Lindsay King, Club Support Coordinator at Kin Canada, and some other members of the team shared some of their practices and struggles in starting and working with their existing clubs across Canada.
Q: How do you initiate relationships on campuses on which you don't already have a presence? What are the biggest barriers? What sort of practices have you found make things easier? A: Our clubs are not widely known at the moment and we are starting to work on evaluating the program. Some Districts (see map below) and most of the clubs actively use Facebook and sometimes Twitter to make themselves known. Currently, to start a club, a student would need to approach a local Kin Club, District leadership or National Headquarters for support in starting a new club on their campus. They would need to gather potential members to be part of the club and then start the chartering process. Other than this, if an established Kin Club in the community would like to initiate a Campus Club on a local campus they would need to work on contacting the school, setting up in a space where they are able to hold a membership drive, tell students about Kin Canada and work on gaining members through that avenue. The biggest barrier would probably be the time people have to commit to the start-up of a new club with the established Kin Club already having their own projects and the limited time that students have today. The easiest way to gain traction on a campus today is to have a “Kin Kid” (an established Kin Club member’s son or daughter) on the campus already who has been raised with Kin Canada, knows what it stands for and is inspired to start their own Club and gather members. Additionally, when the traditional Kin processes aren’t forced upon a club and they are left to make their own decisions on how a meeting should be run and set their own rules and guidelines they are more independent and can function better. Q: What, if any, strategies do you use to integrate club members into the operations and decision-making of your broader organization? A: All members have the opportunity to progress within the association when the opportunity presents itself. Members are given the opportunity to run for club president, and District leadership (i.e. as a Governor, Vice Governor). Beyond this, members are also able to join National committees and apply to the National Board when the opportunities come about. Campus Club members are also given the opportunity to be involved in the awards program and are invited to conventions around the District and nationally to make sure they have a say in the organization and provide them with full voting rights at these conventions. Additionally, if the Campus Club has a sponsor the sponsor is encouraged to work with the Campus Club and create synergy. Q: Is your programming consistent across your clubs, or do they have considerable autonomy in deciding what to do? If the latter, how do you balance this with the need to uphold organizational standards? A: We don’t program for our clubs, they are part of the larger service organization that is Kin Canada. We give our clubs autonomy and make them responsible for their own programming based on the needs of their campus and surrounding community in line with our mission, vision and values. Although, they can call on the help of their sponsoring Kin clubs in the community or District leadership. They are also able to call on other leadership whether it be at the District of National level for assistance from afar in programming/events/service/fundraising project ideas or any other member of the association across Canada.
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Isabel Deslauriers, Manager of Let’s Talk Science Outreach, was kind enough to share some of their practices in working with their clubs across Canada.
Let’s Talk Science Outreach sites can be found at over 40 university and colleges across Canada. Available free of charge, more than 3,500 post-secondary student volunteers and a growing number of industry partners engage youth in hands-on/minds-on STEM learning experiences in both school and community settings. Q: Is your programming consistent across your clubs, or do they have considerable autonomy in deciding what to do? If the latter, how do you balance this with the need to uphold organizational standards? A: We provide two big guidelines for the program: it’s volunteer-driven, and it emphasizes hands-on experiences. Within that, the volunteers and local coordinators have tremendous leeway to create their own initiatives that fit in well within their community. For example, volunteers have developed workshops related to their own interests and in response to local teacher requests - everything from a DNA whodunit workshop to rocket launching and robotics. Volunteers have also created a series of on-campus symposia based on the research specialties of their university: StemCellTalks started at the University of Toronto, and Let’s Talk Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta. Our philosophy is to support our volunteers’ passions. Q: What, if any, strategies do you use to integrate club members into the operations and decision-making of your broader organization? A: For a volunteer-driven program in particular, it’s important for the participants to shape the program around their passions and their needs, so we put a high priority providing a voice to our members. As an example, every year local coordinators have the opportunity to participate in a regional and a national conference, which are two of the key events where coordinators have a voice in shaping the national program. Sessions where we raise current issues and problem-solve them together feed directly into national planning and resource allocation. Another big part of the conference is about meeting representatives from other locations to discuss challenges and share ideas. This is how many of the key initiatives on the national level started to spread. For example, the Let’s Talk Science Challenge was originally presented by McMaster University at the national conference, where three other universities adopted the idea. As the event continued to spread, the national office put more financial and logistical support behind it, and helped it grow to 24 locations. Q: What are some of the frustrations of coordinating campus clubs? What practices have you used to overcome these? A: The most difficult aspect is the fact that as students, coordinators and volunteers are only around for a few years. This can make it challenging for a local program to maintain continuity, but being a part of a national organization can help overcome this. Our regional coordinators (who are staff members) have a huge role in helping with continuity. We make sure that the program keeps going after even after a key coordinator finishes their term – preserving and building on their legacy. Once the graduating coordinator has left, the regional coordinator acts as a mentor to the new coordinator, and they help transfer local relationships and understand long term projects and challenges. The first few universities that joined the program have now had groups operating for more than 25 years! When I began my role as the Vice-President Services of the Nipissing University Student Union (NUSU), I immediately struggled with how to properly manage my institution’s Clubs program. On one hand, I could take a hands-off approach – occasionally checking in on the campus clubs, and hoping they govern themselves well. On the other, I could inject more structure into the program, build and create resources, and put in place a guideline and policy under which the clubs would govern themselves; thus ensuring the under NUSU operate well and continue to thrive year after year. With a desire for structure, the staff of the Nipissing University Student Union began laying the groundwork work to implement a Clubs policy.
Our approved Clubs policy has not only made a world of difference for our staff, but it has made the day-to-day operations and governing of our Clubs easier for those students who choose to participate in and lead them. The policy covers the rights, responsibilities and expectations of a campus club, the channels to go through to access NUSU and Nipissing University resources, funding grants, and proper financial management and bookkeeping. This helps both the Clubs program and myself stay accountable and on track throughout the year. I often consider myself lucky, for a couple of reasons; the first that NUSU had a blank slate to work with when we molded the Clubs program over the course of several months. The second, that we have amazing and dedicated staff, all of whom provided feedback, and whose thoughts and effort went into this project - their efforts are incorporated not solely in the Clubs policy, but in the resources that we created alongside it. Although I do have dedicated (and sometimes flexible) weekly office hours, there is no way to make sure that I am available to meet with every single one of the club presidents or executives one-on-one. Between their schedules as students, and mine as a student executive, nothing ever lines up exactly the way we want it to. Instead, we decided to institute a Clubs summit – a yearly meeting with all of the club executives in early September. The summit allowed for discussion with our clubs, familiarization with the new policy, and an introduction to the resources allocated to the Clubs program on campus. Though it seemed to be a big undertaking at first, instituting a summit is a project I would recommend for others in my position. Also, offer food and snacks when you plan a long meeting or event – students love food, and it’s almost always guaranteed to boost attendance. Finally, NUSU runs our Club Days/Clubs Week once or twice a year. We gauge this based on the popularity of our first run during the second week of classes in September, and if it is successful, we run another week during the second week of classes in January. This promotes not just the NUSU clubs program, but also allows for the clubs to get the word out, recruit students, and advertise the events that they have over the coming weeks and months. While we do help our clubs with resources, we encourage them to run events independently, and sign-up for those that we facilitate, including Club Days/Clubs Week. This is a practice that allows us to step in and help when need be, but really lends independence to the executive of all of our Clubs. It is extremely important to note that not only do Clubs provide an outlet for students, they help provide avenues for expanded social circles and extracurricular activities; as well as promoting ties with one’s chosen post-secondary institution. David Ratcliffe, Vice-President Services, Nipissing University Student Union Having been a part of student clubs and organizations for several years, I am very familiar with the huge rate of member turnover student groups experience from one year to the next. I originally found this refreshing, and noticed a resurgence of creative energy following every executive change up. High member turnover seemed to set the stage for change by bringing in new ideas and new perspectives, but it did not always guarantee that change would occur. Despite the continual desire for change and progress, I found that many student organizations remained stagnant. Many procedures would be maintained purely due to it “always having been done this way”. This was frustrating for me, as it seemed many traditions were needlessly bureaucratic and seemingly arbitrary. This brings me to the question many students and staff have asked themselves: Should we change or remain the same?
Although change can be good, it is not always easy. Change requires a lot of work and a lot of knowledge. You cannot walk into an organization and start changing things from day one. Change requires a firm understanding of the needs of the population you are serving, in addition to an understanding of the current resources at your disposal. This is the main reason change does not happen as much as one would predict. Knowledge seems to be lost from year to year. By the time students gain a firm understanding of their role, the year is over. It is easier for students to enter a position and use the wheel that has been left behind, than to engineer a new one. Although change can be difficult, it should not be avoided because of the above reasons. My recommendation to students and staff wanting to implement change is to first answer these three questions:
Change is good, as long as it is purposeful. Jennifer Halden Clubs Administrative Coordinator Central Student Association, University of Guelph This post is part of an ongoing series we will be running showcasing clubs that are doing innovative things acros the country. If you think your club fits that bill, then get in touch!
The Student Affairs Society (SAS) is a student organization based at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. SAS offers programs and activities for all U of T students who are interested in pursuing a professional and/or academic career in Student Affairs/Services and in Higher Education. The SAS was founded in 2014 by OISE students. In the same year, the Department of Leadership, Adult and Higher Education (LAHE) launched the Master of Education (MEd) Program in Student Development and Student Services in Higher Education. These events signaled a growing demand for teaching, research and discourses in student affairs. The main goals of SAS are to foster a sense of community and connectedness; provide platforms to share knowledge and resources; and to offer professional and research development opportunities for students, practitioners and scholars in the field of Student Affairs in Higher Education in Canada. A group of new and senior graduate students at OISE have formed the leadership team of SAS (the leadership team) this year. At the beginning of this academic year, the team decided collectively to organize events for students at U of T aimed at facilitating career exploration. Another goal for SAS program offerings was to create safe space for important and sometimes difficult conversations. The group serves as an important bridge for emerging professionals. Through the SAS, students new to the field have the opportunity to explore careers, and discuss topics of conversations such as equity, diversity and inclusion. The leadership team believes that these themes are critical not only for student success, but also for fostering a diverse and inclusive academic and professional community where everyone can flourish. With these specific goals and the broader goals of the SAS in mind, the leadership team has planned and executed various programs and activities for 2016. In the Field was an event where students were invited to speak with current practitioners working in student affairs and to raise any questions they might have. The purpose was for students to get hands-on knowledge of what it is like to be working in various roles in student affairs and provide them with information that help them make important career choices. In an effort to further support students’ career aspirations, SAS has also planned events such as Mock Interviews and SAS Goes to CACUSS (Canadian Association of College and University Services) in the upcoming semester. Within the past few years, SAS has grown from a small student group to a thriving online and in-person community. Much of this success has come from understanding our audience, and providing opportunities for practitioners to engage in our events. By opening up opportunities, we have created space to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Furthermore, members have had the chance to engage informally with professionals in the field. If you'd like to get learn more about the Student Affairs Society, visit our website: studentaffairs.sa.utoronto.ca, or connect with us by email ([email protected]) to be added to the mailing list, and follow us on Twitter: @SASocietyOISE. Cassidy Gong Michelle DeJardine, Manager of Public Engagement (Youth) at Plan International Canada, was kind enough to share some of their practices in working with their “Because I am a Girl” clubs across Canada.
Q: Is your programming consistent across your clubs, or do they have considerable autonomy in deciding what to do? If the latter, how do you balance this with the need to uphold organizational standards? A: Our Because I am a Girl Clubs have quite a lot of autonomy for how they would like to run their Clubs. They use educational toolkits located at http://plancanada.ca/resource-centre to guide them as they plan out their year, fundraising goals and which initiatives they would like to focus on. Q: Do you maintain relationships with club members after they graduate? If so, how? A: Often Club members join other initiatives at Plan International Canada when they no longer keep their Club active. Many past Club members have joined our Speakers Bureau and our Youth Advisory Council. Also, Club members that have graduated High School and have opted not to start a Club at their University still fundraise for Plan International and keep in touch through their own fundraising initiatives or through sponsoring a child – which is really exciting for us. Q: How do you manage the succession in club leadership from year to year? A: I reach out to Clubs at the end of the school year to see if the Club leader or teacher supervisor are planning to continue their role for the next school year or if someone else will be assuming the role. I reach out again in September to confirm any change overs. Something I’ve learned in my short time as a student group admin is that students – and especially those who are running student groups – are a lot more capable than we think. It’s important to remember that they are capable adults, despite being greener than us, and to make decisions based on an understanding of them like peers in this way. This peer-ish mentality also makes it easier to enforce accountability later on, if the group crosses a line: hold their hands too much, and blame can more easily be put on the administrators instead of the students. I graduated in 2015, so it wasn’t so long ago that I was one of those students running a student group, jumping through the hoops that I now set. Often, it’s still surreal for me to think of myself as an advisor or authority, because I feel like more of a peer to them than anything. This feeling, along with my experience as a peer tutor at the campus writing centre, is what helps encourage me to think instead from a student perspective when developing policy and procedure updates.
Take, for instance, our campus’ student group recognition procedure. Completed annually, an incoming student group executive team is required to submit updated information about the club: names and contact info for the new executive team, the number or roster of current members, signing authorities for the club, that kind of thing. To facilitate this process, a student group president or other exec leader must complete a 5-8 page electronic form through an online portal. Review, completed by our staff, happens within 2-4 weeks of receiving the forms. This is required to permit the club to apply for grants, host events and reserve spaces on campus, among other privileges. Depending on the nature of the student group, the student may have to provide additional documentation from any external organizations with which their club is affiliated, and/or provide contact information for faculty advisors. The greatest delays in this process are these last two items: currently, if a group is affiliated with an external organization, they have to complete an agreement letter to ensure that the organization will maintain adequate distance from the student group’s operations; if a club has a faculty advisor, we contact that faculty to confirm, similar to a job reference. If either of these third-party entities are slow to respond, this holds up the student group’s recognition process. Coming in to 2017, we’ve taken this 5-8 page form and boiled it down to 3-4 pages, depending on the student group type (a fraternity versus a dance club have slightly different requirements), which in turn has simplified our back-end administration records. While some groups have slightly different recognition requirements, most of the info we ask for is the same and the onus is put on the student group. Behind this change was a desire to provide students with additional autonomy and simplicity in the recognition process. By shortening this process with a few quick, but thought-out changes, we foresee the recognition procedure speeding up significantly. It comes down to trusting the students to figure things out and ask questions if they need additional clarifications, being intentional with the way we set and reset systems, and noticing when the same question crops up repeatedly. They’re smart: otherwise, we wouldn’t be seeing them. Kristin LaGrange, Assistant Program Lead, Student Group Services University of Alberta |
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