The Office of Student Life is so appreciative of all who choose to dedicate their time to advising and supporting our student organizations! Eligibility to advise is only limited to two areas:
Must be a full-time employee of TCNJ, either as faculty or staff
Each RSO has different needs when it comes to advisement and support. Some require heavy guidance, while others function in a self-sufficient manner. Regardless of where your RSO falls, it is important to observe and understand what their needs are when it comes to advisement. While the Office of Student Life encourages RSOs to meet with their advisors at least twice per semester, sometimes all that is required is a check-in email. Other times, it requires attending each RSO meeting.
Please reach out to your organizations to see what their needs are each semester, as those needs may change with transitioning leadership. If you are unable to get in touch with your organizations’ members, please feel free to contact studentlife@tcnj.edu and we will do our best to assist in mediating communication.
Understanding that policies and guidelines may change over time, it is important that you are able to point your students in the right direction. Especially when it comes to funding through the Student Finance Board, it is imperative that they read through the Funding Guidelines each semester with you to be aware of what the cans and the cannots are for funding.
Quick Dos and Don’ts
DO encourage your RSO leaders to read through the RSO Training Page, as new information will be added as campus-wide changes are made.
DO promote events happening across campus if you think they will serve a benefit for your RSO’s members.
DO email your groups to touch base, see if they need help, or if you can assist with anything they may be working on.
DO give your students the space to both fail, succeed, and try new things.
DO read over contracts for vendors, speakers, or other Third Party companies.
DON’T complete forms for the Office of Student Life, read or respond to emails, or otherwise complete assigned tasks on behalf of your RSO
DON’T run meetings, appoint leaders, or otherwise show preferential bias toward one student over another, especially in terms of elections.
DON’T fund meetings, events, trips, etc. out of your own pocket (unless you absolutely have a burning desire to do so).
DON’T sign any contract for any event that your RSO is willing to host.
Advisor Support
Advisors need support, too! The Office of Student Life is more than happy to provide that in different formats on different occasions. All new and not so new advisors are invited to attend new RSO onboarding, which is held in person, on the second Wednesdays of November and April. While this is primarily for our new RSOs to learn the ins and outs of being recognized, this can also serve as a refresher course for Advisors, and provide an opportunity to ask questions.
The Office of Student Life will ask for Advisors to provide feedback regarding what information they need more of. If there is a resounding request for clarification on a specific topic, a Zoom meeting will be held for anyone who is interested in learning more about the topic. The meeting will be recorded and sent out to all Advisors.
Meet and Greet opportunities are not only our way of saying thank you, but also serve as an opportunity to ask questions about areas where you may need some extra guidance with helping your RSOs to be successful.
All RSO leaders are provided access to a Canvas Course for training (required for Presidents and Treasurers), which serves as a great reference point for questions they may have. Advisors may also be added to those courses as an additional reference. Please contact studentlife@tcnj.edu to be added to the course.
While none of our Advisor programs or training opportunities are mandatory (aside from the Responsible Employee training requirement), we do encourage you to attend if you can!
