College Glossaries:
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Residence Life Terms
There's so much to learn when you first arrive in a residence hall, and it sure would be nice if you could start with the acronyms you see posted everywhere. Posters encouraging you to "Call your RA to sign up!" and "Contact your HD for more information!" would be much more informative if you actually knew what those titles meant. Below, you'll find the most commonly used terms and what they mean.
- AC: Area Coordinator. This person usually oversees an area of your hall, or an area of your campus. They have more responsibility, and may sometimes supervise, Resident Advisers (RAs).
- AD: Area Director. This is usually just another title for an Area Coordinator (AC).
- HC: 1) Hall Coordinator. A hall coordinator is typically in charge of your entire hall and oversees Resident Advisers (RAs).
HC: 2) HC can also stand for Hall Council, which is a small governing body that serves as a student voice and helps make decisions and plan programs for your hall community.
- HD: Hall Director. Hall Directors are often the same things as Hall Coordinators (HCs).
- LLC: Living-Learning Community. These are becoming more and more popular on college campuses. An LLC is a community where students who live together also take one or more classes together. There are often events in the hall that connect to what is being covered in everyone's coursework.
- RA: Resident Adviser. These are most often fellow students who have been hired to "work" in the halls to help build community, provide resources, and handle emergencies. Most schools require RAs to be upperclassmen.
- RC: 1) Resident Coordinator. This term is a bit more fluid than the others, and can mean someone similar to a Hall Coordinator (HC) or an Area Coordinator (AC).
RC: 2) RC can also stand for Residence Council, which is frequently the same thing as a Hall Council (HC).
- RD: Resident Director. Resident Director is often the same as an Resident Coordinator (RC).
- RHA: Residence Hall Association. This is typically the same thing as a Hall Council (HC) or Residence Council (RC).
Keep in mind, of course, that each campus has their own unique titles and structure. Most importantly, though, remember that people working in your hall were chosen because they are friendly and helpful people by nature. So, if you're not sure about where to go for help or more information, starting with any member of your hall staff is a great first step!
(Once you've mastered the lingo of your residence hall, you can move on to learning the academic language and financial aid terms you'll need to know during your college career.)
