STUDENT ORGANIZATION
OFFICER TRANSITION TRAINING
SPRING 2017
OFFICE OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES
CONGRATULATIONS
Dear Student Organization Leader,
Congratulations on your new leadership position! We hope you find this leadership opportunity to be a learning experience throughout
your entire term.
If you are not familiar with Student Activities or the Student Involvement Center, you will soon get to know us very well! We are known for
keeping student organizations in tune with university policies and procedures, but we can also provide you a wealth of resources and
advice in order to help your student organization be successful.
These documents should serve as a useful tool in helping your exec board effectively transition. Please take some time to look through the
documents. We encourage you to keep these documents handy and use it to look up answers to questions that may arise during your term.
Please stop by the Student Involvement Center or contact the individuals below if you have any questions or if you need help with an
event, getting your executive board energized, or just need someone to bounce ideas off of! We’re here to help all student organizations
be successful!
Sincerely,
The Office of Student Activities
Jake Eisch
Associate Director - Student Activities
[email protected]
Katie Lesperance
Associate Director - Student Activities
[email protected]
Alexa Deacon
Graduate Assistant - Student Activities
[email protected]
Ashley Mazurek
Graduate Assistant - Student Activities
[email protected]
CREATING A TRANSITION BINDER
Transition binders are a useful way to pass on information to new executive board members. In the binder you can include a variety of
items to help the new executive board member fill his/her new role. Included in the binder should be tips for success, important dates for
your organization, and many other things. Below is a suggested list of items to include:
1. Organization constitution and by-laws
2. Student Senate spending guidelines
3. Executive Board job descriptions
4. Contact information of on and off-campus partners you have worked with in the past year/semester
5. Last year’s budget
6. Past event information (day, time, location/reservations)
7. Important forms (event registration form, event sign-up form, contracts, activity waiver)
8. Goals for your position last year
9. Tips you wish you were given
10. Meeting/event agendas from past year
11. Executive board/committee responsibilities
12. Advisor information
These are all suggested items, but should not limit what you include. Include anything and everything that the incoming executive board
member will need.
WAYS TO TRANSITION
There are many different ways to transition an executive board. The question is, what strategy will you take? Based on your skill set, here are a few
suggested methods to successfully pass the torch.
Independent Study: Incoming officers review officer expectations and responsibilities individually and then discuss them with outgoing
officers.
Pros:
• Independent - on your own
• Observational
• Provides autonomy
Cons:
• Often forgotten or put off until last minute
• Sometimes too much room for confusion if poor constitutuion/materials
Learning Contracts: Developed individually between incoming and outgoing officers, learning contracts establish a list of skills and tasks that
incoming officers must satisfy in order to be eligible to run for/hold a specific office in the organization. Once the list is complete, incoming
officers meet with outgoing officers to identity their skill for each condition. Next, the outgoing officer provides the necessary training so that
incoming officer is able to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and tasks to be successful.
• EX: skill development (budget tracking), (web master training), (fundraising)
Pros:
• Specific
• Collaborative
• Hands-on
Cons:
• What if outgoing officer didn’t have the skills?
• Risk of “doing it the way it has always been done”
• Different styles
Shadowing/Mentoring: Incoming officers are paired with outgoing officers for a specific period of time to learn position basics and to observe
the outgoing officers. Through discussion and interaction, outgoing officers share expertise, insight and advice for the incoming officers. Through
a “shadowing” process, new officers are elected and serve for an “elect” term with the current officer to learn processes, meet people (advisor,
community partners, etc.) and transition materials.
Pros:
• Strong bonding opportunity
• Experiential
• Overlap provides partnership
Cons:
• Collaboration is hard
• Requires “letting go”
• Confusion for members
Retreats/Workshops: Although they can take different formats, retreats and workshops provide and opportunity for incoming and outgoing
officers to transition materials and discuss pertinent issues. All retreats and workshops should be planned in advance and should seek to address
specific goals and objectives.
• Some areas to cover:
o What did we hope to accomplish?
o How well did we do on each goal?
o Short term organization goals (monthly or semesterly)
o Current state of the organization? What are the strengths and areas of need?
Pros:
• Strong bonding opportunity
• Deeper than single meeting
• Collaborative
• Safe space
Cons:
• Time commitment
• Money/resources
• Making sure everyone is bought in
HIERARCHY OF ORG TRANSITION NEEDS
This document highlights the most important information to pass along to the incoming Executive Board. Creating electronic/hard copies of this information
will make it easily accessible.
3
HELPFUL
THE THIRD MOST
IMPORTANT
ESSENTIAL
THE SECOND MOST
IMPORTANT
2
CRITICAL
1
THE MOST IMPORTANT
1
2
3
CRITICAL
ESSENTIAL
HELPFUL
• Resources/contact info
o Internal/external
o How did your org use this person?
• Advisor information
o Who is your org advisor?
o How did your org use your advisor?
• Login information
o Social media accounts, gmail
• Budget/spending guidelines
o Project code, O-account number
o How did you spend your money?
o Where are the saved budget
documents?
• Exec board responsibilities
o Who does what?
• Org traditions
o Every year we ________.
• Editable documents
o Org logo, flyers, etc.
• Constitution
o Where is it?
o Read it - what does it say?
• Goals for new position/org
o What do you hope to accomplish?
• Historical org info
o Past 3+ years
o Include photos
ONE YEAR FAST FORWARD
Complete the chat below by diagramming your org’s activity over the course of an academic year. Be sure to highlight times of intense of activity,
planning, and stress. Likewise, be sure to note any times when the organization is not busy with activities.
This chart is useful for many reasons. It is intended to help identify what time(s) of the year are best for planning events, volunteer events, who
should/could take responsibility for events, and how it lines up with your academic schedule.
ONE YEAR FAST FORWARD
This document is intended for each INCOMING officer to complete individually and then discuss together.
1. What can you do over the summer to make the next academic year less stressful?
2. What will your priorities be in the beginning of the year? (Involvement Fair, Org Conference?)
A.
B.
C.
3. What can you do to ensure you do not “burn out” after one semester?
4. What do you perceive as being the biggest needs of your organization?
A.
B.
C.
D.
OUTGOING OFFICER EVALUATION
This document is intended for each OUTGOING officer to fill out and give to the INCOMING officer.
Name: ___________________________
NAME/POSITION
PHONE NUMBER
List 3 important pieces of advice for the incoming officer:
1.
2.
3.
Position: ___________________________
EMAIL
WHY IS THIS PERSON AN
IMPORTANT CONTACT
INCOMING OFFICER EVALUATION
This document should be completed by each INCOMING officer before the new Executive Board has begun their term.
1. List three new ideas you would like to implement this year:
A.
B.
C.
2. What do you foresee being a challenge with fulfilling this role?
3. What goals or events from last year would you like to continue? How can you improve them?
A.
B.
4. What/who are my on and off campus resources I plan to utilize?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
PRESIDENT TRANSITION DOCUMENT
This document is for the OUTGOING President to fill out and pass on to the INCOMING President.
Goals:
1. What did I hope to accomplish this past year?
2. Did we (outgoing exec) meet our goals?
3. What goals do I want to continue?
4. What goals should be altered and why?
5. Were the programs and activities consistent with our org’s goals? If so, how? If not, why?
PRESIDENT TRANSITION DOCUMENT
Membership:
7. What were members enthusiastic about? What motivates members to work towards the org’s goals?
8. How did we retain members? Was that effort effective? What could have been done differently?
9. What opportunities were there for members to become involved?
Officers and Organization Structure:
10. How do officers understand and fulfill their responsibilities and roles within the organizational structure?
11. How do the officers communicate as a team? Could cooperation between officers be improved? How?
12. How did we utilize our advisor?
TREASURER TRANSITION DOCUMENT
This document is for the OUTGOING Treasurer to fill out and pass on to the INCOMING Treasurer.
1. How did you organize Treasurer responsibilities? (what was your timeline for filling out paperwork?)
2. What goals did you have as the Treasurer?
3. Which goals should be continued?
4. What issues did you face as the Treasurer?
5. What tips do you have regarding budget requests, budget hearings, and audits?
Before the end of the year, work with the incoming Treasurer to:
• Provide examples of how to keep track of your org’s budget
• Look over budget spreadsheet for next year
• Important documents provided by Student Senate
• Show where all info is kept: project code, O-account, budget requests, Senate info
WEB MASTER TRANSITION DOCUMENT
This document is for the OUTGOING Web Master to fill out and pass on to the INCOMING Web Master.
1. What goals did you have as the Web Master?
2. Which goals should be continued?
3. What issues did you face as the Web Master?
4. What is your social media presence like?
5. How did you creatively use social media?
Before the end of the year, work with the incoming Web Master to:
• Clean the listserv of students that no longer attend Carroll/your org meetings
• Share social media login and discuss what social media practices are
• Update portal page with incoming exec - email SA for access change
TIPS FOR SUCCESS: First Org Meeting
How should your first org meeting look?
1. The incoming President should coordinate the logistics for the first meeting (date, time, location) and relay information to the rest of
the organization.
• Make sure all new Executive Board members can attend the meeting
• Consider inviting your Advisor to the meeting and introduce him/her to the organization
• Do over the summer!
2. Open the meeting with a welcome activity (ice breaker/team builder) facilitated by the new Executive Board.
• Reminder - new members will only have as much fun as you are having!
• Don’t just do an ice breaker for the sake of doing an ice breaker - make it worth while!
3. Allow the incoming Executive Board to share their vision and hopes for the organization over the next academic year.
• Goal: show that your org has purpose!
• Provide a short term goal (something within reach)
4. Define your org’s commitment to diversity/inclusivity (share stories of the importance of getting new people involved).
• How did you get introduced to this organization?
• State how you want members’ opinions!
5. Provide time for feedback from the full board on goals/hopes for the next academic year.
• What is the next level they would like to see the org progress to?
• What do they want to get out of the org?
6. Discuss what is next for the org.
• What will members expect to discuss at the next meeting?
• Do tasks need to be delegated?
7. Wrap up with time for questions to be answered.
• Provie purpose for next meeting
• Email and thank attendees for their time
TIPS FOR SUCCESS: Treasurer
Treasurers are responsible for keeping tabs on spending guidelines, budget, requests for funding, and requests for payment. The Student
Senate Treasurer ([email protected]) is a useful contact!
Understand the current financial situation of your org:
• Know your project code
• Be aware of your O-account (if your org has one) and how to utilize that money
• Consider current budget standing when planning an event
• Know what your org’s budget request from previous years
• Know how your org spent money in previous years
Creating your budget:
• Use historical budget requests for future planning
o What was requested in past years?
o Did we forget to account for anything last year?
Interacting with the Student Senate Treasurer:
• This is your main resource for financial policies and compliancy
• Attend budget and audit hearings in the spring semester
Important documents to know:
• Request for Payment
• Prize Log
• Budget Request Form/Request for Funding Form
• W9 (for contracting with outside organizations or individuals)
Contact information:
• Student Senate Treasurer: [email protected]
• Elizabeth Brzeski: Senior Director of Student Affairs ([email protected])
• Jake Eisch: Associate Director of Student Activities ([email protected])
• Alexa Deacon: Graduate Assistant - Student Activities ([email protected])
• Carroll University Business Office: [email protected]
TIPS FOR SUCCESS: Web Master
Web Masters are responsible for making sure their social media, listserv and portal page are up-to-date and meets the criteria of the
university and the Office of Student Activities.
The Web Master should be in charge of:
• Portal page - be sure to include:
o Executive Board info (with e-mail addresses)
o Meeting day, time, location
o Advisor information
o Purpose of the organization
o Add pictures - make your page exciting and lively!
• Social media:
o Have a list of password information for each social media account
o Connect with org members, alumni and students on campus
o Show off your org!
o Be sure to understand the Office of Communication and Marketing’s Social Media policy as it relates to
student organizations
• Policy is referenced in the Student Organization Handbook
• Listserv:
o Keep a consistent contact group
o A listserv can be created by contacting the ITS Help Desk at [email protected]
• Marketing
o Create posters, flyers, table tents and digital signage (Nervana board) with a creative message to get your
organization/events promoted
• Graphic design requests can be submitted to ‘Graphic Design Request’ form on the Student Org portal page
SUMMER: Plan ahead
Besides enjoying the warm weather, spend some time during your sumer to plan ahead for the fall. This can be vital in alleviating some of
the pressures during that first week of school. Here are some tips that can help make your org has a successful fall semester!
Determine your tools for success:
• It’s important to identify your org’s needs, goals, and objectives for the fall. Once you understand what you
want accomplished by the end of the summer, you will know what events and meeting topics you will
want to implement. The earlier you do this, the better.
Administrative Check-in:
• Check in with the Student Activities Office to make sure your org has fulfilled all paperwork, funding requests. You may also
want to take a look at booking out a meeting space for fall (you can always change it later!).
o Notify Student Activities with summer contact info
o Registration for the Fall Involvement Fair/Org Conference
Recruitment Planning:
• Want to catch the attention of first-year students and recruit returning upperclassmen? Think about what makes
your organization different or unique, what it has to offer students of Carroll, and how students can benefit from
being a member.
o What is your brand? What will your first impression be?
o Fill out the ‘Design Request Form’ for graphic design material
Expand your Network:
• Push your org to the next level, explore opportunities to partner with other student organizations, or find
faculty/staff members for mentorship and development opportunities.
Calendar Planning:
• Take the time to plan your fall semester events, meetings, socials, etc. In your planning, also mark important Carroll
dates (orientation, homecoming, fall break, Thanksgiving, winter break) to avoid planning events during busy times.
HOW TO: Student Org
EMS: Carroll’s event management system through which you can reserve meeting spaces, rooms, and resources (tables, chairs, AV tech,
etc.) for events.
Catertrax: Interface through which you can request catering/food for any campus event/meeting. You will need your EMS
ervation number prior to ordering food.
Forms:
res-
• Event Registration Form: This form should be filled out 15 business days prior to your event. You can find the form
on the Student Organization Portal Page. The intent of the form is to notify Student Activities of your event information.
• Request for Payment: This form allows you to be reimbursed for purchases or cut checks for performers/speakers
that your org may be bringing in.
o Request for Payment form should be submitted no later than 30 days after incurring the expense.
o Checks are cut on Thursdays - please be sure to have this form turned in that Monday for the check to be cut
Thursday.
• Contracts: this form needs to be filled out a minimum of 15 business days prior to your event. Contact Jake Eisch
([email protected]) for information.
Listservs: Carroll University email lists made specifically for organizations, groups, and departments. Contact ITS Help Desk to get access/to
create a listserv for your org. Listservs can be managed at lists.carrollu.edu.
O-account: Your org’s funding account based on donations and fundraising that can be used for any organizational needs (as opposed to
Senate funding which is limited by the Student Senate Allocating Guidelines). Your O-account is essentially your org’s saving account. To
find out your O-account code or budget code, contact Student Activities.
Org Requirements:
• Volunteer Project: At least 50 percent of your org must volunteer throughout the course of each semester. Remember to
fill out the ‘Service Project Report Form’ after you complete your volunteer project.
• All-campus Event: Each org is required to host at least one event open to all campus each semester.
• 45 @ 4&5 Sessions: Monthly professional/organizational development sessions. At least one member from your org
must attend each session.
• Rosters: Submitted every semester to Student Activities.
• Involvement Fair: Orgs are expected to attend the fall and spring Involvement Fairs. This is a great way to recruit new
members and promote upcoming events for your org.
• Org Conference: This takes place at the beginning of the fall semester to give a basic training to orgs and get them
geared up for the upcoming year.
• President Meetings: Your org’s President will be expected to meet with the Professional Staff in Student Activities to
check-in and assess your org once each semester.
HOW TO: Student Org
Printing and Duplication:
• Ordering Flyers: There is a duplication order form (departments>general services>duplication) that will need to
be submitted along with the publicity. Submit orders via email to [email protected].
• Approving Flyers: Your flyer must include date, time, location, sponsoring group/org, and contact information for
questions before approval.
Senate Funding/Accounts:
• Request for Funding: Form found on the Student Senate page which allows you to request additional funds from the
One Fund.
• Budget Request: Orgs request a budget for the following academic year every spring through Student Senate
• Org Fund Numbers: Every charge to your organization that does not come through your O-account will need the
following number: 10-3590-xxxx-yyyy
• Org Budget Account Code (xxxx): This number will vary depending on what you are charging. This determines what
line item your budget is coming from (ex. 5510=travel and conference, 5590=supplies, 5740=Chartwells, etc.)
• Organization Project Code (yyyy): This number is specific to your org and allows us to know which org is using their
budget. If you do not know this number, contact Student Activities.
o Tip: Treasurer and additional finance information can be found by going onto the portal (Departments>Student
Activities>Student Organizations>Student Senate>Treasuer Information)