Org Management

Students get involved in a variety of ways around campus and for a variety of reasons. Once you find an activity that fits you well and is enjoyable for you, go for it! Getting involved provides a way for you to round out your academic experience with new skills and opportunities. 

Being involved doesn’t necessarily mean joining a student organization or an activity. Technically, living and working on campus, having significant interaction with those around you (including faculty and staff), and being involved with research all count as being involved!

You also stand to gain:

• Learning or practicing leadership skills
• Achievement
• Growth
• Making a difference on campus
• Interpersonal skills
• Working with groups
• Exploring career options
• Recognition
• Having fun!

Being a student leader offers a lot of opportunity for growth, but it can also be a difficult task if you’ve never done it before! This book will help you with some of the things that come along with assuming the student leader position.

How to Establish Your New Club or Org 

First of all, every organization needs a constitution. This will simply outline the general purpose of your organization, the officer positions, committees, and procedures for things like finding an advisor. You can find a sample constitution in the Forms section of this handbook, page 33. That should make writing your own very simple. Organizations should revisit their constitution every year- so if there is already one for your organization, review it!

When first establishing your organization, you can become officially recognized by petitioning to the Student Congress. To lead a successful petition, you will need to submit the following to Student Congress:

• A full time Doane faculty or staff member to serve as an advisor
• A completed constitution with a list of proposed members (5 minimum)
• A completed Registration and Allocation request form.

Once your paperwork is submitted, Student Congress will invite the group to one of their meetings to petition in person about why the group should become an officially recognized club.

A letter communicating the outcome of the petition will be sent within one week.

Each year, active organizations must register their organization for the following academic year. This process will fall in line with Student Congress’ allocations process. Each organization on campus, whether requesting allocations or not, must register their organization each spring. If this form is not submitted, then your organization will not be recognized as an active organization. Registration guidelines will be sent out by Student Congress early in the spring semester. Allocations communication should begin before Spring Break. 

Benefits of Registering your Organization

• Invitation to the annual Student Organization Leadership Summit
  • Each organization that receives allocations and attends can receive extra allocations from StuCo!
• Information on how to register for Club Craze-Student Org Fair
  • This is how you meet new students and recruit new members for your org!
• Ability to print posters and other marketing materials in the Student Affairs Office
• Ability to obtain an email address specific to your organization
• Opportunity to advertise your meetings and events in the #TigerLifeWeekly newsletter
• Up-to-date information on professional development opportunities and service opportunities for your organization
  • Take advantage of the regularly offered information luncheons
  • Utilize Helper Helper for service opportunities

Service Center

The Service Center is Doane University's help desk and the first level of support for all of Doane University's students, faculty, and staff. The Service Center supports and maintains all laptops, desktops, printers and computer labs, and tracks all assets. The Service Center is responsible for all cabling infrastructure, phone systems, personal computers, scanners, printers, and other office technology.

Services provided:

PC hardware configuration, troubleshooting, consultation, reconfiguration, software installation, data recovery, anti-virus installation, field support for PCs, printers, scanners, voice, data and video cabling, phones, purchase tracking, and installation of specialized software.

Network Services

Network Services is responsible for maintaining Doane's network and data center for all campuses. This includes all switches, servers, and network security. All user accounts are created and maintained by Network Services.

Services provided:

Email account setup, security, system monitoring, internet services, systems backup and recovery, server hardware configuration, firewall implementation, and system administration.

If you need assistance, please contact the Service Center.

Self-Service Portal: help.doane.edu

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 402-826-8411

Hours of Operation (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME):
Sunday: 2 PM-11 PM
Monday - Thursday: 8 AM - 11 PM
Friday: 8 AM - 5 PM
Saturday: 12 PM - 5 PM

More info

After following the process outlined in your Constitution to find an advisor for your organization, it’s important that your executive team sit down with your chosen advisor to define roles. This is when you should fill out an Advisor Agreement.

Each member of your executive team should consider your organization and what you will all need from your advisor in order to be successful.

Mentor

Would you like your advisor to develop a lasting relationship with you and your organization? Perhaps you’d like to be able to come to your advisor for help developing professionally or personally. An advisor who acts as a mentor will challenge you while supporting you.

Team Builder

Perhaps your organization has new members coming in and you would like someone to help form you all into one cohesive organization with common goals and expectations. Sometimes it is beneficial to have an outside, trusted force to help conduct some workshop or activity to build the trust between you all, or provide an opportunity for the organization’s leaders to develop some ways to build your team.

Conflict Mediator

When there is conflict in your organization, do you hope that your advisor will help to sort that out? Your advisor might be a good candidate to help you through these conflicts if they’ve grown to know each person and the organization's goals and purpose. Or perhaps you’d like to go to your advisor for advice on how to handle a conflict within your organization.

Reflective Agent

Your advisor could help you and your members reflect on your experience with your organization – if you’re meeting your goals, strengths, weaknesses, overall performance or commitment. Their honest feedback might reveal something that you did not see on your own. It is valuable to be able to find the areas that you can improve on and have someone you trust help you in making the steps to do so.

Policy Interpreter

Sometimes the policies, procedures, and rules that your organization must operate under can be confusing or you may not be aware of them at all. Your advisor could act as the universal interpreter of those pieces that you don’t quite understand completely. Or if you advisor doesn’t know, they might be able to act as a resource to figure out who you could ask.

Overall, you should always keep in mind that your advisor is not meant to do the work required to have a successful organization. Don’t forget that no matter how close you are with your advisor, this organization doesn’t belong to them. Your successes and your failures should be all your own, but your advisor should always be there for support when you need it! 

Student Organizations serve as an integral part of the University community. Student Organizations are committed to improving the quality of student life for all participants involved while offering different opportunities to meet the needs of the Doane community. As such, student organizations, the leaders, and members have the following responsibilities:

1. Student organization members and leaders must not, in their identity as a member of an organization and/or day-to-day functions operate under any goals, ideologies, or initiatives that actively or passively promote the marginalization, discrimination, or abuse of any individual, group, or belief. This includes but is not limited to race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, veteran status, or genetic information. Student organization members and leaders are held to the standards of the University, which is committed to “providing an inclusive and welcoming education and working environment for all members of its campus community”.
2. Student organization members and leaders must follow the policies laid out in this manual and in the Student Handbook. These policies supersede all individual student organization materials including constitutions, bylaws, and guidelines. Any violations may result in disciplinary action against the organization, officers, or individuals. In addition, members and officers agree to comply with all rules and regulations of the University and recognize that violation of any University policies or interference with University functions is grounds for disciplinary action against the organization and its members.

Responsibilities of Officers

The officers of all student organizations must be in good academic and disciplinary standing as well as spending the entire academic year at Doane (with the intention of not choosing to study abroad the duration of holding office) at the time of election or appointment and through their terms of service to the organization.

1. Student Organization President (or designee if needed) attends all Student President Advisory Council Meetings.
2. Student Organization Officers will attend any required trainings, meetings, or other related events/programs as stated by the Center for Student Leadership and Involvement and Division of Student Affairs.

A team should be comprised of enthusiastic and diverse individuals who have common goals, enjoy working together, and want to produce quality results for the betterment of the group! A clearly defined purpose will benefit a team because all members will understand their responsibilities and what the group is working toward as a whole.

Establishing Quality Relationships

Team building starts with creating quality relationships among members. Some key elements and methods for establishing these kinds of relationships:

• Accepting differing opinions
• Celebrating individual differences
• Clarity on tasks and how decisions are made
• Discussion of strengths and challenges
• Establishing norms
• Icebreakers
• Individuals self-awareness
• Leadership or personality inventories
• Recognizing member contributions
• Trust

Good leaders will facilitate this kind of bonding purposefully. You can’t force people to like each other or become a team, but providing the opportunities to start growing closer to become a team is important.

One good place to start is to facilitate everyone getting to know each other. Below are some questions to find similarities and differences in your members!

• When did you become interested in this organization and why did you join?
• What do you hope to gain from this experience?
• What do you hope to see this organization do this year?
• What expectations do you have of this organization and its officers?
• What do you want this organization to be remembered for?
• What special skills or abilities do you bring to this organization?
• What do you need from each other?
• What do you expect of yourself?
• What is your greatest fear within the organization?

Of course, these questions don’t encompass the more personal questions about who your members are or their experiences, but getting to know all of your members on a more personal level is important too. If your members see you making that effort, they’re more likely to make that effort among themselves.

NEED NEW COPY

There are a few important things to consider before you begin recruiting new members. First you should ask, “Why do students want to join our organization?”

Take the time to ask your current members what got them interested and involved with your organization. Does your organization offer a sense of belonging? Are there opportunities to get involved in event planning? Does your organization provide a sense of purpose for your members or does it make a difference in the community? Think about all of the things that make your organization attractive to new members. Once you figure out what type of member you want to recruit, you can then determine the best ways to reach that audience.

Personal contact or word-of-mouth 

Get your current members excited about gaining new members, and get them out there talking to people about it!

Announcements or advertisements 

Don’t forget about all the advertising resources available to you that you may use to promote events.

Use your next event 

Have a signup sheet for people who are interested in joining and have someone there to answer questions. If they’re having a good time at their event, they may be interested in joining!

Social media 

If your organization is already on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter, utilize it. 

Work with others

Partnering to co-sponsor an event with another organization may expose your organization to a new demographic of students and therefore gain more new interest.

Club Craze - Organization Fair

At the beginning of the fall semester, participate in the Organization Fair. It gives any organization the opportunity to recruit new students.

It is common for membership numbers to dwindle throughout the year for any number of reasons. Here are some ways to keep your members coming back:

New Member Orientation 

It doesn’t have to be extensive, but make the effort to educate new members on all the details of the organization. This will keep them interested, invested, and attending meetings and events!

Incorporation 

Allowing members to be a part of making decisions can make them feel vital to your group. This is often preferable to letting the leadership team make all of the decisions.

Enjoyment 

The easiest way to keep members coming back is to make sure that they’re having fun. Don’t just have meetings all the time – remember the importance of retreats and other activities or outings just for members!

Recognition

The easiest and most important way to retain members is to simply recognize them for their efforts! Remember that your members are volunteering their time and energy to be a member of a student organization, just like you. Recognizing their dedication is an awesome way to say thank you. Being recognized regularly is also going to boost the commitment of your members and keep them working productively toward the group’s mission!

Keep an eye out for their big and small accomplishments individually and as a team:

• Working on a successful program
• Remaining positive and supportive during a heated discussion or a trying time for the group
• Being open to new ideas
• Volunteering for a task that nobody else wants to do
• Suggesting ways to improve the organization
• Taking on a challenge that is outside of their comfort zone
• Consistently attending meetings
• Being generally positive or enthusiastic about the organization

You don’t have to go all out to make your members feel good about being recognized for their efforts. Below are some ways to give a little appreciation for your members, but you can be creative with how you do so. You could even ask your members how they prefer to be recognized!

Just tell them. Be specific about what you appreciate when you do so.

Write a simple thank you note.

Recognize them briefly in front of the group. You can even put a little note in your meeting agenda.

Celebrate members. Have a membership banquet or social event to celebrate the accomplishments of members

Nominate members for the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Awards.

Give a simple certificate of appreciation.

Give out incentives.

Have a traveling award that is passed around from member to member.

Place recognition plaques in public areas.

You should also be sure to recognize the entire group when they pull off something well together. Think about a program or promotion that the whole group did together. In those cases, here are some ideas:

• Cancel your scheduled business meeting and go bowling together instead
• Have a more informal meeting somewhere new, like outside
• End your meeting early
• Do something to celebrate recent/upcoming birthdays
• Give everyone a little gift bag of goodies – candy and personalized notes for each member

One way to establish quality relationships is to utilize team building activities. Here are a few types of team building activities and helpful tips to get you started!

Icebreakers

A light activity is a good way to introduce new members to each other. Once everyone starts talking to each other, the fun begins! Icebreakers don’t need to be extensive and could be as simple as a name game or taking turns asking and answering funny questions! There are tons of examples on the internet. Just remember that your icebreakers shouldn’t be too ‘comfortable’ for people who may have just met. 

P.S. If you, or any of your members, have been to summer camp, those kinds of games and activities make great icebreakers!

Two Truths and a Lie

Taking turns, everyone says two things that are true about them and one thing that is not. The rest of the group guesses which is the lie before moving on to the next person.

Pterodactyl

The objective of this game is to keep your teeth covered with your lips and be the last person standing! One person starts by saying ‘pterodactyl’ with their teeth covered by their lips and then adding a noise that they believe sounds like a pterodactyl. Whoever they said pterodactyl to should do the same to someone else. The game can go in any direction and everyone can change their noise whenever they want. You could even start to add acting to the sounds to make it even funnier. 

More Icebreaker ideas

Helpful Tips

1. Sometimes it’s good to host recreational events outside of meetings to allow people to get to know each other on a different level.

• One way to do that is to plan a retreat – see the next section!

2. Encourage members to recognize each other for a job well done. Sometimes that recognition feels especially effective when it comes from your peers!
3. Allow members to share their personal triumphs and struggles. Doing this helps the organization and creates relationships
4. Encourage members to find opportunities to get together outside of official organization meetings or events. It is likely that members could have similar classes, so even a study group would be beneficial, or getting dinner together as a group!

A retreat is a great way to build camaraderie within your organization, while also providing a way for members to work together to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

A retreat is usually at the beginning of the year or the semester, but can really be done whenever you think it’s necessary. For example, if you plan a huge program and you see that your team is stressed out and starting to break apart, a mid-semester retreat might be beneficial to refocus and refresh. You can also take your retreat off-campus, or simply have it in a reserved room on campus.

Steps to Planning a Retreat

Set goals 

Work with your members to set goals for this retreat so that everyone is invested in it. There should be an established purpose: getting to know each other, increasing motivation, learning from informational workshops, evaluating long term goals, resolving group conflict, reviewing/revising your constitution etc. As long as everyone is on the same page going into it, you will be successful!

Budget

Keep in mind that a retreat can come with expenses, such as the retreat site rental, travel and transportation, workshop materials, cooking/food supplies, or fees for outside facilitators/speakers. All of that adds up, so keep your budget in mind.

Agenda 

Think about the different sessions you’d like to have to reach your established goals, and don’t forget to allow time for breaks, eating, and sleeping!

Evaluation

Be sure to prepare a way for the members to give thoughtful feedback. This will allow you to know what could be done differently or improved for the next one.

Checklist

• Choose a date
• Reserve a site
• Determine the format of the retreat and information to be shared
• If necessary, develop committees to handle different aspects of the retreat
• Delegate tasks to committee members
• Contact facilitators or speakers you’d like to come
• Make meal arrangements
• Create materials to handout or gather necessary equipment
• Inform members of cost, travel, sleeping/food arrangements
• Have committee meetings as needed to confirm agenda, responsibilities, and completing of tasks

One of your first tasks leading a student organization might be to have a meeting of some sort! Here are some guidelines to make sure the meeting is effective. (You can also find a sample meeting agenda in the Forms section of this handbook, beginning on page 33.)

Meeting Preparation

1. Every meeting should have a purpose, so identify that first. If there is no reason to meet, then don’t do so. It will just waste time and members might leave feeling frustrated at that.
2. Is this meeting going to be formal or informal? Informal might be more appropriate for a shorter agenda, but if you have a lot of things to discuss or accomplish, it might be a good idea to have a more formal meeting.
3. Plan for the environment of the meeting and always plan for the unexpected. Make sure the room is arranged appropriately for your goals – if you’re going to be discussing things as a group, try to arrange the chairs in a more circular shape to facilitate that.
4. Develop an agenda that includes the purpose, all items of business to be discussed, and time estimates of the meeting. When estimating the times for the meeting, make the length of the meeting appropriate based on what needs to be done.
5. Try to keep a consistent meeting time and place so that members are more accountable.

Meeting Basics

• Understand and utalize Robert's Rules of Order.
• Maintain focus in your meetings by keeping them under an hour, even if it means not getting to some of the agenda items.
• Never start a meeting without a goal in mind.
• Send out an agenda before the meeting so the members feel prepared.
• Begin meetings promptly.

Meeting Process

What exactly should you be doing during a meeting?

• Greet members as they arrive – especially new ones!
• Start on time, finish on time, and stick to the agenda.
• Encourage discussion and feedback from everyone. Try not to rush through the agenda items to allow each member time to speak up if they feel they want to.
• Keep the conversation on topic.
• Designate someone to take detailed minutes, or notes, about what is being discussed/decided on. (If your org has a secretary position, this is a great job for them!)
• Listen and show interest in others’ perspectives. You will be modeling the respect that you expect your members to have for each other.
• At the end, announce when the next meeting will be held as a reminder!

After the Meeting

• Type up and distribute the minutes as soon as possible. They’re very useful as a reminder of the tasks that need to be completed.
• If you encountered any problems during the meeting, discuss them with the other officers or the members involved. Acknowledging those moments or incidents is always best.
• Follow-up on that tasks that were delegated out by checking with the members to make sure they know what is expected of them.
• If there is something you didn’t get to, put it on the next meeting’s agenda.
• Of course, give appreciation and recognition where it’s due.

When it comes to making a difficult decision together, members of your organization likely just want to do the right thing. That process can then become difficult, too. Help get your group in the right direction with these suggestions.

• Establish a process and some guidelines for how decisions will be made and make sure all members are aware and agree so that there is full participation from all!
• Identify the problem clearly so that everyone is on the same page and consider framing the problem around what is needed. If there is more than one problem, tackle them in turn and clearly state which problem you are discussing in the moment.
• Brainstorm a list of options for solutions to consider. Remember to use the brainstorming tips in this booklet.
• Determine which option best meets the needs of the problem or the group and check in with those who will be impacted by the decision to get their opinions and feedback.
• After you implement the agreed upon solution, always evaluate how effective it was.

In the end, you want your team to have reached some sort of consensus that all of the mlearnembers can invest in. That might mean making small compromises on the behalf of the group. This will lead to the solution being implemented well and none of the members feeling like they were unheard or their opinion didn’t matter in the end.

The prior sections outlined the many things that should be done and considered to create a successful event. The bright side is that you don’t have to do it alone! Delegation suggests that you trust your members and are invested in them. An avid leader should keep in mind that delegating is a way to show that you see your fellow members as responsible and accountable.

You will eventually figure out which members can handle specific tasks considering their flexibility, personality, experience, and styles of accomplishing projects. You could either ask them or learn from experience.

It might feel like it is easier to just do the task yourself or to always delegate to the same person because you know they can get it done. However:

• Delegation is an investment in your team that will make them feel good.
• That investment will develop the members personally, but the team will grow stronger as a result.
• The workload for the team being evenly distributed will decrease stress for everyone!
• You want to make sure that all of your members are getting the chance to be actively involved.

You might consider different ways to delegate, as well:

Design a task and simply ask a member to complete it.
Hey, this vendor needs to be called by Thursday. Tish, could you do that because you’re a great communicator over the phone?

Find a task that needs a few members and get a small group to commit to participating to do it together.
We’re going to need a team to pick up some supplies this weekend, probably about three people. How about Jan, Kacey, and Todd since Kacey has a car?

Develop a project and asking for volunteers to complete the different tasks by selling it to them.
We’re going to need an awesome poster to promote our big event this semester. Maybe people who are really creative? Once you design it, it’s easy to get it printed. Any volunteers?

Take on a project and once members become completely involved in it, leave them to it.
There are a lot of moving parts for this event, so I’ll call on Jan, Kacey, and Todd to work together to manage our performers and guest speakers. You will be their point of contact on the day-of and help make sure everything is set up for them from now on.

You’ll know that it’s time to delegate:

• When there is a lot of work to be done.
• When you know a member who has a specific skill set that would enable them to complete the task very well.
• When someone expresses interest in the task.
• When a member might benefit from the responsibility given to them.

Remember that although there is some risk in delegation, if you are clear on your expectations and the member seems interested or willing to complete the task, you’ve got a win-win situation on your hands! 

• Only hand over the tasks that are appropriate to hand over. You shouldn’t be delegating things that are your responsibility that you just want to avoid.
• Try to give tasks to people who are genuinely willing to do them.
• Have a conversation about exactly what the task entails and allow the member to contribute in defining the expectations.
• Hold your members accountable by setting a fair deadline together.
• Explicitly discuss when and how they are comfortable with you checking in with them to follow-up.
• If your member is doing something they’ve never done before, take the time to help them learn how to do it!
• Give feedback on the completion of the task, but also how well they communicated. Ask for their feedback for you to ensure you’re supporting them.
• Always recognize those who have done well or completed their task in an efficient manner! This will keep them excited to keep doing well!