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This page is designed for student senators and their faculty and staff advisors. Ìý

Senator Role

Student senators are elected by the student body to represent a cohort such as a major, departmentÌýor a class. They provide a voice and represent not only their fellow students but also Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ’s academic departments.ÌýSenators are a resource to departments when it comes to outreach and communicationÌýwith their constituents. They also often bring a valuable student perspective to department initiatives.

Senators are not only a resource to their constituents, but also to any member of the community who would like to voice questions or concerns. Their role includes serving on an , voting on budgets during Ìý, and bringing concerns raised by students and faculty to the senate floor.Ìý

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Advisor Role

Senators usually work directly with department chairs, but a different faculty advisor may be appointed as the primary contact when appropriate. The faculty advisor facilitates communication between the student representative(s) and the department. Advisors may also provide mentorship and guidance to senator(s) as they organize events with the department or collaborate on other projects.

Class representatives are assigned to a staff advisor, as detailed on the side bar of this page. The staff advisor helps the class representative organize one major event each year and may provide additional support for other community or class-based projects.

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Senator-Advisor Collaboration

Senators and advisors are encouraged to agree on shared goals and their working relationship at the start of each semester. Some examples of collaboration include organizing open houses, advertising lectures open to the community and even collecting feedback from students on important academic topics. Student representatives may be invited to attend departmental meetings. Whether they attend every meeting or one per semester, this is a great way for senators to stay up to date on what’s happening within the department and to share student perspectives.

In addition, student representatives are tasked with representing their departments on Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ Engage. As the department pages on Â̾ÞÈËÊÓƵ Engage are public, we encourage department chairs review their Engage page with their student senator and agree on how the page will be used. Senators receive training and can independently submit budget requests as well as post news and events on behalf of the department. See http://engage.aup.edu/

Three-Step Semesterly Check-in

The Student Leadership Office has developed the following three online check-in tools, available on your Engage department page, to provide a structure for regular senator-advisor check-ins:

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1. Welcome (by week four): We suggest filling out this start-of-semester check-in form during a first meeting in order to establish goals and a timeline for the semester, as well as to agree on preferred communication methods.
2. Mid-Semester Check-In (by week eight): We suggest a mid-semester check-in to follow-up on these goals. You may have more meetings throughout the semester depending on the nature of projects and number of events you have planned.
3. Exit Interview (end of semester): Discuss accomplishments and challenges experienced during the semester. The survey is designed to ensure that both advisors and students senators have a moment to connect and share valuable feedback.

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To find these online tools, search for your department on Engage:

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EventsÌý

Student representatives are expected to lead at least one event for the department during their mandate. We encourage you to organize more events as we believe that they can be mutually-beneficial to all involved. Events can be just for fun or more academic in nature, centered around advising and dialogue with students on a particular departmental initiative.

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SupportÌý

The Student Leadership Office serves as a resource to student seantors and faculty/staff advisors. Please don’t hesitate to contact the Student Leadership Coordinator at student_leadershipaup.edu if you have questions about SGA, resources for student activities, or if you need help getting in touch with another student leader.Ìý

SGA Vice Presidents lead Student Senate and provide support to all student senators. Faculty and staff advisors are encouraged to drop in on Student Senate, held Wednesdays at 12:10 (period 3) in C-104. This can be a great space to share departmental updates and to receive direct input from student representatives. Student budgets are also approvedÌýduring Student Senate. Contact usc_vpaup.edu and gsc_vpaup.edu if you would like to be added to an upcoming Student Senate agenda.Ìý

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