Updates for Student Organizations

Valid as of September 1st, 2024.

Dear undergraduate and graduate student leaders,

 

A hearty hello from CSI! We’ve been hard at work this summer revamping how we support all of your organizations year-round. We’re excited to introduce some changes that we believe will help your programming reach new heights.

 

Here are the biggest changes that you can expect this coming academic year as a student organization leader:

  • You will now have access to the entire CSI team to support your organization, rather than one assigned program manager. You will work with CSI staff based on where you are hosting your event. CSI staff members will each be assigned to oversee all student programming happening in specific spaces instead of individually supporting all of your programming on (and off) campus. Many – likely, most – student organizations will end up working with multiple CSI staff throughout the year as a result.
  • All communication about specific events will take place on Engage event request forms without exception. You will notice some changes to Engage to help guide you through more aspects of your events farther in advance before interfacing with CSI. More general questions that are not about specific events will be directed to general inboxes depending on what category your question falls under. 
  • Going forward, purchasing requests must be submitted through Engage. CSI will be streamlining the purchasing process to be more centralized within our office instead of having each CSI program manager handle all purchases for all of the student organizations that they oversee.
  • We now have a centralized booking calendar for you to sign up for support when you need it! You’ll have the opportunity to meet with staff members based on meeting categories and times. Once the semester begins we will also be offering walk-in office hours to support your needs as they arise. 

It’s important to note that no CSI policies, timelines, or deadlines will be affected by these changes, nor will our expectations of student organizations to abide by them. If you have questions about these policies, please revisit the SOTE training.

 

**Please Note: This does not apply to social fraternities and sororities recognized under IFC, NPC, NPHC, or MGC, as you will still be working with your chapter coaches.

 

So, why are we implementing these changes? 

  • To ensure we are able to support the growing number of programs: The scale and frequency of all the programming that you’ve been doing these past couple years has grown considerably and with it, the need to revamp how our office can sustainably support over 1,800 student events each academic year. This growth is not just because of a return from the pandemic; the current structure was designed to support far fewer organizations than there are now, the number of which continues to grow each passing year. This change will allow our office to scale to your needs as you continue to create amazing opportunities for your peers to become engaged on campus.
  • A bigger support system: The biggest reason, however, is that this newer system will increase the support that your organization receives from our office as a whole instead of relying on single points of contact for everything. We’ll be able to more efficiently support your organizational functions and programming as a large team of professionals. You’ll ultimately interface with more CSI staff than ever before and consequently have access to more resources.

 

Questions?

We predict that there will be many questions about these historic changes and what it means for your student organizations. We are more than happy to answer them through one of the below opportunities!

  • Question Submission Form
  • Virtual Office Hours
    • Join our Zoom (check your email for the link!) during the times below to ask a CSI staff member any questions you may have about program management/student organizations!
    • Thursday, August 1st between 2-4:00 p.m. EST
    • Friday, August 2nd between 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. EST
  • Presentation and Q&A 
    • Join us for a brief presentation on the changes to the program management model! We will be in Curry Student Center room 433 during the below times:
    • Thursday, August 8th from 4-4:45 p.m. EST
    • Wednesday, August 14th from 12:15-1 p.m. EST
    • Friday, August 16th from 11-11:45 a.m. EST

 

We are looking forward to a wonderful year working with you all!

 

Sincerely,

The Center for Student Involvement