RSO Advisor Handbook

The Office of Student Engagement (OSE) exists to engage campus, empower students, and develop leaders.

Office of Student Engagement (OSE) Main Office

1070 Arcadia Loop

Kalamazoo, MI  49008-5356

Phone: 269-387-2115

Fax: 269-387-2185

Website: wmich.edu/studentengagement

Student Organization Center (SOC)

WMU Student Center

Student Media Group (SMG)

The Student Media Group was created in 2013, bringing together the Western Herald and WIDR 89.1 FM the SMG umbrella to serve the media needs of the students at WMU. Located in the Student Organization Center.

Website: wmich.edu/studentengagement/studentmedia

Faith and Spiritual Development 

OSE

Phone: 269-387-2119

Website: wmich.edu/student-center/kanley 

Student Center 

A vibrant community center for campus life. Students and community members can visit the Student Center to eat, buy textbooks, use the computer lab, attend RSO meetings, and more.

Phone: 269-387-4860

Website: wmich.edu/studentcenter

Division of Student Affairs (DOSA) 

Envelops all areas of student services (residential life, student conduct, student activities, recreational sports, wellness, career development, counseling and testing services, multicultural affairs, campus police, Student Center, etc.) 

Website: wmich.edu/studentaffairs

Academic Resource Center

WMU offers multiple academic support services to all students, as well as specialized programs available to certain populations of students.

Website: wmich.edu/tutoring

Career and Student Employment Services

This is your home base for exploring career options, job searching, interviewing, negotiating and finding internships. All these resources are available to WMU students, employers hiring Broncos, WMU alumni, student-employee supervisors, WMU faculty and staff, and students’ families.

Website: wmich.edu/career

Registrar’s Office

The mission of the Registrar's Office is to support learning, discovery, and global engagement at Western Michigan University by maintaining the accuracy, integrity, and security of student records, ensuring compliance with academic policy and higher education regulations, and serving the diverse and changing needs of the campus community. Services provided by the Registrar's Office include course record management, classroom assignment, final exam scheduling, publication of the University's Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs, academic record creation and maintenance, student registration information, grade processing, transcript issuing, degree auditing, and graduation. 

Website: wmich.edu/registrar

Office of Diversity and Inclusion

ODI provides leadership and accountability in guiding systemic change in order to be equitable in access, resources, and opportunities for all in the WMU community.

Website: wmich.edu/diversity

Multicultural Center

The Multicultural Center at Western Michigan University provides the university student population with spaces for study, meetings, projects, and conversation. It also provides information on diversity and ethnic and cultural issues through speakers, events, exhibits, and displays scheduled by university groups and organizations. 

Website: wmich.edu/diversity/center

Multicultural Affairs for Students

Multicultural Affairs for Students helps students identify their unique purpose and potential by providing them with opportunities to discover and develop talents and interests. We strive to create an environment that enables them to grow and thrive intellectually, culturally, professionally, and personally throughout their college experience. We foster community involvement and promote a campus climate that respects and appreciates the history, culture, and traditions of all students.

Website: wmich.edu/multicultural 

Disability Services for Students (DSS)

Disability Services for Students at Western Michigan University strives to make education accessible and remove barriers to student success.

Website: wmich.edu/disabilityservices

LBGT Student Services

The Office of LBGT Student Services offers support, education and advocacy around issues of gender identity/expression and sexual orientation to the WMU community. We collaborate with student organizations, university departments and local organizations to provide our campus community with access to healthy resources, activities, and support services.

Website: wmich.edu/lbgt

International Student and Scholar Services

On this page, you will find resources for prospective international students, including information about virtual tours and meetups, funding opportunities, and how to apply.

Website: wmich.edu/internationaladmissions

Aira access in WMU 

Website: wmich.edu/disabilityservices/accessibility/aira

ExperienceWMU Website

Discover unique opportunities at Western Michigan University to get involved in Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and event opportunities. 

Website: https://experiencewmu.wmich.edu/

Sindecuse Health Center Counseling Services

Sindecuse staff serve Western Michigan University in diverse ways. Nursing services include, but are not limited to, international travel consultation, immunizations, allergy injections, pregnancy testing, EKGs, drug screening, suture removal, ear lavage, and blood pressure checks.

Website: wmich.edu/healthcenter

Counseling and Testing Center

Counseling Services provides psychotherapy and mental health assistance to enrolled WMU students only. Students with full- or part-time status, including those at regional campuses may use our services.

Website: wmich.edu/healthcenter/counseling

WellTrack Self-help App

Free online self-help resource available to all WMU students, faculty, and staff. WellTrack users are able to assess their personal well-being and access resources tailored to address symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Website: wmich.edu/healthcenter/counseling/useful-apps/welltrack

Montgomery Essential Needs

Montgomery Essential Needs can support you with meeting your basic needs, like groceries, personal care items, unexpected bills and more. 

Website: wmich.edu/essential-needs 

WMU Department of Public Safety (DPS)

Focuses on four main areas: police, parking services, environmental health and safety, and security administration.

Website: wmudps.wmich.edu

Uwill 

Uwill offers free access to teletherapy that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year to all enrolled WMU students, regardless of their location.

All students have access to 30-minute sessions. After three initial appointments, students can access two additional sessions. WMU mental health staff will then work with students to explore options going forward, given the spectrum of support on campus.

In addition to those resources, Uwill offers unlimited 24/7 year-round access to a crisis hotline by calling (833) 646-1526.

Website: wmich.edu/students/health/uwill

Allocations – Refers to funds available to Registered Student Organizations through Western’s financial organizational branches. See ‘WSA,’ ‘GSA,’ ‘SCC,’ SMG’, or ‘CAB’ for further information.

ASO – Acknowledged Student Organization. Student organization successfully registered via all processes and procedures designated by the Office of Student Engagement. ASOs are not eligible for SAF funding. Have fewer guidelines than RSOs.

Bronco Bash – Sometimes referred to as ‘Bash,’ this is an annual event organized and executed by the Office of Student Engagement. Registered Student Organizations can rent a free booth to recruit new students and can volunteer to assist with the event. This is an excellent opportunity for an RSO to engage with Western’s campus community, the greater Kalamazoo community, and beyond.

CAB – Campus Activities Board. Plans many campus-wide activities, including concerts, guest speakers, CABand more. CAB is also available to collaborate with RSOs for events in terms of staffing, funding, and logistics. 

CAB Website

Constitution – A club or organization cannot register with WMU unless they have created a constitution. Constitution outlines, guidelines, and requirements can be found in the RSO Handbook.

FSL – Fraternity and Sorority Life. Everything related to Greek Life on campus falls under this umbrella. This specifically refers to organizations that belong to a fraternal council (NPHC, CPC, IFC, UGC, MGC).

GA - Graduate Assistant. The Office of Student Engagement employs several Graduate Assistants to lead events, office initiatives, and daily operations.

GSA – Graduate Student Association. If you advise an RSO composed majority of Graduate Students, the organization is eligible for funding through this allocating body.

GSA Website

Homecoming – During the week leading up to Western’s last home football game, RSOs can sign up to participate in games/activities. RSOs can also nominate one of their members to run for Homecoming Court and win a scholarship.

OSE - Office of Student Engagement – Located on the third floor of the Student Center, this office is the one-stop shop for campus events/activities, RSOs, and students looking to get more involved with their campus community. The OSE is an excellent place to start if your RSO has any questions about policies, procedures, and more.

PNC Bank (on campus) – Located on the ground floor of the Student Center near The WMU Bookstore, this bank is commonly used by RSOs to maintain off-campus bank accounts. Though the bank is technically located on campus, PNC is not affiliated with Western Michigan University. RSOs may open a bank account, but are not required to.

Registration/Re-Registration – Each calendar year, RSOs must complete this process to officially register with the University via ExperienceWMU. A club or organization will not be officially recognized as an RSO and cannot receive University funding unless they have registered. Best practice is to re-register existing organizations between Spring Break and finals, but new organizations can begin the registration process at any time. More information about registration can be found in the RSO Handbook and we encourage students to ask questions to ensure proper understanding of what is needed.

RSO – Registered Student Organization. Student organization successfully registered via all processes and procedures designated by the Office of Student Engagement. Are eligible to receive SAF funding.

SAF – Student Assessment Fee. A fee of $62.00 per semester (Fall and Spring) and $31.00 per session (Summer I and Summer II) collected from all undergraduate and graduate students at the time of registration. This assessment is for the support of student organizations and agencies.

SAF Agency – defined as student-led organizations that receive their funding directly from the Student Assessment Fee. SAF Agency leadership is student elected and composed of enrolled students at Western Michigan University. SAF agencies include the Western Student Association (WSA), Graduate Student Association (GSA), Student Media Group (SMG), Sports Club Council (SCC), and Campus Activities Board (CAB).

SCC - Sports Club Council. Governing council for sports clubs.

SCC Website

SOC – Student Organization Center. This building, located on the first floor of the Student Center, is the campus hub for student organizations. It includes office/desk spaces (for RSOs to request annually) and a conference room, available as a meeting space for all RSOs.

SC - Student Center. A centralized location for anything and everything related to campus activities, including the Office of Student Engagement, the Student Organization Center, and more.

Sustainability Grants - Western Michigan University offers sustainability grants to students and Registered Student Organizations whose event/initiative encourages sustainability on campus.

Sustainability Grants Website

WSA – Western Student Association. This organization allocates funding to Registered Student Organizations.

WSA Website

RSO advisors are important not only because they are role models for students, but also because their involvement in the organization itself provides learning experiences that are transferable to situations beyond college. In order to assist the advisor and the RSO in understanding the roles of an effective advisor, the Office of Student Engagement offers the following list of responsibilities:

Note: Acknowledged Student Organizations (ASOs) do not require an advisor.

Who can be an advisor?

An RSO advisor may be any of the following:

• A WMU faculty and/or staff member;

• A WMU graduate student;

• A local community member who has expertise that is relevant to the RSO's mission/purpose.

Please note: WMU undergraduate students cannot serve as RSO advisors.

• Serve at the discretion of the organization.
• Assist officers in understanding their duties, administering programs and plans, organizing projects, and making appropriate transitions.
• Preserve the continuity of the organization through the constitution, traditions, files, and minutes. 
• Encourage the use of procedures to ensure that the meetings run in an efficient, orderly, and consistent manner. 
• Encourage students to understand and apply democratic principles, including the recognition of diverse opinions and rights.
• Attend as many organization meetings and events as possible.
• Articulate campus policies and procedures and help with understanding WMU standards when necessary.
• Support officers and be available for evaluation of ideas.
• Facilitate discussions among officers and between officers and members.
• Assist with resolving disputes within the organization.
• Be familiar with national structure and services if relevant.
• Assist with specific university services.
• Consult on programs.
• Advise individual students when necessary.
• Advise on financial matters, but do not directly apply for allocations.
• Assist the organization as needed.
• Provide historical context of RSO to new leadership/information necessary for leadership transitions.

• Notify the advisor of all meetings and events.
• Confer with the advisor on plans, projects, and events.
• Consult with the advisor before making structure or policy changes.
• Understand that although the advisor has no vote, they should have speaking privileges.
• Remember, the responsibility for the success or failure of the group projects rests ultimately with the group, not the advisor.
• Acknowledge the advisor's time and energy and express appropriate appreciation.
• State clearly and openly the expectations of the advisor.
• Evaluate the advisor and periodically give appropriate feedback.

There are three common roles advisors can have and each one has implications for student learning. Please keep in mind these are nuanced and can be practiced as more of a moving fulcrum. Sometimes you may need to be a director while still sliding between the other roles.

Coach

• Continue to decide tasks and monitor them, but students execute.
• Explain reasoning behind decisions and organizational procedures.
• Students are part of the RSOs progress and encourage it.
• Results are low-medium student learning.

Once a new or renewed RSO is up and running, students will begin to express interest in taking on more tasks or handling processes on their own. They may not be ready to take on a full leadership mantle, but they are ready to see how leadership works and take a peek ‘behind the scenes.’ Assign your students tasks and make sure to continue checking in with them to ensure follow-through.

Educator

• Students do most of the facilities of tasks.
• Decision-making by students defines RSO.
• Encourage, provide information, and intervene as needed.
• Support RSOs efforts.
• Problem solving is less often.
• Results in medium-high student learning.

By now, your students’ RSO will have an established presence on campus. Your students will have a shared vision, goals, and a robust knowledge of university processes/procedures. You will no longer need to ask them to do tasks, as they will most likely complete these tasks on their own. An RSO that reaches this stage is very likely to continue its operations in following years. Issues with leadership transitions and large-scale organization may persist.

Mentor

• Students make decisions and empower each other to do so.
• Present as needed or when asked.
• Students have full ownership over the RSO, its accomplishments, failures and successes.
• Intentional problem-solving is needed less and less.
• Learning comes from reflection.
• Results are high student learning.

Your to-do list as an advisor will have decreased exponentially by this point. Leadership, training, sharing of information, and more will be handled by your empowered students. Essentially, your RSO is running itself. Your students may still need you for processes that require an advisor to sign off, to manage conflict should it arise, or assist with operations as needed. You are essentially a safety net for your students, while they run the show.

Remember: 

Every RSO is different. RSOs are unique, not only in their statistical and physical attributes, but in the quality of their organization, in their size, and in their esprit. Therefore, an advisor must take the information contained in this manual and modify it to fit their particular organization.

Every advisor is different. By accepting this position, an advisor agrees to assist the organization in conducting its operations and in realizing its ideals and aspirations. However, each advisor will also have their own philosophy and unique approach to advising and should take those into account.

Advisors are volunteers. The advisor is a volunteer and has other important demands on their time. The RSO must, therefore, avoid setting up unrealistic expectations of them. 

Advisors are not dictators. If push comes to shove, an advisor cannot force an RSO to do anything. Their respect and authority are based on the quality of their relationship with the members.

If you remain with your RSO as an advisor from one academic year to the next, you will likely witness a turnover of leadership and membership within the organization. These times of transition can be difficult for executive officers to navigate, especially if their predecessors did not prepare training/informational materials for the next generation. Below is some advice on how to advise a Registered Student Organization through a transition in leadership.

Transition Documents

Transition documents are a proactive measure to ensure that your RSOs next generation of leaders has access to important guidelines, processes, procedures, usernames/passwords, and other types of information. A transition document (physical or digital) may include the following:

• Usernames and passwords for ExperienceWMU, RSO email addresses, Facebook, Instagram, and other accounts 
• Important contact information for events, collaborations, questions about policies/procedures, etc. 
• Contact information for active alumni 
• Information on how to: 
  • Access funding/bank accounts 
  • Access storage areas 
  • Find storage locations for items 
  • Rent office or meeting spaces 
  • Roles and responsibilities of the position 
  • Planning procedures for annual or repeated events/activities 
• Information on daily operations; for example: 
  • How do you edit the RSO’s webpage on ExperienceWMU? 
  • How do you re-register each academic year? 
  • What is the correct format for an RSO constitution? 
  • How do we obtain WSA funding? 
• Legacy notes on important experiences and lessons learned, such as: 
  • The whys and hows of successful (or unsuccessful) events 
  • Major challenges (and the methods for resolving them) 
  • Personalized tips/advice on reservations, helpful WMU staff members, making procedures/processes move faster, etc., etc. 
  • Running elections smoothly 
  • How to maintain positive relationships with the university/university officials 
  • Timetables for large campus events i.e. Bronco Bash or WSA Allocations 

Make sure to suggest that your RSO’s leaders create helpful and accurate transition materials to ensure the continuity of their organization. The OSE recommends having a transition binder for each turnover of each e-board position. Leadership transitions are key factors in determining whether or not a Registered Student Organization remains active on campus.

Advisor Evaluation

Completing the Advisor Evaluation Form is not required but is highly encouraged on an annual basis. Feedback from students is important, as it provides advisors with opportunities for self-reflection and growth.

Advisor Complaint

If any issues arise between an RSO and its advisor, we highly encourage the complainant (whether they are a student or an advisor) to fill out the Advisor Complaint Form. Please submit the Advisor Complaint Form to the RSO Development Specialist at @email.

Please note: Office of Student Engagement employees may be required to report certain complaints to the Title IX office, depending on the nature of the issue. Specifics are listed on the form.

Due to the nature of RSO activities, certain types of risk are more prevalent than others. It is important for you to guide your students through risk management because they often tend to focus on the positives of the event without considering potential risks.  

Any possibility of loss, harm or damage to individuals, property or organizations associated with an activity or event would be considered to be a risk.  

The goal of risk management is to identify, control, and minimize the negative impacts to your organization. It is expected that RSOs take the steps necessary to manage the risks associated. 

Please note that the students within your RSO (and not Western Michigan University) would be held liable for any incident since Registered Student Organizations are not affiliated with the institution. 

As an advisor, you do not need to have every risk management policy memorized. However, it may be helpful to have your students refer to this information (or to have this information on hand) while planning an event/activity.

Please review the Risk Management section of the RSO Handbook for detailed information.

Registered Student Organizations often require guidance through the particularities of university policies and procedures. As an advisor, you are able to act as a source of information for your students. The Office of Student Engagement’s most important RSO regulations and processes are in the RSO Handbook.

RSOs are encouraged to work through contracts with their advisor and the Office of Student Engagement prior to entering into a contractual agreement. It is important that they seek this help before they sign the contract. If they wait until after they sign the contract, they may create problems for themselves, the advisor and the organization. It is also advised to approach the Office of Student Engagement if the group plans on purchases over $2,999 due to the sensitive nature of the mandatory financial approval forms needed by the University.

Student Engagement staff members can aid with university entertainment contracts to organizations sponsoring an act. All entertainment contracts funded through the Student Assessment Fee (i.e., GFAC funded, WSAAC funded, etc.) must be reviewed by the Office of Student Engagement. Some contracts may need further authorization from other university entities. Please allow 7–10 business days for review and authorization. The university policy is to not provide checks any earlier than the day of the event.

Student organizations must adhere to all university and the Office of Student Engagement accounting policies, guidelines and procedures. Organizations that violate university and/or the Office of Student Engagement financial guidelines, policies and procedures are subject to disciplinary procedures.

Bank Accounts

If an RSO collects and/or manages self-generated funds such as membership fees or donations, they can open a non-WMU bank account. Students may open a bank account at any bank.

The RSO Handbook 7.3 outlines bank and financial risk management. 

The RSO Handbook, section 6, outlines all event and programming guidelines.

Each academic year, RSOs must complete this process to officially register with the University. A club or organization will not be officially recognized as an RSO and cannot receive university funding unless they have registered. Best practice is to re-register existing organizations between Spring Break and finals, but new organizations can begin the registration process at any time.

Advisors cannot re-register RSOs. The responsibility falls on the students.

The RSO Handbook, section 3, outlines the re-registration process.

There are a few items of mandatory paperwork that you will need to complete as an advisor, as well as other types of forms available on an as-needed basis. 

The RSO Handbook, section 3, contains all of the forms needed.