Resident Assistants’ stipend for the 2026–27 school year has been increased, and a working group has convened to discuss compensation and conditions of the role after many RAs signed an open letter to Residence Life. The letter called for higher compensation and changes to scheduling requirements and raised concerns that the position’s pay and expectations no longer align.

The letter was written by Natasha Dracobly, a College third-year in her second year as an RA, and Linus Dubischar, a double-degree second-year in his first year as an RA, and outlines concerns about compensation, job expectations, and recent contract changes for the 2026–27 academic year. 

Dracobly said the contents of the letter grew out of repeated conversations among RAs who were dissatisfied with aspects of the job but hesitant to raise concerns individually.

“The strongest, safest way to ask for change in a workplace is to do so collectively and publicly, which was our goal with the letter,” Dracobly wrote in an email to the Review.

According to the letter, Oberlin RAs currently receive a stipend of about $6,500 per academic year while the cost of campus housing alone is approximately $9,970. The letter compares Oberlin’s compensation structure to those at other institutions including Wayne State University, Reed College, Grinnell College, Middlebury College, and Macalester College, where RAs often receive free housing or stipends equivalent to the cost of room and board.

After the letter began circulating, ResLife administrators met with RAs to discuss the concerns last Thursday.

According to Vice President and Dean of Students Mark Zeno, ResLife first became aware of the letter after it appeared on social media.

“The Residence Life Office was notified that a RA Demand Letter was posted on a social media site last week,” Zeno wrote in an email to the Review. “This is the first time that anyone on my team was aware of the concerns addressed in this letter. Once we, the professional staff of Residence Life, were alerted to this social media post, we met with the student RA team … to discuss the letter and identify ways to address the concerns.” 

In an email sent to RAs following the meeting, Assistant Dean and Director of Residential Education Melanie Hawkins announced that the stipend for the 2026–27 academic year would increase.

“After reviewing these concerns, we have added an additional $400 to the stipend for next academic year, which brings the stipend to $6,900 for the year,” Hawkins wrote.

The email also announced that a working group composed of past, current, and incoming RAs would be created to discuss compensation and responsibilities associated with the role moving forward.

RAs became motivated to call for change earlier this semester after they learned that contracts for next year would require them to arrive on campus earlier in August and remain later in May, with only a small raise in the stipend.

Dubischar said dissatisfaction with the role had existed among RAs prior to the contract change.

“We have felt kind of dissatisfied with the job for a while,” Dubischar said. “Not only me, not only Natasha and me; a lot of RAs felt this way. And so I think that we were just frustrated because the stipend is already pretty bad.”

Zeno said the scheduling changes were implemented to support campus preparation between academic terms.

“As part of the need to prepare campus for students to arrive in the fall, it was necessary to invite RAs to return a week early so that room condition reports and other move-in readiness procedures could be completed,” Zeno wrote.

He added that RAs are also asked to remain an additional week at the end of the academic year so residence halls can be closed properly ahead of the summer conference season.

The letter was drafted before the deadline for RAs to sign contracts for the following academic year. Feedback was gathered from other RAs while it was being written, and signatures were later collected through an online form. According to Dracobly, 33 of the College’s 78 current RAs ultimately signed the letter before the office responded, with several additional RAs expressing support but choosing not to sign.

Dracobly said the responsibilities of the position extend beyond scheduled duties and affect how RAs experience their residential communities.

“It is a job that changes your relationship to where you live and to your dorm,” Dracobly said.

Dracobly also noted that many students are unaware of the scope of the role’s responsibilities. She described the overnight duty system in which RAs rotate shifts responding to lockouts, safety concerns, and other issues across residence halls.

While the stipend increase was welcomed, Dubischar said it does not fully address the concerns raised in the letter.

“At the end of the day, $6,900 is not close to the cost of housing, which is almost $10,000,” Dubischar said.

Dracobly similarly described the change as an initial step rather than a final resolution.

“Of course, the wage raise didn’t discuss all the concerns in the letter, but it was still an important change,” Dracobly wrote. “However, I think we see this as a starting point, not an ending point.”

Despite remaining concerns, Dubischar said the response demonstrated that collective action among RAs could lead to change.

“It feels cool to know that if you all come together and actually put pressure on them in an organized way, they will make concessions,” Dubischar said.

Looking ahead, Dubischar said that RAs are hoping not only for increased compensation but also greater transparency from ResLife when changes to the position are considered.