Office of Student Activities 205 Strebel Student Center (315) 792-3037 Updated:11/28/201811/28/2018 Advisor Training 101 Office of Student Activities 205 Strebel Student Center (315) 792-3037

Overview Role of an Advisor . . . . . Page 4 Expectations . . . . . . Page 6 Org Recognition Process. . . . . . Page 11 How to use Pioneer Place . . . . . . Page 13

Thank you! Thank you for accepting your role(s) as an advisor to your student organization(s) Your involvement will serve both the UC Community and students by directly influencing student development Thank you!

What is an advisor? Educator Models goals, values and missions of Utica College Serves as a mentor to their student organization Counsels and mediates when problems arise Advocates for organization’s well being Role of advisor varies between organizations

Basic Roles of an Advisor “Hands-on hands-off” approach Aids in leadership development and skills training Group encouragement Resource on college policies, procedures, contacts, etc. Help the group troubleshoot problems Access to internal and external networking Ask questions and challenge students Channel information Monitor expenditures, policies and goals Provide year to year continuity Provide organizational history Aid in leadership and officer transition

Expectations: The Student Leader/ Advisor Relationship Student leaders and advisors must be clear about expectations Communication= understanding + respect

What a student leader expects: COMMUNICATION! Assistance in formulating long-range goals and planning short term projects Resource person- evaluate projects, performance and progress Offer guidance by reviewing goals, objectives, and the progress of the organization Assistance with college procedural matters Suggestions on how organization could be strengthened or improved

What a student leader expects: Improvement strategies for leadership skills Accessible and available, should emergency situations arise Willingness to listen to and be open to criticism and evaluation Allow the group to act on its own and make mistakes, but help them learn from mistakes Help in maintaining organization records Encourage the division of labor among group members to sustain member interest

What an advisor should expect of a student leader: COMMUNICATION! Keep advisor informed on activities, meetings, agendas and topics under discussion Attendance at regularly scheduled informational meetings To assist other students in the organization in skill development Willingness to share responsibility with other group members Documents and historically saves all group activities Invite advisors to meetings Inform and invite advisors to org events

Questions to ask your Organization How much involvement is needed? How many events does the organization sponsor each semester? How often does the organization meet? How do your skills match the needs of the organization? What are some needed improvement areas within the organization? Is the advisor expected to give feedback? How often and when?

Organization Registration MUST HAVE: At least 5 members total, including: President/Director Treasurer/Comptroller Faculty/Staff Advisor Valid and current constitution Pioneer Place should always have the most up to date information on student organizations. After elections (which can also be done through PioPlace), the roster and position titles should be updated immediately to reflect new positions and new members should always be invited.

Recognition privileges Student Senate Funding Reservation of rooms Posting fliers Org mailbox On-campus fundraising Assistance on finding resources Pioneer Place!

What is Pioneer Place? Social network platform designed by Collegiate Link exclusive only to Utica College Allows management of co-curricular activities such as student organizations and events Promotes student involvement

Perks of Pioneer Place Student Organizations MUST have a Pioneer Place to be recognized by Student Senate All Utica students, faculty and staff can make personal page All Utica personal may view news, upcoming events, etc. of any student organization

Advantages of Pioneer Place for Student Organizations * * * IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ADVISOR TO KEEP PIONEER PLACE UPDATED, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT MEMBERS Management of members, e-board, events and news Private messages to organization members Social Networking sites such as Facebook and/or Twitter, may be link to an organization’s page Advertisement of events on campus-wide event calendar

Pioneer Place: The Basics Updating Organization Profile Adding New Members Updating/Adding New Positions Creating Events Uploading News Sending Messages * Any members given the permissions to update your organization’s profile can perform any of the above tasks

Updating Organization Profile Click the [Edit] button on the organization’s “About” tab You can edit the description, contact information and external page links, etc. Click the [Update] button at the bottom to update the changes to your organization’s “About” page Your profile changes have now been updated

Adding New Members Click [Invite people] under the [Roster] tab in page navigation menu Enter the campus e-mail addresses of individuals you wish to send membership invitations Select [Member] from the drop down menu (or other appropriate position for invited email addresses) Click [Send Invitations] when all people have been added to the list A message will be sent to those selected which will prompt them to either accept or decline invitation

Updating/Adding New Positions Click [Manage Positions] and then [+ Position] button on the next page The Positions Templates that are available for this organization are listed. Click the name of the position that best matches the new position Update the name of the position Update the remaining options as appropriate Click [Create] The new position has been added to your organization’s profile!

Creating Events Click [Create Event] under [Events] tab in navigation menu Enter all appropriate details and Click “Save” *Note* If you upload a picture for your event, make sure there’s no small text and that it’s within the design guidelines listed in the upload area. **Note** Events get archived automatically after the date and time of the event has passed. Events should NOT be entered in the News area.

Uploading News Click on [Create Article] under the [News] tab in the navigation menu Enter the details of your article Click [Save Article] *Note* If you upload a picture for your event, make sure there’s no small text and that it’s within the design guidelines listed in the upload area. **Note** News articles stay active in the News feed constantly, so a news article is a piece of information WITHOUT a particular date and time. News is NOT an event.

Sending Messages Sending messages through Pioneer Place is unique in that it allows you to actually use your own email platform! There aren’t any messages actually SENT through PioPlace. PioPlace will instruct you to create a “relay” which is essentially one email address that will then send the message to a whole bunch of other email addresses! This video explains how it works. (Don’t mind the administrative parts, relays work the same at the organization level pages!) http://bit.ly/1URE8EX Click [Messaging] under [Roster] tab in the navigation menu Click [Create Relay] and follow the instructions to generate the relay address. Enter the relay address into the “To:” area of a new email in your own inbox through your favorite browser and send!

Advising Tips Have a strong interest and commitment to the student organization and mission Build a strong relationship with the president, chairperson, or other key members as they will be your main point of contact Praise in public, criticize in private Provide an outside perspective and assist students with seeing “outside the box” Make sure all executive board members have your contact info (e-mail address, work or cell-phone number)

Want more information on Pioneer Place? Additional information and instructional power points and word documents are available upon request Remember, any organization members can be granted permission to update the organization’s profile

Administrative Assistant Monica Hodkinson Administrative Assistant Designated Student Organization Liaison mabrownh@utica.edu x3479