Advisor Resources

Student organizations at Missouri S&T are required to have a faculty or staff advisor to guide the organization through its operations. RSO advisors play an integral part in the student involvement experience and good advisors are welcomed by all organizations. Learn more about how to become an advisor, the expectations and role of advisors, and what advising entails.

About RSO Advising

Becoming an Advisor

RSOs are constantly in need of faculty/staff advisors. There is no blanket policy for how faculty and staff become advisors; the process to become an advisor is dependent on each specific organization. There are multiple ways orgs identify potential advisors:

  • Organization leaders identify faculty or staff that they are familiar with and ask them to be advisors
  • Organizations are paired with potential advisors via Student Involvement's Advisor Matching program
  • Interested potential advisors reach out to Student Involvement to be connected with organizations searching for an advisor
  • Organizations classified as a University Departmental Organization (UDO) have an advisor appointed by the sponsoring department

Student Involvement is happy to facilitate pairing organizations searching for an advisor with employees interested in serving as an advisor, however, it is not guaranteed that every potential advisor will be successfully paired with an organization. Advisors and organizations must gel together, and not all individuals are the right fit for each organization. It is up to an organization's leadership to determine if a potential advisor is the right fit for the organization.

Once an organization has identified the employee they would like to serve as their advisor, the organization and potential advisor will discuss appointment to the role and what it entails. Advising is a two-way street. Advisors must ensure that they set expectations for the role with the organization and vice versa. Should both sides be in agreement regarding the advisor's role and responsibilities, the organization will update its advisor on MinerLink, officially changing the organization's recognized advisor.

Requirements and Expectations

While the process for becoming an advisor is different depending on the organization, there are basic requirements and expectations set by Student Involvement that advisors must meet:

Requirements
  • Serve as faculty, staff, or a Graduate Assistant of S&T and be a minimum of 0.75 FTE for faculty/staff or 0.5 FTE for GAs
  • Be in active status at the university either through teaching, assistantship, or in a non-academic staff role (cannot be on sabbatical, permanent leave, or full-time retirement).
  • Be local to Missouri S&T (cannot be an employee of Mizzou, UMSL, or UMKC unless their primary campus is Rolla).
  • Cannot be a contracted employee (i.e. must be employed directly by S&T, not another company that provides services to S&T).
Expectations
  • Guide organization leaders in daily operations. Do not control the organization.
  • Ensure the organization is student-centered, driven, and led.
  • Ensure the organization completes re-registration, maintains its MinerLink page, and completes required activities.
  • Maintain regular contact with organization leaders.
  • Attend organization meetings and events.
  • Assist students in developing leadership skills
  • Other expectations as set between the advisor and organization.

Benefits of RSO Advising

RSO Advising has many benefits to both the advisor and the student body, including:

Advisor
  • Regular interaction with the student body
  • Ability to participate in Student Involvement advisor programming
  • Building a stronger connection to campus life
  • Development of coaching, advising, and leadership skillsets
  • Fulfillment of helping an organization achieve its goals
  • Network with students that will soon work in the field
Organization/Students
  • Development of leadership skills
  • Receiving guidance from an experienced and knowledgeable mentor
  • Stronger connection to the university and its employees
  • Organizational continuity as officers and members turn over
  • Policy and risk management review and implementation
  • Networking with an experienced individual in a specific field
  • Conflict mediation and resolution

Resignation or Removal of Advisor Responsibilities

It is common for advisors to resign or be removed from their position within an RSO. Advisors that resign or are removed from an organization must be removed immediately from the organization's MinerLink page. When a new advisor is appointed, the new advisor must be listed immediately on the organization's MinerLink page. The below statements outline the steps and processes for organizations undergoing advisor turnover.

Resignation

Advisors are allowed to leave their position at any time through either resignation or retirement. When an advisor resigns or retires from their position, the organization must work swiftly to fill the position. Organizations will have a grace period in which to find a new advisor, but the position must be filled by the next registration period, beginning annually on July 1st. Organizations struggling to find a replacement advisor should contact Student Involvement for help. Information about advisor appointment and transition can be found in the Leadership Transition section of the Student Organization Handbook.

Removal

An organization’s executive board is responsible for making sure that an advisor is fulfilling their duties as described by the organization’s constitution. Should an organization determine that its advisor is not fulfilling their duties as listed in the organization’s constitution, the organization may begin the process to remove the advisor. Organizations may remove an advisor of the organization if the advisor violates the organization’s constitution, University policy, or any law, provided there is evidence that a violation of any of these has occurred; additionally, organizations may remove an advisor that they feel no longer represents the best interests of the organization or whose presence may harm the organization’s reputation. The process for removing an advisor from their position in the organization and reasons that an advisor may be removed from the organization must be outlined in the organization’s constitution. Reasons that an advisor may be removed must be reasonable as they relate to the organization’s purpose and operations.

Should an organization wish to remove an advisor from the organization but find that the advisor is unwilling to cooperate with the organization in the removal process, organization officers may reach out to Student Involvement for assistance and to review the situation. Additionally, Student Involvement reserves the right to remove an advisor from an organization at any time, whether prompted or not by the organization, if a representative of Student Involvement determines it is necessary to do so to protect the organization, its members, the organization’s reputation, and/or the University. When an advisor is removed, the organization must begin the steps of appointing a new advisor as listed in the Student Organization Handbook.

Please note: the above policies always relate to Recognized Student Organizations but may not relate to University Departmental Organizations. UDOs wishing to remove their advisor (who is appointed via a job description and/or campus department) must work with the sponsoring department or division to determine the appropriate path forward regarding the organization advisor.

RSO Advising Frequently Asked Questions

Student Involvement has multiple resources available to assist RSO advisors. The Student Organization Handbook is the premier resource for advisors and student leaders, laying out all guidelines, policies, processes, and rules that apply to RSOs. The Handbook is supplemented by the Student Organization Resources Repository, which contains all important documents pertaining to RSOs. For human assistance, the Peer Involvement Advisors are dedicated to ensuring that all advisors and student leaders have the information and tools they need to be successful. Additionally, Student Involvement has workshops available to assist with outlining processes, and the office also hosts semesterly advisor programming to ensure that advisors are equipped with the knowledge they need to successfully advise their organization(s).

Student Involvement hosts 3-4 programs specifically for advisors each semester. Our common programs include:

  • Advisor Matching- designed to pair potential advisors with RSOs in need via a "speed dating" type of program
  • Advisor Roundtable- provides a platform for advisors to share their tips and tricks for advising and let Student Involvement know of their needs
  • Advisor Social- brings advisors together to enjoy refreshments and chat about the semester
  • Advisor Training- a training session hosted by the Peer Involvement Advisors that trains advisors on a specific topic

Additionally, Student Involvement hosts two involvement fairs - MinerRama and Spring O'Rama - that advisors can visit to learn more about S&T's student organizations and find organizations of interest.

RSOs complete a process called re-registration every academic year during July-September. Re-registration is how RSOs tell Student Involvement that the org is still active and in compliance with university policies. When an officer submits a re-registration request, they must submit information for all officers and the org's advisor. The request is routed to the advisor's MinerLink profile for them to review and approve.

Approving a re-registration request does two things:

  1. Notifies the organization that you have reviewed their request and agree with/approve of all submitted documents and information
  2. Notifies Student Involvement staff that you are an active advisor, meet the requirements to be an advisor, and agree to serve as the organization's advisor
  3. Ensures the organization has an active advisor and is in compliance
  4. Provides advisors the chance to notify Student Involvement of any issues, questions, and/or suggestion advisors may have

For help with approving a re-registration request, please follow the instructions listed in the Registration How-To document located in the Student Organization Resources Repository.

Contact Us

Do you have questions about RSO Advising? Email involvement@mst.edu or call us at 573-341-6771.