Advisors

The below is an excerpt from the Advisor section of the Club/Organization Guidebook. Please read the full guidebook for all guidance on club/organization operations.

Introduction

Advisors are experienced faculty and staff members who formally mentor student leaders and connect students who share similar passions and interests through a student club experience. Advisors serve as a bridge between the university and student organizations. Advisors play an active role in guiding and developing students, connecting them to resources and serving as a mentor, team builder, motivator, role model, educator, institutional policy interpreter, source of information and ideas.

The student leaders are responsible for seeing that the advisor receives all minutes of meetings and is kept abreast of the program, upcoming events, and meetings. It is not the role of an advisor to “impose” themselves on an organization, but to be an available resource to the leadership and members. The BLC staff serve in a general advisory role to organizations and advises as the need and particular questions arise.

The BLC recommends that new advisors advise no more than two organizations.

Eligibility

Potential advisors must meet the following requirements to be eligible to serve as an advisor:

• Advisors must be one of the following:
  • Enterprise employees.
  • ASI employees.
  • State side staff.
    • Including librarians, athletics coaches and counseling employees.
  • State side tenured/ tenure- track faculty.
    • Assistant professors, associate professors, and professors. 
  • Selected by a club/organization.
  • Cannot be on sabbatical or leave of absence during any part of the year.
  • Must sign and submit an Advisor Acceptance Form, and the potential advisor must inform their supervisor that they will serve as an advisor for the organization.

Expectations

For advisors to make a strong commitment to the group and to aid in the personal growth of the individuals in that group, advisors should:

Understand That

• As an agent of the university (including ASI, Inc. and CPP Enterprise Staff) you are expected to understand and uphold all university policies and procedures of the Cal Poly Pomona and the California State University system.
• Faculty/Staff Advisors must be either faculty members or professional staff members who are CPP employees. Advisors may be part-time faculty or professional staff. Student assistants or student employees are not eligible to serve as advisors.
• The Faculty/Staff Advisor is ex-officio, non-voting member of the student organization.
• The CPP Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students or designee may remove a Faculty/Staff Advisor from their student organization-related responsibilities as needed to ensure that the educational purpose of student organizations is met or in the interests of student health, safety, and welfare.
• The BLC staff can assist and consult with you on your role as a Faculty/Staff Advisor.

Communication with Student Leaders

• Request to be included in the organization’s official correspondence.
• Assist the student organization in developing realistic goals for the academic year.
• Become familiar with the student organization’s constitution/bylaws and any other governing documents, so that you may advise effectively.
• Request the following information from the student leaders.
  • Contact information: names, email addresses, phone numbers, or other means of communication.
  • Meeting schedules (including agendas) in advance of the meetings.
• Reports of minutes and events hosted by the student organization.
• Maintain open and honest communication with members about your expectations of them and your availability to assist them. Being available and responsive to student organization officers communications through agreed upon channels (Zoom, phone, email, Slack, Teams, etc.)

Attend Meetings and Select Events

• Attend the group’s general meetings, executive board meetings, and other functions as mutually determined.
  • When the advisor cannot attend a meeting, receive updates from the organization's leadership.
• Some events require an advisor’s presence as directed by the Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students or designee, Student Engagement, Leadership and Success, and/or University Police.
• Partnering with the student organization to plan and be present for safe and productive events. Please be sure to stay up to date with the campus event guidelines. (Use of Grounds Policy (Time, Place, and Manner (cpp.edu))
• The student officers are responsible for considering the advisor’s schedule when planning activities.
  • Groups that schedule multiple events a month may consider having more than one advisor. However, someone must still be designated as the primary advisor.

Uphold Campus Policies and Procedures

• Be familiar with the club's constitution or bylaws.
• Assist students in interpreting various University policies, rules and regulations.
• Understand when and how to report policy violations.
• Assume responsibility for risks associated with student organizations/club events and/or activities. Should an incident occur at an event or activity led by the student organization, the BLC will contact the advisor first to understand the situation and will be further contacted if the incident is escalated.
• Become familiar with the Student Code of Conduct (cpp.edu), the Student Clubs and Organizations Conduct (cpp.edu) and other institutional guidelines that establish expectations for student behavior and activities.
• If club/organization officers choose to act contrary to the advisor's advice, the advisor must consult with the Bronco Leadership Center.

Serve as Authorized Signer

• Serve as an authorized signer for the club's appropriate financial expenditures. Thoroughly read and understand all budget and event proposals submitted for advisor review.
• Serve as an authorized signer for event scheduling, travel, and budget proposals, and some expenditures.

Advisors perform several important functions. Here are the most common tasks, and the links on how to accomplish them.

• 25Live Tasks
  • There are certain club/org events that require your confirmation.
  • For off-campus events, advisors must acknowledge the event inside 25Live.
  • Reach out to the Schedule for the organization, if you cannot see the event in your task list, you can ask the Scheduler to send you a Task List inside 25Live
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on "To Dos and FYIs"
  • Your name should be next to an "Advisor Approval" task, and under the action column on that same row with your name, you can click the "Approve" or "Deny" links.
• Accept your myBAR invitations (cpp.edu)
  • You must accept your advisor role in myBAR for your advisorship to be officially recorded.
• OnBase Approval Queues
  • Some financial forms do require advisor acknowledgment. If you have forms to acknowledge, this is the location of where the forms are.
  • You must on a laptop or desktop computer, and be on-campus or on campus VPN to access these queues.
  • ASI Disbursement Request (cpp.edu).
  • ASI Purchase Orders (cpp.edu).
• Yearly Budget Deadlines
  • The funding cycle for returning clubs/orgs occurs from February - May each year.
  • For more information go to the ASI Club Services Finance Support Website (cpp.edu).

• How to use CPP Learning from your iOS/Android device (DOCX)
• Advisor Session through CPP Learning (sumtotal.host)
  • The advisor acknowledgmenet is within this advisor session.
• Advisor Checklist (PDF)
  
• Club and Organization Guidebook
• Student Organization Conduct Process (cpp.edu)

• Administration of Student Organization Funds Policy ICSUAM 03141 (policystat.com)
• Campus Reporting of Fiscal Improprieties, Executive Order 1104 (policystat.com)
• Student Travel Policy, Executive Order 1041 (policystat.com)
• Student Activities Policy, Executive Order 1068 (policystat.com)
• Free Speech @ CPP
  • CSU Interim Time, Place and Manner Policy
  • CPP Addendum to the CSU Time, Place and Manner Policy
• Student Conduct Code (cpp.edu)
• Student Organization Conduct Process (cpp.edu)