Guiding Students on University Life

The Residential College Advisers (RCAs) and the Assistant Residential College Advisers (ARCAs) play an integral role in fostering a safe, inclusive, and engaging community for all residential college students by fostering community, encouraging holistic personal development, and promoting safety, citizenship, and health and wellness to build an inclusive environment. Each adviser group (core group) in the residential college is supervised by their Director of Student Life (DSL). The RCAs work closely with a group of first-year advisees (zees) to help them transition to life as Princeton students. Many RCAs, and all ARCAs, are also assigned sophomore zees and, (in the four-year residential colleges), they may also be assigned upper-class students.  Advisers help students develop responsible personal, academic, and social decision-making skills, while encouraging reflection on the impact their decisions have on the community. Core group members are expected to foster relationships between and among their advisees so zees feel comfortable reaching out to all RCAs and ARCAs for guidance and support. Some of the most common topics RCAs and ARCAs encounter include students’ health and wellness concerns, struggles in transitioning to the demands of academic work, alcohol and other drug use, and roommate conflicts.