Residence Hall Association (RHA) is the student governing body of the University of Tampa’s residence halls. RHA is an excellent way for students to develop lifelong skills for their future careers, including leadership, public speaking, event planning and oversight and more. Additionally, RHA provides an opportunity for students to connect, communicate and network with other student leaders across the state of Florida, the Southeastern region and the nation. Please consider getting involved and helping us to create a better environment for UTampa students to thrive on campus.
 

RHA serves two broad purposes:

• RHA oversees the creation and implementation of large-scale programs and events for all residential students on UTampa’s campus; and,
• RHA serves as an advocacy organization for residents to bring forward issues and concerns related to life in UTampa’s residence halls and relating to residential life beyond UTampa, and also provides the opportunity for students to advocate for improvements that they would like to see on campus.

All residential students are members of RHA. There are various ways in which residents can become involved in RHA.
 

The RHA Executive Board oversees all RHA meetings and provides leadership for the organization and are required to attend all regular RHA Executive Board meetings, General Assembly meetings and RHA events. The Executive Board is made up of the President, Vice President, Director of Finance (Treasurer), Director of Programming, Director of Public Relations, National Communications Coordinator (Conference Coordinator) and the UTampa Student Government (UTSG) Representative. The NCC and UTSG Representative positions carry additional requirements and responsibilities. For further information on RHA’s executive board positions, please reach out to the RHA Advisor.

Additionally, each residence hall will choose one resident to represent that hall on RHA’s General Assembly. The Hall Representative will serve as the liaison between their hall and the RHA executive board and will communicate any issues or concerns raised by the residents of their hall, as well as share updates as to programming or other events happening in their hall. Any residential student who is not employed as an RA may serve as a Hall Representative. Hall Representatives may also be appointed to serve on working committees by the Executive Board. Hall Representatives are required to attend each General Assembly meeting, or, in the event they need to be absent, should send a proxy in their place or submit their hall’s report via email to the Executive Board in advance of the meeting.
 

The General Assembly is comprised of the Hall Representatives and any other residents attending the General Assembly meetings. As all residents are members of RHA, any residential student may attend any General Assembly meeting, unless the Executive Board has announced in advance that it will be a closed meeting. The 2025-2026 RHA meeting schedule will be determined by the Executive Board prior to the start of the fall semester.

More information about RHA can be found on InvolveUT. All residential students will be added to the RHA organizational page each semester.

Resident Assistant Advisory Board (RAAB) is the programming and advocacy organization for UTampa’s Resident Assistant (RA) staff. All RAs are members of RAAB and are welcome to attend meetings at any time. Any RA returning for their second year or beyond may serve as the RAAB President, and any current RA may serve in the other Executive Board roles.

RAAB is led by an Executive Board consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and UTampa Student Government (UTSG) Representative. The UTSG Representative position carries additional requirements and responsibilities.

RAAB offers social opportunities and recognition initiatives for current Resident Assistants, as well as provides an open forum for RAs to bring forward issues and concerns related to the RA position.

The RAAB General Assembly is comprised of one representative per RA staff, the Executive Board and any RAs in attendance. Any current RA may serve as the representative of their staff. RAAB General Assembly meetings are generally open to any current UTampa student, unless the Executive Board has announced in advance it will be a closed meeting. The 2025-26 RAAB meeting schedule will be determined by the Executive Board prior to the start of the fall semester.

More information about RAAB can be found on InvolveUT. All Resident Assistants will be added to the RAAB organizational page each semester.

Through RHA and RAAB, residential students can attend leadership conferences across Florida, the Southeastern United States and across the nation. These conferences are a way for student leaders to network and build connections with student leaders from other institutions, share program and event ideas to bring back to UTampa, as well as discuss issues and trends impacting student housing across the US. Travel to these conferences is sponsored by the University of Tampa, and attending students will be issued documentation to provide to their course instructors if absences are necessary.

The following conference opportunities are available to RHA and RAAB members, pending the availability of required funding:

• Florida Housing Officers sponsors the annual LEAP (Leadership Education and Advancement Program) Conference. This opportunity is available for all current student staff members as well as RHA members or aspiring leaders on campus. All participants must reside on campus or work for the Office of Residence Life. Previous LEAP conferences have been held at Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Miami. The 2025 LEAP conference will be held at Florida Gulf Coast University.
• The South Atlantic Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (SAACURH) covers the Southeastern region of the US and sponsors the following conference opportunities:
  • The Regional Leadership Conference (RLC) happens each year in November. This conference provides an opportunity for student leaders to network with other leaders across the Southeast. This conference is open only to active RHA members or aspiring campus leaders. The 2024 SAACURH RLC was hosted by East Tennessee State University.
• Additional conference opportunities may become available in the future.

For more information about RHA, RAAB or conference opportunities, please contact Dan Ryan-Foley, Assistant Director of Residential Education at dfoley@ut.edu or via phone at (813) 253-6239.