Student Organization Advisor Resources
Advisors are an integral and important part of the success and management of student organizations at Coastal Carolina University. In this position, student organization advisors have the opportunity to help students explore their passions, make an impact on campus, and connect to their fellow students.
All organizations must have a faculty and/or staff advisor in order to be a group in good standing with the University. Below are some resources to assist faculty and staff to be a positive and effective advisors at CCU. If you are not currently a student organization advisor, but desire to advise a group, we have resources below to help you connect with us.
How do I become a student organization advisor?
To become an advisor of a student organization, faculty and staff members must fill out the Advisor Confirmation Form (PDF), as well as the Student Organization Yearly Agreement (PDF).
Interested in being an advisor, but don’t have a specific group to advise? Complete the Advisor Interest Form and we will be in touch if an opportunity arises.
What does a student orgaization advisor do?
Advisors are an integral part of student organizations. While we believe that every group should be student ran, an advisor is there as a guide for the organization. This could be in regard to understanding University policy, helping with issues within the executive board and general body, or even serving as a resident expert in a passion area of yours.
Below are some of the formal requirements of an advisor at Coastal Carolina.
- Become familiar with and understand relevant University policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, the Student Organization Handbook, the Student Code of Conduct, and local, state, and federal law.
- Attend the advisor training sessions provided by the Office of Student Life. Dates will be set and published prior to the semesterly Organizational Kickoff.
- Failure to attend a training by an advisor may cause an organization to reach a frozen status. Student organizations will be notified should their advisor miss training. Organizations will need to find a new advisor prior to the start of the next semester.
- Act within the scope of their authority.
- Act in an advisory capacity, as opposed to a directive relationship, in the organization. The following educational functions are cited as examples:
- Providing officers with the elements of good organizational practice.
- Teaching the techniques and responsibilities of leadership
- Teaching the principles of effective group operations
- Developing procedures and plans for actions
- Keeping the group focused on its goal.
- Developing self-discipline and responsibility in the group.
- Stimulating and initiating activity
- Be available to the officers and members to share ideas about organization affairs.
- Meet with the officers of the group to discuss the progress and direction of the group.
- Attend as many University registered meetings and events as possible.
- Advise and consult with the organization and its officers on its financial affairs to assure that the proper budgets are formulated and that the proper distribution of and accounting for funds of the organization are maintained.
- Approve off-campus, registered events in which students officially represent the organization, such as meetings, social events, conventions, etc.
- Attend information meetings regarding student organizations as necessary.
- Serve for a period of one year, or if for any reason an advisor is unable to serve, continue to act as an advisor until such time as a successor is appointed.
- Contact the appropriate organization administrator when questions or problems arise.
What is the purchase approval process?
All purchases made by a student organization must be approved before the purchase is made by the group’s advisor. Students will use Coastal Connections to create a purchase request on the group’s page. Once the purchase request has been completed, members of the organization will need to contact the advisor to let them know that the request is ready to be approved or denied.
At that point, advisors will need to:
- Log in to Coastal Connections with your CCU credentials
- Go to your group’s page and click on “Manage Organization” at the top right-hand side of the page.
- Click on the three-line “hamburger menu” on the left side of the page and click the “finance” option.
- You will see a box with all of your current and former purchase requests. You can use the filters on the left side to narrow down the request you are looking for.
- Click on the request in question.
- If you approve the purchase request, click “Change Stage” on the top right-hand side of the page. Under this option, move it from “Advisor Approval” to “Final Approval. Click "Save" in the bottom right-hand corner.
If you do not wish to approve the request, contact the student, and inform them that it has not been approved. You do not need to do anything in Coastal Connections in order to deny the request.
After the purchase request has been approved, the students can work with the Student Life Fiscal Technician to make purchases with group funds.