Thank you for stopping by to learn more about the Commission for Housing & Residential Life (CHRL). Take some time to look through our content and don’t hesitate to share how you’d like to get involved. Use the menu below to jump to a section of interest.
Please contact us at CHRL@acpa.nche.edu or connect with the members of our Directorate Body with questions or ideas.
OUR MISSION & purpose
Residence halls are one of the primary settings for student development programs in colleges and universities. The Commission for Housing and Residential Life (CHRL) is one of the largest of ACPA’s commissions and actively involves its members in meeting seven major objectives:
- To provide leadership to ACPA and the profession in general for student development in college residence halls.
- To identify issues of special concern and advise colleagues regarding these concerns through the support of research efforts, survey information, reports, position papers, and task force investigations.
- To communicate innovative ideas, special issues, problem resolution, and research information with a broad base of individuals throughout the country who are involved in residence education.
- To maintain a working relationship with other professional organizations, student associations, and other commissions, divisions, and agencies within ACPA that maintain similar or overlapping objectives.
- To cultivate professional development experiences through sponsoring and implementing convention programs and regional workshops.
- To assist in developing a set of professional standards for staff working in residence halls.
- To develop a plan and a process for evaluating the work and leadership of the Commission.
CHRL Research GRANT
CHRL Grant applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Please submit your proposal to Ann Schafer at annschafer@ou.edu and the committee will review it within 3-5 weeks of your submission date.
Process for submission
- Provide a program description and its link to the Housing and Residential Life.
- Outline intended outcomes.
- Detail the intended population and expected number to be impacted by this initiative.
- Describe how this research showcases new information.
- Show how this research aligns with ACPA’s Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization
- Provide a timeline with proposed activities and an estimated completion milestone for each activity.
- Submit an anticipated budget.
- Provide contact information for those researchers coordinating this initiative.
Evaluation Criteria
Research proposals will be evaluated by the Commission for Housing and Residential Life based on the importance and usefulness of the topic to student affairs professionals and the strength of the research methodology. The submission will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Purpose and goals of project/research
- Significance of project/research
- Supporting literature and rationale for project/research
- Appropriate methodology
- Degree project supports and relates to mission & goals of CHRL
- Alignment with ACPA’s Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization
- Clearly outlined budget & financial need demonstrated
- Background and experience of applicant
Additional review considerations
- Does the project use inclusive, collaborative, and resourceful processes to pursue an innovative solution in supporting housing and residential life?
- Is the project plan thoughtful, realistic, and does it address the identified need?
- Is the project likely to make a significant, sustainable difference, now or in the future?
Presentation of Research
All grant recipients will be asked to present a webinar and a poster session at ACPA for the Commission for Housing and Residential Life based on their research findings.
Grant Proposal Outline
CHRL Grant applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Please submit your proposal to Ann Schafer at annschafer@ou.edu and the committee will review it within 3-5 weeks of your submission date.
- Cover Page
- Title of the proposed study
- Name, title, institution, email, and phone of researcher/co-researcher
- Total amount requested
- Brief Description
- Researcher experience related to the grant proposal topic (not to exceed 1 page)
- Project narrative (not to exceed 10 double-spaced pages)
- Abstract (150 words maximum)
- Introduction and literature review
- Purpose of the study
- Significance of the study and potential implications for policy/ practice in Housing and Residential Life
- Why hasn’t this issue been addressed sufficiently in the past? Who else is working in this field, what have they done, and why isn’t that enough? Demonstrate your knowledge of the field.
- Provide convincing evidence that what you are proposing does not duplicate other work. Replication of someone else’s work in a new environment or larger scale may be fundable.
- Alignment with ACPA’s Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization
- How does this topic directly impact the Strategic Imperative?
- How can this work be used to influence future practice through an intersectional lens?
- Conceptual framework
- Research questions
- Methods (including methodology, sample, data collection, and data analysis procedures)
- Literature Review
- Project timeline, including work already accomplished (not to exceed 2 pages)
- Detailed budget (not to exceed 3 pages)
- List items, expense justification, amount
- List other sources and amounts of funding
- Justification for need of grant funding
- Status of institutional review board approval
- Appendices
- Two page curriculum vitae, including relevant publications, research experience, and prior grant funding
- Institutional review board application and approval or acknowledgement letter, if required for the study
- Instruments (e.g., survey or interview protocols), if applicable
- Letter of support from faculty member
News & Updates
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upcoming events
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Meet the Directorate
Dr. Brandin Howard
Chair
Duke University
Dr. DeAndre Taylor
Chair-Elect
Ann Schafer
Strategic Initiatives Coordinator
Bianca Hicks
Vice Chair- Membership Engagement Team
Walsh University
Hunter Bowers
Vice Chair- Directorate Body Engagement Team
Jill Swanson
Vice Chair- Educational Engagement Team
Get Involved
CHRL is always looking for involved members! It is easy to join us and at this time by following the steps below!
Ready to join?
Joining an Entity through the ACPA Member Portal automatically identifies you as a member of that Entity! You will begin to receive Entity communications through their respective email listserv and have access to any resources they share!
- Login to your ACPA Member Account
- Click on Community Groups (Chatter)
- Click Groups
- Click Active Groups
- Find the entity you want to join and within that group, click +Join
Contact chrl@acpa.nche.edu, to learn more about ACPA’s Commission for Housing & Residential Life!
Any ACPA member can become involved and there are varying levels of involvement:
- Join our listserv (sign up under “my profile” in the ACPA membership area)
- Attend our open business meeting at the annual ACPA convention
- Review conference programs for the annual convention
- Submit a sponsored program proposal for the annual convention
- Host a webinar
- Submit a proposal for a paper to be published on our website
Chrl Awards
It is never too early to start thinking about recognition! Since 1977, the Commission for Housing and Residential Life has recognized outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of student housing. The Commission Directorate Body is proud to carry on the coordination of this important tradition. Award nominations are typically solicited in November. Winners will be announced at the ACPA Awards Reception/Social at the annual conference.
Outstanding Graduate Student Staff Member
This award is presented to an outstanding full-time graduate student employed in a paraprofessional staff position. Criteria include: performance and contributions in current graduate assistantship or paraprofessional position, contributions within nominee’s academic program, contributions to the Student Affairs profession, and other recognitions of achievement.
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Staff Member
This award is presented to an outstanding undergraduate student employed in a paraprofessional staff position. Criteria include: performance and contributions in current undergraduate paraprofessional position, contributions in nominee’s academic program, contributions to community and university, and other recognitions of achievement.
Outstanding New Professional In Residence Life
This award is presented to an individual in the first three years of professional employment who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to their campus and/or the housing profession. Criteria include: current performance, contributions to student affairs scholarship and or the profession, and contributions to the community.
Outstanding Experienced Professional Award
Two categories – 4-9 years or 10 or more years
This award is presented to an individual with 4 or more years of professional employment who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to their campus and/or the housing profession. Criteria include: performance and contributions within current position, performance and contributions to student affairs scholarship, contributions to the profession and/or contributions to the community.
Excellence In Service Award
In the tradition of National Residence Hall Honorary’s (NRHH) Spotlight Award, this award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to her/his campus and/or the housing profession and is not eligible for any of the other awards; therefore, the nominee cannot be a student or professional housing staff member. Possible nominees could be food service personnel, night security staff, administrative assistants, or custodial staff. Criteria include: performance and contributions in current position, contributions to student success, contributions to community in which university or college is located.
Excellence In Sustainability
There are three categories of excellence in sustainability awards. This award is presented to a program, an individual, or a department that has demonstrated outstanding contributions toward sustainability on their campus and/or to the housing profession.
The individual award criteria for excellence in sustainability are: individual responsibility, integration, collaboration and assessment. Excellence in departmental sustainability criteria include: integration of sustainable practices, responsible growth and management, education and conservation. Criteria related to an outstanding initiative or program include: holistic nature of program or activity (advancing students’ understanding of the relationship between environmental stewardship, social justice and economic growth), relationship of initiative to the ACPA learning outcomes for sustainability, degree of collaboration, assessment and sustainability of initiative, embedded nature of practice and conservation. Note: Not all initiatives will address each criterion equally.
Outstanding Innovation in Housing and Residential Life
This award recognizes and honors excellence for an innovative program, project, collaboration with student affairs or academic departments, or service sponsored by a housing or residential life department. The nominated program or initiative should demonstrate improvement in the quality of life for students, the efficiency in the department and/or the effectiveness in service delivery.