Author: Eric Mochnacz

I am the Assistant Director of Training and Development in Housing and Residence Life. I am responsible for the management of student staff selection and student staff and professional staff training. I also supervise the 4 professional staff members who oversee The Complex and Xavier Hall, known collectively as the UpperClass Area (UCA).

Xavier Hall Profile

Xavier Hall is a seven story building that houses approximately 500 upperclass students. The building is divided into two sections; the Tri-Level on floors 1-3 and the Tower on floors 2-7.

The majority of rooms in Xavier are doubles, with one double occupancy room being connected to another double occupancy room by a shared bathroom.  There are limited amount of triple occupancy rooms in the Tower, each with a private bathroom.

Xavier Hall can host up to 6 Priests in Residence, a pastoral resource created to help residents connect with the Catholic mission at home.  Xavier Hall also hosts the Sophomore Discovery Program (SDP) on the third floor.  SDP is available to rising Sophomores who apply for focused and specialized programming that will connect them to the campus experience they had during their first year.

There are 12 Resident Assistants in Xavier Hall.

Complex Profile – Cabrini, Neumann and Serra Halls

The Complex, made up of Cabrini, Neumann and Serra Halls, are three suite-style buildings designated for upperclassmen in room selection.

The Complex houses approximately 550 upperclass students.  Cabrini Hall has 5 floors while Neumann and Serra have 3.

The occupancy of the suites in the Complex vary, but this is a general break down of the style of suites available during room selection –

  • 7 person suites, made up of two double occupancy rooms, one triple occupancy room and a suite area.  The triple occupancy room is either a standard triple or an economy triple.  Standard triples come with three sets of furniture for all students.  Economy triples house three students, with a reduced housing rate for all occupants because the room does not have a third wardrobe.  The majority of economy triples in the Complex were provided updated, space-efficient furniture in the Summer of 2016.
  • 4 person suites, made up of two double occupancy rooms and a suite area.

The halls in the Complex have common areas on each floor for students to use as well as designated study spaces in all three buildings.  There are 11 Resident Assistants assigned to the Complex, one for each floor in each building.

Apply to live in the Sophomore Discovery program!

The Sophomore Discovery Program is a living learning community for sophomores designed to facilitate a smooth transition after the first year experience. The program is housed in Xavier Hall and consists of approximately 35 residential students. The SDP program provides tailored programming efforts and deliberate one-on-one interactions with paraprofessional and professional staff to help sophomores’ connection to the Seton Hall community, plan for their future, and develop into the best they can be!

Students who will be Sophomore class status in Fall 2017 are encouraged to apply for this unique experience at the link below.  Applications are due February 28th.

https://www13.shu.edu/offices/housing-residence-life/sophomore-discovery-program.cfm

If you have any other questions about this exciting living and learning community, please reach out to Matthew Ullrich, Residence Coordinator of Xavier Hall, at matthew.ullrich@shu.edu.

Resident Assistant applications are due this Friday!

For students who have expressed interest in becoming Resident Assistants for the 2017-2018 academic year, applications are due this Friday, January 20th at 12 PM.

Those interested have attended Information Sessions to express their interest in a position with our office.

Anyone who successfully completes an application, meets our minimum GPA requirement of 2.75, and has a clear judicial record will be invited to attend Group Process on Friday, January 27th.

Those who perform well in Group Process will be invited to interview with a member of our professional staff the week of February 6th.

Housing and Residence Life would like to thank Michael Davis, Assistant Director of Leadership Development, for working with our office to provide students the opportunity to attend both sorority recruitment and Group Process.

Only two Resident Assistant Information Sessions left!

With the start of the Spring Semester, Housing and Residence Life is gearing up for our process to select Resident Assistants for the 2017-2018 academic year.

If you are interested in joining our staff, you are required to attend an Information Session.

The remaining two mandatory information sessions will be held at the following dates and times –

Monday, January 9th – 5 PM – Boland Pirate’s Cellar (Please note the location change.  This Information Session was originally scheduled for McNulty Amphitheatre.)

Tuesday, January 10th – 5 pm – Chancellor’s Suite.

Please reach out to Eric Mochnacz, Assistant Director for Training and Development, at eric.mochnacz@shu.edu or stop by 68 Duffy Hall if you have any questions.

Preparing for Finals!

To help students better prepare for Finals, Housing and Residence Life is proud to support The Academic Resource Center’s SHU-Tutopia.

On December 14th (Reading Day), from 3 pm to 6 pm in the University Center Main Lounge, tutors will be available for all students to help them prepare for finals.

Starting on Reading Day and lasting until the last day of finals, in the residence halls, HRL staff asks that students maintain 24 hour quiet hours.  This is to create an environment conducive to studying and academic success.  RAs and professional staff will be diligently enforcing this policy.

Resident students are encouraged to utilize the numerous study spaces available in the residence halls to better help you prepare for your final exams, projects and papers.

Housing and Residence Life wishes all students best of luck on finals!

 

Housing and Residence Life kicks off RA Selection for 2017-2018!

Housing and Residence Life is happy to announce that Resident Assistant Selection has begun for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Resident Assistants are student para-professionals who are trained to offer support to our residents throughout the year.  They offer programs, serve as a resource and confront policy violations in the halls.  They are an integral part in our office’s mission to provide living and learning communities for our residents.

If any student is interested in becoming a Resident Assistant, they are invited to attend one of the mandatory information sessions listed below.  If one of our current Resident Assistants or professional staff members thinks an individual will make a great addition to our staff, our staff are giving out reference cards to encourage attendance at an information session.

Applications, which will be distributed at the information session, will be due January 20th, 2017 at 12 PM.

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If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Eric Mochnacz, Assistant Director for Training and Development, at eric.mochnacz@shu.edu or stop by 68 Duffy Hall to speak with him.

Academic Resources in the Residence Halls

The Department of Housing and Residence Life provides a living, learning environment that fosters the academic and personal experience for residents, and helps them prepare for the rest of their lives.

To that end, we want to remind students of the academic services that are available on campus.

Tutors in Residence

Tutors in Residence are 6 students who maintain regular office hours in Boland and Aquinas Hall to provide academic assistance to students in a variety of subject areas.  Check out the link below for their hours and areas of expertise –

https://www13.shu.edu/offices/housing-residence-life/upload/Tutors-in-Residence-Fact-Sheet.pdf

University Libraries

Students should utilize the University Library as an alternative study space.  Below are the hours for the University Library –

http://library.shu.edu/library/library-hours

Academic Resource Center (ARC)

HRL also works in collaboration with the Academic Resource Center to provide even more access to students who need academic support.  Please see the link below for their information and hours –

https://www13.shu.edu/offices/arc/index.cfm

Both the TIRs and ARC offer programs and study groups throughout the semester to support and encourage strong academic performance.

Utilizing these resources is important, as Housing and Residence Life requires all resident students to maintain a 1.8 cumulative GPA to remain in housing.  Maintaining a strong GPA is important as GPA is a factor in determining your priority points for selecting your housing next year.

HRL’s 1.8 GPA Policy

The Department of Housing and Residence Life believes that living in a residence hall is a valuable educational experience. Students learn and refine life skills in an environment that exposes them to great diversity of lifestyles. The residence hall experience is one that compliments the classroom experience. Students have opportunities to apply what they learn, to question each other, study with each other and attend programs and activities designed to facilitate learning. The students and staff who reside in the halls create the environment. All students have a responsibility to respect and contribute to the learning environment. Behavior that undermines, or that indicates a lack of commitment to the learning environment is not acceptable.

A GPA requirement is a tool used to reinforce the commitment expected of resident students. The department of Housing and Residence Life actively promotes responsible decision making and good learning habits. It is our goal to retain students with a strong interest in contributing to the learning-living environment.

At the beginning of each Spring semester, Housing and Residence Life (HRL) professionals meet with all resident students who have a cumulative GPA of 1.8 or below. During this meeting, the HRL professional helps guide and support the student through creating and effective plan to help increase the student’s GPA by the end of the semester. The professional provides students with resources such as hours and location of the writing and math centers along with the lobby hour schedule of our Tutor in Residences where student are able to drop in for assistance with their academics. Before the conclusion of the meeting, both parties set up a date and time for a follow up meeting to take place in following weeks to ensure the student is successfully reaching their GPA goal.