JEDI Audit: How does offering housing and meal plans benefit and disadvantage

Community Advisors?

Neyda Diaz, Freda Kdopo, Sandra Monroy, & Kamal Singh

Higher Education and Student Affairs

HESA 502: Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice

Dr. Quortne R. Hutchings

May 10, 2022

 Abstract

Community advisors, also frequently referred to as resident assistants, are often

compensated through housing and meal plans for their work in the residence halls. While this

may serve as a benefit to many students, the low wage is a barrier for others. At Northern Illinois

specifically, CAs only receive a wage of $13 per hour for two hours a week. This quantitative

study examines the benefits and disadvantages of being a CA at Northern Illinois University as

they pertain to housing needs and additional sources of income. Findings suggest that first-

generation students and students of minoritized communities benefit from the compensation

through the form of housing. However, first-generation students are at a disadvantage as they

receive minimal wages. Recommendations include decreasing the hours in CAs’ contracts,

offering additional pay and scholarships to students of minoritized communities. Moreover,

recommendations are made to analyze the cost of campus housing in efforts to make it more

accessible to students of diverse backgrounds.

Introduction

Community advisors (CAs), also frequently known as resident assistants, often receive

housing and meal plans as compensation for their work in the residence halls. While this may

serve as a benefit to many, some CAs at Northern Illinois University (NIU) have voiced their

concerns for the low wages and the limited hours they are allowed to work at other on-campus

jobs due to their CAs contracts. For context, all NIU students are only allowed to work up to 25

hours per week and the CA position is contracted for 15 hours a week. However, CAs have

expressed their frustration as they report not working the full 15 hours every week for their CA

position, but are still not allowed to work elsewhere on campus.

 For that reason, the purpose of this study is to determine whether the CAs report working

the full 15 hours listed in their contract and how their unique housing and meal plan

compensation benefit and disadvantage CAs. Through the use of a quantitative multiple-choice

survey, CAs were asked how many hours they spend completing their CA responsibilities,

whether they would be able to live on or off campus without the CA position, and whether they

have additional sources of income beyond the CA position. The data was grouped by students’

identities and analyzed as there is a particular interest in how it impacts first-generation students

and students of minoritized communities as it may reveal some areas in which the institution can

improve and build a more equitable, just, and inclusive campus.

Establishing the Context and Review of Literature

Carnegie Classification

By its Carnegie Classification (2023), NIU is considered an R1, very high research

doctoral-granting university. It is a public-not-for-profit four-year institution that primarily

serves the residential area, with around 16,700 students in the Fall of 2020 (Institutional Search,

para. 1-3). NIU’s primary demographic is undergraduate students; however, NIU also serves

graduate and transfer students. The undergraduate curriculum includes a well-balanced blend of

the arts, sciences, professions and some graduate coursework. The graduate curriculum includes

doctoral research: and comprehensive programs (Institutional Search, para. 2). Overall, NIU is a

highly proficient school that provides many educational opportunities to students.

Demographics

NIU serves a very diverse student population and is at the cusp of becoming a Hispanic

Serving Institution. Many first-year students choose to live on campus and NIU houses a total of

3,500 students in the residence hall. In line with the university’s student population, most of
those residents are undergraduate students. By looking at the data regarding residents’

ethnicities, Black Non-Hispanic undergraduate students predominantly live on campus at

36.99%, the second highest population being White Non-Hispanic students at 30.55%, and the

third highest is Hispanic at 22.22%. Asian Non-Hispanic students make up 5.57%, and other

ethnicities make up the remaining 4.66%. These numbers vary from the students who live off

campus. The highest being White Non-Hispanic at 50.56%, Hispanic at 24.57%, and Black Non-

Hispanic at 12.03%. Asian Non-Hispanics make up 7.11%, and other ethnicities 5.73%. Black

Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and White Non-Hispanic are the three predominant ethnicities served at

NIU on and off campus.

Community Advisor Demographics

After reviewing the student population, data was analyzed to determine whether the

community advisors’ identities were proportional to the student population in the residence halls.

NIU has 136 CAs that act as leaders on their floors and a touch point for students on campus. Of

those 136 CAs, 79, or 58%, are female, and 57, or 42%, are males. Moreover, of those 136 CAs,

58, or 42%, identify as White, 49, or 36%, identify as Black, 22 or 16% identify as Hispanic, and

seven or .05% identify as Asian. Comparing the demographics from residents who live on

campus to the CAs, it can be seen that the predominant ethnicities who live in the resident halls

are also represented in the CA population.

Community Advisor Experience and Responsibilities

For many college students, employment provides unique opportunities for learning, and

on-campus jobs offer these opportunities. The resident advisor position is one on-campus

position offering the potential for learning experiences. Colleges and universities throughout the

United States employ CAs to manage residence hall environments, assist residents in
establishing a sense of community, and to refer students to campus resources that will help them

fulfill their educational mission. A residence life "CA" can be referred to by many names, such

as Resident Assistant, Resident Advisor, Community Living Assistant, Community Advisor,

Resident Mentor, etc. (Roompact, 2023). CA positions are usually part-time jobs that require 20

or more hours per week and are responsible for assisting paraprofessionals while maintaining

full-time enrollment. Several studies have demonstrated that students in CA positions are more

prone to experiencing stressful situations and developing personal difficulties than their peers.

As a result, there have been concerns as to whether there are too many expectations of CAs and

whether the position is too demanding for undergraduate students. (McLaughlin, 2018).

MacLaughlin (2018) defines CAs as residence hall employees who are undergraduate

students (usually sophomores standing or above) who play an integral role in promoting students'

personal, social, academic, and professional development. CAs serve as front-line, direct

paraprofessionals in the residence hall environment. As part of their responsibilities, CAs are

required to fulfill a variety of roles, including, but not limited to (a) serving as a role model; (b)

leading, initiating, supporting, or advising programming initiatives; (c) providing peer helper

assistance; (d) providing information and referring students to campus services and resources; (e)

facilitating group formation; (f) performing administrative duties; and (g) explaining and

enforcing regulations and policies. In exchange for room, board and any stipends, the CA

position requires nearly 24-hour availability and the ability to respond to a wide variety of issues

in residence halls.

Many students who live on campus might think that being a CA is nothing more than a

way to get free room and board. While it is true that most CAs get these benefits and sometimes

a stipend, being a CA requires a lot more than your standard college job. CAs must know how to
talk to people, balance school and work, and have respect for diversity. CAs are often confronted

with challenges, but there are several positives one can take away from this position, such as

academic motivation, personal growth, networking, and transferable skills. In Illinois, many CAs

are compensated with waived fees for housing and meal plans and are given a monthly stipend of

roughly $105.00. CAs are required to complete procedures such as checking the security of the

building, making sure residents in the residence halls are safe, and making sure there are no

unaddressed concerns, as well as being available to anyone who needs assistance (Zippia, n.d.).

Community Advisors at NIU

According to the Housing and Residential Life department of NIU, CAs are student staff

members who serve as role models and mentors to residents in their community on campus. CAs

work to encourage individual growth while promoting a safe, secure, and welcoming community

where students can have a positive living and learning experience. To become a CA at NIU,

students must complete a number of education requirements, such as completing 24 credits by

the end of the semester in which they apply, maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher

while employed, having one semester of group living experience, being in good judicial standing

with the university, as well as enrolling full-time.

NIU CAs perform many duties, including helping residents with personal and academic

issues, promoting mature behavior, organizing programs and events, establishing relationships

with residents, and enforcing university policies. These CAs work a maximum of 15 hours per

week, of which 2 hours are office hours, and the remaining hours are devoted to other duties.

They receive two hours' pay at $13 an hour for their desk duty, and the extra time is compensated

with free housing and meals. (NIU, 2023).

Methods
Data Collection

This study used a quantitative approach and gathered data through the use of a survey.

The survey was designed with 23 multiple choice questions that looked to answer the guiding

question: How does offering housing and meal plans benefit and disadvantage Community

Advisors? The 23 questions were put into a Google form and were approved by the Director of

Housing and Residential Life. Upon approval, the survey was provided to the professional staff

of each NIU residence hall and the professional staff was expected to forward the survey to the

CAs. CAs were informed that the survey was voluntarily and completely anonymous. A total of

93 responses were collected for a 68% response rate.

Data Analysis

The 23 survey questions were categorized into four sections: general questions, housing

needs, additional sources of income, and demographics. Within the general questions, CAs were

asked how many hours they spent completing their CA responsibilities and whether they would

still consider being a CA if the housing and meal plan were not included. The purpose of these

questions was to determine whether the CAs were utilizing the full 15 hours they are contracted

for and whether the housing and meal plan influenced their decisions to become CAs.

The demographic section included first generation status, race and ethnicity, and

LGBTQ+ status. CAs whose neither parent had attained a 4-year college degree were considered

first-generation. Moreover, for ethnicity, participants were offered a variety of identities to

choose from. However, for the purpose of this study, only participants that identified as solely

Black/African American, White/Caucasian, or Latino/a/x were included in the data analysis for

the race and ethnicity portion. The choice to only include these identities was made due to not

enough information being gathered of CAs who identified with the other racial and ethnic
identities provided. Lastly, students were also given a variety of genders and sexual identities to

choose from. Students who identified as part of the LGTBQ+ community were grouped together

as the purpose of this study was not to analyze their individual experience, but rather their

experience as a community.

After all the participants were grouped by first-generation versus non- first-generation

status, LGBTQ+ versus non-LBGTQ+, and by race and ethnicity, the data was analyzed to

determine how these identities correlate with the housing needs and additional sources of income

survey responses. The housing questions asked whether the resident would be able to live on-

campus by paying out of pocket, through the help of FAFSA or scholarships, or through

subsidized or unsubsidized loans. The final question pertaining to housing asked if CAs would

be able to live off-campus and still attend NIU. For the additional sources of income, students

were asked if students had another job outside of their CA position either on-campus, off-

campus, or both. Additionally, CAs were asked whether they had other sources of income

beyond any jobs they hold.

Findings

Figure 1
Figure 1 demonstrated that 82.6% of CAs would not be in the CA role if housing and meal plan

were not included.

Figure 2

Figure 2 demonstrated that not including the 2 paid CA office hours, CAs reported working less

than 15 hours a week. 34.4% of CAs reported only working 0-5 hours, while 38.7% percent
reported working 6-10 hours. 19.4% reported working 11-15 hours and 7.5% reported working

over the 15 contracted hours. It is important to note that CAs likely did not take into

consideration the 12 hours they are on call and instead only considered the time they spent

completing tasks.

Figure 3

Figure 3 demonstrates that a higher percentage of first-generation CAs reported working on

campus jobs and off-campus jobs simultaneously than non-first-generation students.

Additionally, a higher percentage of non-first-generation CAs reported having other sources of

income in comparison to first-generation students.

Figure 3.1
Figure 3.1 demonstrates that consistently a lower percent of first-generation CAs reported being

able to live on-campus without the CA position compared to non-first-generation students, the

only exception being CAs that felt comfortable living on-campus with the help of loans.

However, a higher percentage of first-generation CAs reported they could afford to live on or off

campus without the CA position through at least 1 other form of payment in comparison to non-

first generation CAs. This is likely due to first-generation CAs' answers being less concentrated

through the other areas in comparison to non-first-generation CAs.

Figure 4
Figure 4 demonstrates that a higher percentage of Latino/a/x CAs reported having an additional

on-campus job(s) in comparison to the other two groups analyzed in this graph. However, a

higher percentage of White/Caucasian CAs reported having an off-campus job(s) than the

Black/African American and Latino/a/x CAs. Additionally, a significantly higher percentage of

White/Caucasian CAs reported having an on and off campus job. And lastly, a significantly

higher percentage of White/Caucasian have an additional source(s) of income, with Latino/a/x

CAs trailing far behind, and Black/African Americans even further behind.

Figure 4.1
Figure 4.1 demonstrates that a very low percentage of CAs would be able to live on-campus by

paying out of pocket, regardless of their ethnic and racial identity. However, all Latino/a/x CAs

reported not being able to get on-campus housing with the help of FAFSA/Scholarships, which is

not consistent with other ethnic and racial demographics. Additionally, a higher percentage of

Black/African American CAs reported being comfortable pursuing on-campus housing through

the use of loans than the other two groups in this graph. A lower percentage of Black/African

American and Latinx CAs reported being able to live off-campus and still attend NIU than

White/Caucasian CAs. And lastly, a lower percentage of Black/African American and Latinx

CAs reported being able to live on or off campus without the CA position in comparison to the

White/Caucasian group.

Figure 5
Figure 5 demonstrates that LGBTQ+ CAs were less likely to hold additional jobs and more

likely to have additional sources of income beyond in comparison to non-LBGTQ+ CAs.

Figure 5.1
Figure 5.1 demonstrates that none of LGBTQ+ CAs and a low percentage of non-LGBTQ+ CAs

would be able to live on-campus by paying out of pocket. Additionally, a significantly lower

percentage of LGBTQ+ CAs that non-LGBTQ CAs reported being able to live on campus with

the help of FAFSA/scholarships or being able to live off campus and still attend NIU.

Recommendations

It is important to note that there was a discrepancy in how data was collected at the

institutional level versus how data was collected for this study. The institution limits the options

students can choose from to describe their ethnic identity and racial identity while this survey

gave them the opportunity to select from larger selection that most accurately described their

identities. Additionally, the institution collected the demographics of CAs and separated the data

into two genders, male and female. However, in this study, CAs were given the choice of
selecting more inclusive, non-binary options. Thus, it is recommended that the institution

become more inclusive of the ways in which it allows CAs and students to identify as it would

give practitioners a better understanding of the student population being served and their student

staff.

Moreover, based on the findings, it is evident that providing housing and meal plans

benefits first-generation CAs and CAs of minority communities as it increases their likelihood of

attending NIU and living on-campus. However, only providing CAs with monetary

compensation for two hours also leads to a disproportionate percentage of first-generation CAs

needing to work additional jobs. As also shown through the data, first-generation, Black/African

American, and Latino/a/x CAs are less likely to receive income from additional sources. It is

highly likely that these CA populations are less likely to receive other sources of income due to

the systemic injustices that have prevented these populations from accumulating generational

wealth and have systematically kept them in low-socioeconomic statuses.

Considering that a majority of CAs reported working less than the 15 hours that are

included in the contract, it is recommended that their contracted hours be decreased in order for

them to be able to work additional jobs that would allow them to receive financial compensation

and alleviate some of their financial struggles. Additionally, the survey used for this study also

collected data on where CAs with additional jobs and sources of income spend their money. It is

recommended that this study be expanded for this information to be further analyzed and for

there to be a better understanding of the need for the CAs’ contracted hours to be decreased to

allow CAs to work additional on-campus jobs. An alternative would also be for the department

to pay more of the hours that the CAs are already contracted for in wages.
 Moreover, considering that a majority of CAs reported not being interested in the CA

position if housing and meal plans were not included as part of the compensation, it can be

concluded that many CAs were influenced by this incentive as it allowed them to continue being

students at NIU. This is also highly likely the case for many of the CAs of minoritized

communities who reported not being able to live on campus or off-campus while still attending

NIU. For that reason, it is also recommended that housing scholarships be provided to students to

increase their chances of completing a degree at NIU and that students of minoritized

communities be given priority of these scholarships as they seem to be the most reliant on the

CA position for housing and meal plans.

Our further recommendation is to build on this quantitative data by conducting interviews

and focus groups to better understand the CA experience. In addition to where CAs spend their

income, the questions in this survey that were not analyzed in this study could answer how CAs'

jobs impact the credit hours they complete, whether CAs are involved in extracurricular

activities, and how their intersecting identities influence their experience. Diving deeper to

analyze this data can drive institutions to look at other aspects of the CA experience.

Moreover, building on this study could pave the way for other institutions to replicate the

way NIU compensates their CAs. To some extent, NIU promotes equity by providing students

with a pathway to live on-campus for “free” through the use of the CA position. Based on this

data, it is evident first-generation students and students minoritized communities have

significantly benefited from this. Nonetheless, this study also exposes the need for CAs’ to

receive additional compensation, whether through the housing department or elsewhere. Lastly,

this study signals that there is a need for institutions to evaluate the cost of on-campus housing to

make it accessible to all the student populations served.

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