Theme House Application for the Academic Year

Transcription

1 Theme House Application for the Academic Year Thank you for your interest in applying to live in a Theme House! In the following packet you will find: 1. Application Time Line 2. Theme House Yearly Requirements 3. Application Policies & Procedures 4. General Polices of the Theme Houses 5. Tentative Monthly Report Template Also, please feel free to look over previous successful Theme House applications found in the Office of Residence Life. If at any time you have any questions, please contact the current Community Director of the Theme Houses, Daisy Bourassa at dbourassa@agnesscott.edu

2 Theme House Application Calendar Interest Meeting #1 : Interest Meeting #2: Applications Due: Wednesday 2/15 at 6:30pm, Lower Winship Thursday 2/16 at 6:30pm, Lower Winship Friday 3/3 no later than 4:00pm One hard copy to the Residence Life Office One electronic copy to Daisy Bourassa Panel Interviews: Monday 3/20 - Wednesday 3/22 Decision announced: Friday 3/24 by midnight *Note: Course registration for Fall 2017 is required for students to participate in housing selection

3 Theme House Requirements By accepting assignment to a theme house, you are making a commitment to participate in the activities outlines in your group s proposal. Participation includes, but is not limited to: Holding a minimum of one program per month (or 3 programs per semester) that are open for the involvement of the entire Agnes Scott community Holding at least one program each semester that is a service-learning event. This program must be in collaboration with Center for Leadership and Service Participating in the Theme House orientation session (date TBD) Assisting with the preparation and dissemination of monthly reports documenting and evaluating the house activities, programs and accomplishments (format TBD) Involving the house s faculty and or staff adviser in significant and continuous ways Meeting with the faculty advisor monthly (minimum) Participating in programs organized by resident life staff Sharing what you have learned with others in the theme house programs and the Agnes Scott community at events such as SpARC (poster or oral presentation) Actively supporting community building activities, including engaging the efforts of the theme house community Meeting weekly as a house to plan house events, upcoming programs, ongoing commitments, house issues etc. Remaining inside of the Programming Budget set by the Office of Residence Life. Additionally, all standard housing rules apply and students must adhere to rules set in place in the Student Handbook and Housing Contract. This includes but is not limited to conduct and behavior, party policy, guest policy, drug & alcohol policies etc. What if the requirements are not met? Individuals or groups who fail to meet program requirements will be formally warned by the Assistant Director of Residential Education and/or Director of Residence Life and given an opportunity to improve their performance during a specified probationary period. Failure to meet this commitment may result in a monetary fine and/or the reassignment of individuals or an entire group to available spaces on campus. Such fine or reassignment will be made at the discretion of the Director of Residence Life in consultation with the selection committee and residential staff members. Monthly Reports Currently, this report is due the 1 st of each and should include details outlining the previous month s events as well as your preparation for the upcoming month s events. The report currently includes programming, adviser interaction, reflection and assessment. A template will be provided. The house should decide if one resident will be responsible for these reports or if the writer will rotate monthly. Updates to the format of these reports will be communicated. Community Presentations Theme house participants are required to share what they have learned in the theme house community at SpARC (Tuesday, April 24, 2018). We encourage you to be creative in these presentations and engage the audience. These presentations should be representative of the entire year of work in the house; thus, it may be helpful to designate one person to archive pictures, flyers, information and summaries of all events.

4 Agnes Scott College Theme Policies and Procedures Written proposals for Theme Houses will be accepted until 4pm on Friday, March 3rd. Group interviews will take place between Monday 3/20 - Wednesday 3/22. Decisions will be made by a committee composed of members of the Dean of the College and Dean of Student administrative leadership. Announcements of the three selected theme houses for will be made by Friday, March 24th. One application providing all of the information below is required and should be reviewed by the faculty/staff advisor working together with house leaders. Please submit one printed and one electronic application to the Daisy Bourassa in the Office of Residence Life, Lower Winship, dbourassa@agnesscott.edu. All applications should include the following information: Proposed Name of Theme House: Faculty/Staff Advisers (names with contact information) Student Leadership* (names with contact information) * Limit of two students I. Purpose and mission of the theme house. Favored proposals will enhance or engage the curriculum or college mission in a substantive way. Sustainable living themes are encouraged to apply. II. III. IV. Specific expectations and rules for the house This should include procedures for how conflict & issues between residents will be managed. A final list of House Residents and a short description of the process of which members were recruited and selected. Please also explain the procedure for how openings that may develop over the year will be filled. The office of residence life reserves the right to place students if openings are not filled within a reasonable time. Proposed activities for the house and for house residents. We are especially looking for activities that engage the wider world as well as events that bring the campus community to the houses. Please specify the events as: i. First semester events ii. Second semester events iii. Community service and/or volunteer activities iv. Specific house activities open to the campus community

5 Agnes Scott College Theme Policies and Procedures V. A detailed budget proposal for each program. What supplies will each program require? How much will it cost? VI. VII. VIII. Specific role of faculty/staff/adviser(s) Each Theme House has a faculty/staff adviser who supports the house and its educational objectives. The adviser ensures a fair selection process and should have frequent interactions with the house residents. Favored proposals will show significant student and faculty/staff collaboration. The advisor selection plays an important role in the acceptance of your application. Please do not neglect finding a good fit. Faculty advisors are asked to complete the short survey of interest found here. Specific role of student leaders Each proposed house should designate one or two student leaders to arrange house activities, monitor resident involvement and to liaise with the area Resident Assistant (s) regarding house needs. The Theme House community will have two Resident Assistants appointed by the Residence Life Office who serve in a capacity that is separate from, but supportive of the theme house program. Acceptable Houses for your program. Please rank the two houses in the order of what would be appropriate for your programs and preferences. The First House (House #124) can accommodate 8-10 students divided into 4-5 double rooms. There are no singles. The Second House (House #132) can accommodate 6-8 students divided into 3-4 double rooms. There are no singles. The Third House (House #138) can accommodate 7-9 students arranged in 2-3 double rooms and 3 single rooms. Selected Theme House Proposals must fill all beds and rooms completely and work with the residence life office to keep the rooms filled throughout the academic year. All double rooms must be filled by two residents and single rooms are to be assigned to residents who are willing to pay the single room fee. Residence life reserves the right to fill any beds left open by the program during the academic year. Failure to fill a house may result in the reassignment of the house to a selected alternate program.

6 Agnes Scott College Theme Policies and Procedures General Rules and Policies Theme House residents must follow the same general policies that pertain to students living in traditional residence halls and which are presented in the Residence Life Housing Agreement, as well as the Student Handbook*. Note especially the following: 1. The Honor Code is still respected in the Theme Houses. The Office of Residence Life and Judicial Board will be enforcing these policies; however it is expected that residents take the initiative to follow the honor system as it is on campus. 2. The Alcohol Policy in the Theme Houses is as stated in the Student Handbook: a. Alcohol is restricted to campus-wide social functions held in designated areas as coordinated, evaluated and approved by the Dean of Students, and to designated areas of the house. Designated Theme House areas for alcohol consumption by students of legal drinking age are: i. individual rooms: consumption, preparation and storage ii. kitchen: preparation and storage (concealed in a clearly labeled bag) b. When transporting alcoholic beverages, students must carry them in a bag or similar covering, unless transporting them between rooms or from the kitchen to a room. Alcohol and alcoholic beverages must be covered when they are transported outside of houses. Parties involving the consumption of alcoholic beverages are not permitted unless approved by the Office of Residence Life. 3. All residents living in the Theme Houses have the privilege of the upper-class guest policy. The policy with regards to the maximum number of days a visitor may stay overnight is the same as for other residence halls three. In addition, because a Theme House is a community environment, students in Theme Houses should also follow the Party Policy as stated in the Student Handbook. i. Parties are defined as gatherings of 13 or more individuals were alcohol is served. These events must be approved by the Office of Residence Life. Party requests should be received two weeks prior to the event for maximum consideration. If serving alcohol, all attendants must be of legal drinking age, 21 or older. 4. Students are expected to show consideration at all times for those studying or sleeping in the house. Quiet Hours are to be observed by all students as posted.

7 Agnes Scott College Theme Policies and Procedures 5. The following are involved with the managing of Theme Houses: a. Resident Assistants (RA) serve as the live-in student staff primarily responsible for operations of the three theme houses. Each RA is required to make rounds within the houses when serving as the RA on-call for the area, provide programming opportunities for their house s residents outside of theme related events and mediate roommate conflicts as needed. b. A Graduate Assistant will work closely with the RAs and oversees the management of all the Theme Houses and assists with general programming and resolution of residential issues. c. Each Theme House designates one or two Student Leaders who are responsible for communicating house needs to the Residence Life Office in addition to programming and planning in the house. Student leaders also oversee resident participation and contribution to house activities. House leaders must update Residence Life representatives on a consistent basis regarding the programming and community in the house. d. Each Theme House has a faculty/staff adviser who supports the house and its educational objectives. 6. Each Theme House has a house budget for the academic year to assist in campus-wide programming. The Director of Residence Life determines the budget each year (estimated at $200 per house, per year). 7. All students with a car on campus must register the car with Public Safety. Theme House residents may only park in the West Parking Deck located behind the Theme Houses. Refer to the Student Handbook for additional parking information. 8. Each Theme House may be opened by a resident s Student ID card. Card access issues should be reported to Information Technology Services. 9. Theme House residents should contact the Department of Public Safety for all police, fire (including fire alarm issues) or medical emergencies. 10.This is not an exhaustive list of expectations or amenities. Additional policies or procedural revisions may be implemented as needed. Applicants will be informed in advance of changes (if applicable). * Subject to revisions

8 Previously used template for writing monthly reports. The format may change slightly for the academic year. Theme House: Prepared by: Date: Summary: What programs did you put on this month? How did the preparation and advertisement go for the programs? What was the attendance like at the programs? As a house, did you attend any programs from other organizations? How are the long term projects going? How about service learning? Faculty Advisor: What kind of interaction have you had with your advisor this month? Have you invited your advisor to your programs? Does your advisor seem responsive to your communication? Assessment: How was this month overall? Highs? Lows? Anything else you would like to share? Upcoming Programming: How is the planning coming along for the next month s programming? Do you have a basic idea of who is advertising? Who is contacting the needed guests for the program? Buying supplies or cooking? **Please save document as House Theme, Month and year for example: Culinary House, October 2011 and share it with the Theme House GHD in the designated Google Doc folder provided to you