Resident assistants will be a thing of the past when the ISU Fresh Start program is implemented this fall.

The program will eliminate the RA position and replace it with community advisers. The policies of the program may not appeal to older student staff members.

CAs will be responsible for programming development and activities in the house and hall. They will also enforce the Fresh Start policies, such as the no-substances and visitation policies.

Academic Resource Coordinators, or ARCs, are new student positions created for residents living in Fresh Start communities. ARCs will be responsible for all academic programming in the house, for helping students with academic issues and promoting academic success.

Students who do not reside in Fresh Start halls, such as Richardson Court Association, Knapp Hall and Wallace-Wilson halls, will still have RAs, said Kate Bruns, communication specialist for the Department of Residence.

To qualify to be a CA, students must possess a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average or higher and must maintain it during the duration of their position.

To qualify to be an ARC, students must have a 2.75 cumulative GPA or higher and must maintain it during their position. All student staff members must have lived in an ISU residence hall for a minimum of one semester.

Current staff can be considered for any RA, CA or ARC position as long as they meet the qualifications specified with the residence department, Bruns said. There will be 37 RA positions converted into CA positions next fall, including 13 in Helser Hall and 24 in Friley Hall, she said. The residence department will be adding 21 ARC positions for next fall, including seven in Helser and 14 in Friley.

Eric Denney, RA in Helser, said the Fresh Start program is a great program for freshmen. He said CAs who are sophomores or juniors will probably be interested in being involved in the Fresh Start program. However, the additional responsibilities might cause difficulty for some. “Most older RAs don’t have the time,” he said.

Denney said most RAs his age think it is time to get away from the dorm atmosphere and older students in their 20s may not want to live in Fresh Start houses because of the substance-free policy. “[Most people have realized it is] time to live on their own before they get out in the world,” he said.

Kristen Banas has been an RA for five semesters and will likely return to her Willow Hall house next fall. She said several student staff members have told her they don’t plan to return to their current jobs, but that it is unclear to her if the reason is Fresh Start policies or if students are just ready to move on.