Dear Advisor,
Thank you for your time, commitment, and willingness to work with our students here at the University of Michigan! The Center for Campus Involvement (CCI) has created this guidebook as a resource for your tenure as an advisor. The guidebook discusses what being an advisor entails, how you can improve your organization’s functioning and morale, how you can help students grow during their time here on campus, and more.
Beyond this guidebook, several other resources are available to advisors to assist you in your work. CCI has an Advisor Resources Google drive where you can find documents containing helpful and important information about being an advisor. CCI also provides an advisor training on Canvas. SSO Advisors are required to have completed this training one time by October 1. We strongly recommend VSO Advisors complete the training as well. Finally, our office is always willing to meet 1:1 with advisors - just email [email protected] to set up your appointment today!
The University of Michigan strongly encourages students to become involved in student organizations and other activities that complement the classroom experience. Involvement in these organizations promotes the development of leadership as well as increased organizational and programming skills. These skills help our students develop as complete individuals and prepare for their lives beyond the University.
As a student organization advisor we challenge you to develop relationships that foster a greater understanding of academic pursuits, diversity, social justice, and service to the community. Thank you for your involvement and commitment to our students. We look forward to working with you!
This manual is designed to provide you with a standardized knowledge base and basic skills that are necessary for the successful advising of student organizations. This manual attempts to:
- Provide a foundation for organization advisors by introducing basic concepts about college students, student groups, and organizations;
- Describe in detail the general knowledge and information that advisors apply routinely in the course of their work with student groups;
- Discuss specific topics that advisors will address on a more occasional basis as they work with student organizations.