Searching for the Perfect Advisor:
How To Get What You Need from Your Advisor
By Butch Oxendine, Editor-in-Chief
Excerpted
with permission from The
Student Leader. Copyright © 1998 Oxendine Publishing,
Inc. All rights reserved
Student groups usually don't have control over who serves as
their official advisors. Sometimes, reluctant faculty or staff
are corralled into "volunteering" by the administration,
even though they're too busy to be accessible and useful to
the group. Other times, clubs just need to have a faculty member's
name on the charter to be officially recognized, then the leaders
seem surprised when they get an absentee advisor who rarely
offers input.
Before you get frazzled and end up wanting to dump your bad-advice
advisor, remember that he may need as much training on how to
advise your group as you do in how to be an effective club leader.
Great Expectations. When you take office, meet with your advisor
and ask questions about his expectations and then share yours.
Is it reasonable to ask him to come to your regular meetings,
or is it more likely that he'll show up only at your monthly
events? Do you want him to be a resource you can call every
once-in-a-while to help you jump through hoops on campus and
wade through the bureaucracy? Do you expect your advisor to
be there for emotional support or serve as a confidante?
"I tell students I'll stay out of your hair as much as
you want me to, but tell me if you want feedback," says
Bill Faulkner, former student activities director at the University
of Tampa in Florida. "Do you want me to show up for your
events and meetings? Do you want me to give you constructive
feedback?"
Know who's doing what. Instead of using the trite excuse "That's
not my job," define your responsibilities and those of
your advisor. Who's designated to prepare purchase orders and
deal with the college's business office? Who's in charge of
submitting the club charter to be approved each year? Who tabulates
election results for the group? "We have eight advisors
for one sorority chapter — each takes a separate role,"
says Shawn Salata, an advisor for Chi Omega at the University
of Michigan. "The financial advisor works with the treasurer,
the rush advisor works with the rush chair. We work quite closely
with executive officers."
Don't wait `til it's too late. Avoid rushing to your advisor
at the last minute when a major problem flares up. Instead,
be proactive — keep her in the loop and alert her if you
think there's a chance that a problem could crop up. There's
nothing more frustrating for both you and the advisor than having
to frantically scramble to fix a crisis that could have been
prevented. "There was dissension among the officers of
one of our honor societies," says Monica Mendez-Grant,
director of student development at Texas Woman's University.
"The advisor could have intervened, could have helped the
group communicate better and establish some working guidelines.
But the students didn't ask for help. By the time the advisor
got involved, it had escalated and was a serious problem."
Keep each other informed. If nothing else, a short weekly phone
call or a regular memo should be enough to keep your advisor
in the know. Ideally, your advisor should get a carbon-copy
of every major correspondence that you send out on behalf of
your organization. Some colleges require club advisors to sign-off
on just about everything the club does on campus: making meeting-room
reservations, placing food orders, submitting supply requisitions,
and even making copies.
Make your advisor feel appreciated. When was the last time
you thanked your advisor for helping out? Remember, most advisors
volunteer their time— they're usually not getting a stipend
or a raise. At research-oriented universities, helping your
group may be cutting into the time your advisor can spend on
research activities and publishing to fulfill tenure requirements.
That's why making her feel appreciated is so important. At the
least, say "thanks" with a personal note, a message
on her answering machine, or maybe even pool your funds and
take her out to dinner.
How experienced is your advisor? If your advisor is new to
your school, recently out of college, or a first-time advisor,
he may not have enough experience to help you immediately. He
may not know all of the hoops to jump through and may not have
developed strong relationships with key administrators. Knowing
his limitations will help you understand what kind of a role
he can play in your group.
If she's aggressive, she can pick up skills quickly. But it
may take her a term or even a year or more to get up to speed
enough to be useful to your organization. So be patient —
you're stuck with each other and should make the best of it.
How to get a new advisor tactfully. If, after trying everything
to educate and get along with your current advisor, you're still
not satisfied, find a new one. Maybe there is someone else in
student affairs or you could have a second or co-advisor. You
can ask the administration about available options if your advisor
just isn't working out. "They'll come to me and I'll try
to mediate and get an open discussion going," says David
Klein, associate dean of students at Hampden-Sydney College
in Virginia. "Try anything you can to save the relationship
before you `go into surgery."
Frequently, the advisors who you think are hopelessly apathetic
actually are unaware of what you're looking for. By being candid
and proactive, you can teach your advisor how to be effective
and to be a super advisor who does more than occasionally show
up for meetings and sign-off on invoices.
For books on this topic in our bookstore,
click the
link(s) below:
Volunteers by Type (includes Youth)
Back to Library Index
________
Permission is granted for organizations to download and reprint this article. Reprints must provide full acknowledgment of source, as provided:
Excerpted
with permission from The
Student Leader. Copyright © 1998 Oxendine Publishing,
Inc. All rights reserved.
Found in the Energize website library at: http://www.energizeinc.com/art.html
