Where do DAs Work?

Desk Assistants work at 3 primary types of locations:

Service Areas:

Residential Area Offices have been established at two locations throughout the residential community and are open from 8am to 8pm daily.  These offices house spare keys for checkout, provide administrative functions such as check-in and check-out for mid year moves, as well as maintain important records and integrity of the area. 

The Centralized Mailroom is located in the Decker Hall Main Lounge, and manages packages for students and staff. The Mailroom is open for resident package pick-up from 2:00pm- 9:00pm and from 12:00pm – 2:00pm staff will be in the Mailroom sorting/scanning in packages before opening to residents.

Service Areas are located as follows:

Night Desks:

Night Desks are in each operational residence hall  from 8pm – 12 am daily.  These desks add a layer of security to our halls at critical hours. The Night Desks is where residents will provide ID proving they live in the building they are entering. Information collected at the night desk is critical to the department during emergency situations. Night Desk DAs are responsible for signing in all guests and supporting the student staff on duty in their buildings.

*Any changes to our current policies will be communicated via email from housing@tcnj.edu, as well as resedstaff@tcnj.edu.*

The Department of Residential Education and Housing

Mission of the Department

As a DA you are now officially part of the Department of Residential Education and Housing.  Therefore, during every interaction you have with a resident and/or guest, you are a representation of our department.  It is important that you understand the mission of the organization of which you are now part. We expect that you will endeavor to fulfill the following mission at all times while you are on shift:

Think about how you can demonstrate your commitment to this mission while serving as a Desk Assistant.  

• When signing in a guest at the night desk, are you doing everything in your power to make it a welcoming and positive experience?  
• When you are faced with a guest that is unaware of our policy, are you responding to them with empathy and education?

It is easy to view the Desk Assistant position as purely administrative, however, every interaction should be a human interaction, which is more than just a task.

Residential Staff

Desk Assistants work with a variety of people to ensure the smooth functioning of the Residence Hall.  At various times you will work with the following:

• Residence Director (RD) – The professional staff member assigned to supervise and manage the day-to-day operations of a residence hall(s).  This person supervises all of the student staff in a particular area, promotes learning throughout the community, and manages any behavioral concerns occurring in the building(s).  
• Student Manager of Residential Operations (SMRO) – Student Managers assist the RD in managing the administrative functions of the residence halls.  This includes scheduling Desk Assistants for Area Offices and Night Desks, conducting key and building inventories, as well as other functions. Desk Assistants can expect to have a high level of contact with the SMRO.
• Community Advisor (CA)- CAs help the RD manage the community functions of the residence hall. This includes living on the floor with residents to provide support and guidance. The CAs facilitate community activities at the direction of the RD and ensure compliance with the Guide to Residence Living and Student Conduct Code. CAs on duty are in the hall offices from 8pm to 12am daily and are an excellent resource for Desk Assistants.
• SMRO, Graduate Assistant, & Pro-staff on Duty:  Each evening there will be one SMRO on duty and one staff member at the Graduate or Professional level from the department on duty for residents on campus.  If there are any questions that need immediate response or emergency situations these individuals are available by cell phone. Each Hall Office will maintain the schedule detailing who is on duty each evening. The Desk Assistant should always start with the SMRO On-Duty.  The Duty personnel can be reached at the following numbers:
  • SMRO On-Duty:  609-203-8985

Confidentiality and Record Keeping

Access to Information

In order to perform the functions required by the Desk Assistant position, you will have access to sensitive information regarding our residents. Some examples of information you will have access to include:

Desk Assistants must keep all sensitive information secured at all times.  This includes making sure all drawers are closed, and where possible, locked.  Sensitive information should never be left visible to unauthorized personnel on a computer screen.  If you must leave the office you should make sure that the computer is not left on a page that contains student information.  Finally, key cabinets must be closed at all times when unattended.

Desk Assistants are prohibited from sharing this information with non-authorized personnel at any time.  Additionally, Desk Assistants are only permitted to access information related to tasks they are performing at that given moment.  You may not, for example, look up information of friends out of curiosity.  Abuse of the these access privileges may lead to job action.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA is a federal law the seeks to protect the privacy of student records, as well as ensure student access to information collected about them.  As an employee of the College, Desk Assistants are expected to both understand FERPA as well as adhere to all standards at TCNJ.

The Office of Records and Registration has prepared a FERPA Tutorial for all members of the TCNJ community.  All Desk Assistants are expected to review this tutorial in its entirety as part of their training.

Please click here for access to the tutorial.