswered.
Another example of differential
impact could be an institution's efforts
in recruiting staff. What would be
the result if an institution reclassified
live-in staff to non-exempt status and
limited ancillary responsibilities such
as advising a student organization or
serving on a committee within the
division? If they were restricted to work
on only those primary responsibilities
during work hours, will they later be
at a disadvantage in their professional
advancement efforts as compared to
those who worked at institutions that
have the resources to increase salaries
to the base? This is a particularly
concerning byproduct for small schools
where there are typically fewer resources
and where professional development
opportunities often occur through
secondary, on-campus responsibilities
that align with staff members' personal
interests.

a minimized version, is it reasonable
to expect that these individuals will be
prepared to lead housing and residence
life departments in the future and
particularly during times of crisis?
Moving forward, the profession will
have to consider how role changes
like this will alter the experience and
expertise of professionals early in their
careers and adjust expectations and
opportunities accordingly.
The work of campus housing is
largely about being prepared for the
unexpected and reacting appropriately.
The ruling from the Department of
Labor is another instance that the

profession will explore and respond
to. The approaches may some day
soon prove to be different, but the goal
remains the same. 

Holly Asimou is the ACUHO-I research
initiatives manager.
 holly@acuho-i.org
Emily Glenn is the ACUHO-I corporate
librarian.
 emily@acuho-i.org

Another suggested change is to
hire additional staff to manage oncall responsibilities. Reassigning
professional responsibilities is
understandable from a budgetary
standpoint, but changes like this
can result in unintended longterm consequences. For instance,
chief housing officers and aspiring
generalists typically begin their careers
as entry-level, live-in staff because these
positions uniquely situate professionals
to engage with students in the halls
and call on them to address critical
incidents and hone crisis management
skills. Ultimately, the experience of
developing this skill-set also serves to
contextualize their work with students.
Without this aspect of the job, or even
JULY + AUGUST 2016

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