BUCSC: Vice-President Student Affairs
BUCSC: Vice-President Student Affairs
Mid-Year Report 2013/2014
Amanda Koenig
This report outlines everything that has taken place since the beginning of my term up to present day (April to November). Get ready!
Section 1: Overview
a) Constitutional duties
b) Transition
Section 2: Clubs
a) Transition
b) Ratification
c) Training/clubs week
d) Funding
Section 3: Events
a) Awareness weeks/Events
SECTION 1: Constitutional Duties
The Vice President Student Affairs is an elected representative. This individual is responsible for informing students about the resources available to them at Brescia and Main Campus, as well as creating and maintaining an inclusive community by raising awareness and providing students with an opportunity to voice their ideas and concerns at Brescia.
a)Constitutional Duties of an Executive member of the BUCSC:
1.0 Each member of the Executive:
1.1 Shall perform her duties as specified in this Constitution
1.2 Shall attend meetings as specified by this Constitution
1.3 Shall attend meetings as a whole on no less than a weekly basis
1.4 Shall be actively aware of the activities of the members under her portfolio and be available to meet with them on a regular basis
1.5 Shall be responsible for preparing a budget for her position and for overseeing the preparation of her portfolio members’ budgets
1.6 Shall be responsible for preparing a report to council for each meeting
1.7 Shall have a minimum of a sixty-five percent (65%) grade average either cumulatively or in the last academic year
1.7.1 A request to appeal this requirement may be made to the BUCSC Advisor;
1.8 Shall have a voice and vote at BUCSC meetings
1.9 Shall attend two office hours per week
1.10 Shall be responsible for reviewing the Constitution with the General Members they oversee
1.11 Shall be responsible for sitting on designated committees, or finding a replacement in the event of a direct conflict
Constitutional Duties of the Vice-President Student Affairs
7.1 Shall oversee the Awareness Commissioner, Clubs Liaison and Culture and Diversity Commissioner
7.2 Shall be responsible for recognizing and receiving concerns of the student body
7.3 Shall be knowledgeable in student services provided at Brescia and Main Campus and organize a services week at the beginning of the school year
7.4 Shall be a member on the USC’s Campus Issues Coordinating Committee
7.5 Shall be a member of the BUC Equity Committee; and
7.6 Shall be a voting member of College Council
7.1: Overseeing the Student Affairs Portfolio:
Shall oversee the Awareness Commissioner, Clubs Liaison and Culture and Diversity Commissioner;
4.0 Awareness Commissioner
4.1 Shall report to the Vice President Student Affairs
4.2 Shall organize, run and promote awareness events and activities for students
4.3 Shall be responsible for at least two (2) awareness events per semester including but not limited to:
4.2.1 Mental Health Awareness Week
4.2.2 Eating Disorder Awareness Week
4.4 Shall be knowledgeable in various support services available to students and provide them with the appropriate information
4.5 Shall work in conjunction with the Charity Commissioner when appropriate
9.0 Clubs Liaison
9.1 Shall oversee the Clubs Policy and all matters pertaining to the policy, including ratification of clubs
9.2 Shall work in coordination with the Vice President Student Affairs to facilitate clubs training
9.3 Shall be responsible for relaying information from the clubs to the BUCSC and vice- versa
9.4 Shall have monthly meetings with club executives to discuss questions or issues
9.5 Shall chair the Club’s Review Committee
9.6 Must not hold a position on a Brescia ratified club during her term
11.0 Culture and Diversity Commissioner
11.1 Shall report to the Vice President Student Affairs
11.2 Shall liaise with the International Program Coordinator and other appropriate multi- cultural organizations within the University community
11.3 Shall be responsible for at least two (2) culture and diversity events per semester
11.3 Shall promote the equality of students, regardless of race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, ability or other aspects
This year, my portfolio was reduced and changed around due to representatives being taken out of portfolios. When I campaigned for this position, I wanted to divide the Charity and Awareness Position into two separate ones, creating an Awareness Commissioner and a Charity Commissioner. I also wanted a Culture and Diversity Commissioner position created. This was achieved through CRC. The Awareness Commissioner became apart of my portfolio along with Culture and Diversity Commissioner and the Clubs Liaison. Once everyone in my portfolio was elected, I sat down with them individually and talked about their goals and ideas for the year. With the new positions, I talked with both my Commissioners especially to help them understand and learn what to do with their positions. My portfolio has been very independent and creative when it comes to creating events, taking initiative and learning as they go. We created goal sheets and went through events for the year to get an idea on what we could do for awareness weeks, multicultural events, and clubs (transition, ratification, etc.) I also made sure to go through how to plan events, forms, and what being on council means. During the course of this year, I have had regular meetings with them to continue planning events, make sure everything is in check, and to give advice/tips whenever needed. I also make sure to message/email them about important dates, events, ideas so that we are connected and helping each other.
7.2 Shall be responsible for recognizing and receiving concerns of the student body
This year, I haven’t been focusing on the feedback box as much. I have been talking to students and have been planning for major awareness weeks, multicultural events, etc. in second term to have surveys about the event and what can be improved on. I have been working on a survey for the end of the year that has to do with student needs in terms of Mental Health, LGBTQ-related issues, EDAW, Multi-cultural events, etc. This will include questions about our awareness weeks, student services, and what we can improve on for the future.
7.3 Shall be knowledgeable in student services provided at Brescia and Main Campus and organize a services week at the beginning of the school year
I worked with the Peer Support Network on main campus last year as a PrideWestern Executive so I was very knowledgeable about our services here at Western as well as organizations within the community. I have also been working with the Awareness Commissioner and we created a volunteer week that included these community organizations for students. For Clubs week in January, we are planning to have clubs and services week together since we didn’t do it in September with clubs week.
7.4 Shall be a member on the USC’s Campus Issues Coordinating Committee
I have not been given any information about this committee. This may happen within second term.
7.5 Shall be a member of the BUC Equity Committee
I have not received any information about this committee yet. This may be within second term.
7.6 Shall be a voting member of College Council
I have only attended one meeting of College Council thus far. I have had replacements for the other meetings that I have missed.
b) Transition
Once I was elected into this position, I met with the former VP Student Affairs (Avery) to go over what she had done all year and recommendations for the position. I already had a strong idea on what I wanted to accomplish during the year so our meeting also consisted of these ideas/goals to get her feedback. I also met with Christina Lord to discuss Multi-cultural events that we could collaborate on or help with for the upcoming year. Lastly, I waited until I had my full portfolio (Awareness Commissioner, Culture and Diversity Commissioner and Clubs Liaison) to meet and discuss with them their positions, goals for the upcoming year and to develop our relationships further. I made sure that I started right away to stay ahead.
Section Two: Clubs
A) Transition
The VP Student Affairs is no longer in charge of clubs so the transition was more to make sure that the new Clubs Liaison was comfortable with being in charge with clubs. We sat down and looked over the club liaison year-end report and discussed changes that could be made. We decided to change the original ratification form and create a new, online form that would create easier access for clubs. We sat down with Pam Core (former council advisor) to go through the old form and the changes that needed to be made. We set a timeline for when we wanted to have the form done. The form was finished a little later then expected (middle of August instead of End of July).
B) September Ratification:
In order for student groups to become ratified clubs they must read the clubs policy and fill out the application form (available on the BUCSC website)
For existing Brescia clubs, this re-application is to ensure that all of the incoming club presidents for the next year have read over the Clubs Policy, agreed to abide by the rules and regulations, and have maintained consistency in their club’s purpose and activities. The re-application also provides incoming club presidents with an opportunity to make changes to the existing club policy for their club by making the necessary additions, removals, and substitutions to the new application. This year, we changed the form to an online application that can be done through the BUCSC website. The form includes a lot of pieces from the old form and some parts have been completely rewritten. There were some issues with the new form and some parts (membership list and financial information) had to be emailed separately to either the Clubs Liaison or myself. We gave everyone who wanted to ratify a two-week period to get the forms in (August 15th to September 1rst). CAFP was the only club to submit the forms late based on technological issues. Because they were already a preciously ratified club, this was allowed. I made sure to set the due date to a time that was not after Orientation week since clubs need to go through training before Clubs week.
Once the ratification applications have been emailed to you, the Clubs Policy Committee is expected to meet. The Clubs Policy stipulates that the VP Student Affairs is responsible for chairing the Clubs Policy Committee (CPC). This committee also consists of the BUCSC Advisor, Clubs Liaison, as well as three Brescia students at large, preferably who are not a member of any Brescia club. The main purpose of the CPC is to review the Club Ratification Application for both new and existing clubs, and to vote on whether that student group should become a ratified Brescia club, whether it is the first time for new clubs, or for another school year for previous clubs. In order for the CPC to decide on the ratification status of each potential Brescia club, it is advised that you send electronic copies of each club application to the members of the CPC for them to read over and come to a personal decision. This year
After this time, you should set a date to meet the CPC members in person to discuss the ratification status of each Brescia club by looking at the purpose of the club, the previous and expected finances of the club, and by ensuring that the club members have agreed to the stipulations set forth by the Brescia Clubs Policy.
When reviewing the applications from the clubs, there are a number of things that you need to consider:
1) Is there a purpose for the club at Brescia?
2) Is the club open to all Brescia students?
3) What are the monthly activities of the club?
4) Are the expected expenses and revenues similar to those of the previous year?
5) Where will most of the money be spent during the year?
6) Is the club charging a membership fee? How much?
7) Will the club be applying for grants or receiving money from outside sources?
8) Will the club be requiring funding from the BUCSC?
9) What will be done with the revenues generated from the club?
10) Did the club outline appropriate risks?
11) Did the club complete and agree to the constitution sections of the application?
12) Did the club outline the responsibilities of its executive members?
13) Did the club provide a membership list thus far?
14) Does the club have a club advisor?
Once the members of the CPC have made a decision, the club presidents should be contacted by the clubs liaison and informed about the status of their club within two weeks of their application submission.
This year, I did not include three students on the CPC committee based on timing. Going though all of the forms were different because we were looking at the online form submissions along with the addition forms that had to be sent separately. The Clubs Liaison, The council Advisor and myself sat down and went through all the forms. We made notes on the parts in each form that needed clarification along with the questions above. Out of 13 applications, we ratified 11 clubs. The Clubs Liaison sent out emails to all the clubs that applied to let them know if that had been ratified/not ratified, when clubs week and training took place, and if they had any additional questions about the ratification process. I also let the president know of all of the clubs that had been ratified.
C) Training/Clubs Week
Clubs Week involves showcasing all of the clubs that are available to students during the year, and it is the easiest way for students to get involved with a club. This September, Clubs week took place from the 16th to the 20th and Training took place on Friday, September 13th. I decided to cut services out of this week so we could strictly focus on clubs and membership especially for new clubs.
Training and Clubs week takes a lot of planning ahead. The Clubs Liaison and myself set the dates for training and clubs week so we could get the event forms filled out and submitted two weeks before both events.
For Training, I went through the original slideshow for training and added into new information and changed the format around. I also had the VP Communications, the VP Finance and the VP Events add slides based on their positions and how they can help clubs. We booked rm. 303 for training and told clubs to make sure that their executive team was there or a member from their executive was present. When training happened, the Clubs Liaison presented the slideshow and the other VP presented their parts. I also added in any information that was missed in the training. Not all clubs could be present so we made sure to have separate training the missing clubs.
We wanted to have Clubs Week in the Mercato but we were not allowed since the space is used for large-scale events. We decided to have clubs week in the library foyer and the St. James Living Room to bring in traffic and membership. SHEA and CAFP were having a membership drive in the auditorium.
The feedback that we received from clubs after the week was over was that they were able to get about the same or more numbers for membership. For next year, I suggest that it takes place in the Mercato to get the most flow of students coming through.
D) Funding
It was suggested at the beginning of my term that the clubs fund be raised from $2000 to $5000 based on club need for extra financial support. During our summer budget meeting, the executive agreed on the amount of $4000 with the idea that if clubs needed more, then we would add more to the clubs fund. It was further agreed on that the $4000 would be split between however many clubs were ratified for the year. Since we have 11 ratified clubs, this means that $363 was allocated to each to use for events, or other club needs that would benefit students.
In order for clubs to access this fund, they must send in a detailed budget proposal to the VP Finance. The decision for give funding is based on the following criteria:
-What the money will be used for
-How much is needed
-Any additional details about the event (those attending etc.)
The decision to give funding is made by the executive team once the budget proposal has been sent. Based on these criteria, every decision is different based on what the executive believes the club should be using it for.
Lastly, to access the clubs form, follow the link:
Section 3: Events
A)Awareness/MulticulturalWeeks/ Events
At the beginning of my term, I sat down with the Awareness Commissioner and the Culture and Diversity Commissioner to plan out major awareness weeks and multicultural events. The great thing about have awareness weeks is that you can make new ones, include different forms of awareness, etc. Our goal was to have an awareness week or day in every month so there is also an awareness event for students. As for multicultural weeks/events, we have planned to have one or tw each term. Here are the major weeks we have planned: