Ready. Set. Fall...

Where did the summer go? There was a time when summer in higher education meant rest, time to plan, and even some time at the beach. Now, most colleges and universities offer summer terms and student affairs administrators and staff usally have to stick around for much of it.

This increased summer action mainly relates to institutions trying to use their facilities more efficiently and to students wanting to complete their degrees sooner than later (to save time and money).

Still, let's admit it: who else, behinds those in academia, get weeks off at a time and every federal holiday, not even counting normal vacation days, sick leave, and "comp" time.

At ASGA, we take Fridays off from May to August. So everyone works extra hard the rest of the week to keep up with our workloads. I admit that it's great to have an extra weekend day to rest, spend time with the family, and to travel/visit with family and friends. Fall is coming, and that means lots of travel for me to ASGA's conferences, not to mention consulting trips to several member institutions.

It's still stinking hot in Florida (actually we just started the heat of summer), but it's beginning to look a lot like fall around the office as we get ready for the fall semester rush.

Research, research, research

One of the most-rewarding and interesting aspects of serving Student Governments is helping them with research.

This research can be on everything from student activity fees to student government budgets to elections.

Our members frequently ask ASGA to help them save time, money, and energy on getting information they need. It's a privilege for us to help out.

When we get a request, our team writes, calls, e-mails, and faxes schools nationwide to get answers to specific questions.

Once we get the answers, we add this information to our SG Database. So the research not only benefits the member school that originally asked for it, but all other ASGA members.

Every time we research a subject, we're also adding to the knowledge-base that ASGA stores. This continues to grow and grow and improve.

One thing about ASGA is that we are always growing and improving.

Back from Big D

Spent last weekend in Dallas at ASGA's annual Southwest Student Government Training Conference at Northwood University. It's the fourth year in a row at that same beautiful suburban location.

We brought in a new speaker, Chris Irving, for this event and his reviews were strong. It was great to catch up with Andre Koen from Minnesota (he was at last year's Dallas conference and also emceed our New Officers event in Orlando). Susan Leahy, of course, was also there.

At dinner after the conference was over, we had the deepest, most enjoyable conversation I think I've had at an ASGA conference in years. We spoke about our beliefs and faith, or lack thereof, and really delved into some sensitive areas that are normally taboo in most social conversations. I enjoyed it very much.

ASGA has been considering a "faith-based conference," knowing how many Christian-related colleges and universities there are in the nation (2,000). We have been surveying students and administrators and so far had strong positive feedback. Adding this conference would mean ASGA produces 11 events a year. With us also taking on consulting and training at individual colleges and universities throughout the year, we're on the go a lot.

But it's all worth it! I have figured out a balance between work and home, usually working at my home now instead of at my office 30 minutes away. I'm able to spend time with my wife and children while also working on ASGA business, helping our members and answering questions.

Now up to 778 member institutions! We're on pace to crack 800 members by year's end!

ASGA keeps growing and growing...

In four years, ASGA has grown from an idea to by far the largest student leadership organization in the nation.

ASGA now has 774 member institutions, plus we store information in our searchable database on every Student Government in America. Our ASGA team adds new and updated information every day.

We now produce 10 Student Government training conferences, which frankly are the most helpful and practical in the nation. Our conferences always get better, as we bring in new speakers and new and more interactive workshops and roundtables.

ASGA is the only organization that I know of that gets visibly better ever day. We literally impove every day. We add more knowledge every day. We help solve our members' problems. Everything we do improves our resources and makes ASGA more valuable to all of our members who take avantage of our support.

There is no sign that ASGA is slowing down! We're averaging 170 new member schools each year (probably closer to 200 this year). Every one of our conferences this year has attracted more attendees than the previous year. We're doing more consulting, helping members improve their constitutions and train their members.

It's an exciting time for ASGA and our members. We love serving Student Governments and helping students and administrators!

No matter how much you plan, something usually goes wrong...

Just got back from our Midwest conference in Chicago. Overall, a great experience. Largest crowd we've had there. The venue was the most convenient and most attractive yet. Set up was relatively easy. The students were attentive and willing to listen and learn.

Despite these positives, there were some negatives. My flight from Florida was delayed by weather, meaning I didn't get done setting up Friday night until well after midnight. Then the food-service provider didn't provide enough food for either the continental breakfast or the lunch for attendees. We had some hungry and, as a result, unhappy campers, so to speak, and justifiably so.

Despite all of our planning and advance work, there was nothing I could do about the delayed flight. I just sat and waited, trying to catch up on e-mail and phone calls.And on the food front, both ASGA and our host had provided the correct numbers to the caterer. They just didn't deliver on their end.

Of course, the food issue could have led to a black-eye for the conference. But I took responsibility and offered all 240 attendees a $10 off discount toward a future ASGA conference, as an apology. I think, in the end, it was OK.

What this teaches me and reminds me is that so much of our work is outside our control and influence. No matter what we do, no matter how many times we check up, and no matter how much advance planning there is, something usually goes wrong that is outside of our influence. We have no control over the catering, and certainly have no power to change air-traffic control decisions on flights leaving the southeast.

I took both issues pretty much in stride. In the past, I might have blown up and caused a scene. Either I've mellowed as I get older and more experience or I have learned to maintain more of a level head, especially over matters I don't have the power to change.

Serving is on my mind...

Being a parent of five children and also a man of "faith," service is always in the forefront of my life.

Teaching and training my children means being more self-less-- giving up most of the things I did before I was married and had children. Being a good parent is about giving up time as well. It's all about serving.

My "faith" also demands that I be a servant and have a mentality of helping others all the time.

This philosophy of focusing on helping and serving others translates well to be a public servant, such as a leader in Student Government.

Student leaders often are self-serving, using their positions for personal gain as their priority over helping to improve the institution for their constituents, their fellow students. Our nation's elected "leaders" most assuredly usually base decisions on what will get them elected the next term and what will help them get more attention personally or make more money.

ASGA is trying our best to teach the importance of service to others. I attended a White House ceremony recently during which President Bush encouraged Americans to give of themselves, to volunteer 4,000 hours to their communities during their lifetimes. I endorse and support this initiative. Being a leader should be all about service.

Transitioning well is key

Just got back from a weekend in South Carolina working with an ASGA member institution. The SGA there has a history of ineffectiveness and tons of turnover. Only five officers/members return from last year and the rest have no SGA experience.

If you're at a school like this, where SGA is basically reinvented every year, it should be a priority this year for you to work hard on "transitioning." What does this mean?

Everything you do in your position should be "captured." You should write down the time you spend on a project, the contacts you make, the difficulties you encounter, the progress you have, the enemies you make, the friends who help you, and more. Basically, you're getting a snapshot of what your job really entails and what your time committment really looks like. This will help your successor get up to speed more more quickly. He/she won't be fumbling around trying to learn what to do. You will have outlined their responsibilities and expectations already.

I see this "transition" material being stored electronically so that if you lose a notebook, all of this work won't be gone forever. Ideally, you would store this at your SGA web site, assuming you have one (if you don't have one, it's time to make that happen!). Or you could store this in your profile at the ASGA web site. ASGA stores vast data on every student government in the nation.

Remember how you felt when you came into office and didn't have a clue about what you're supposed to do next? You can make it so much easier for your successor by keeping track of all that you say, do, and work on during your term of office.

Transitioning is key to having an effective student government.

Expecting a storm...

The ASGA offices are located in usually sunny Florida. But this past weekend, our headquarters was right smack dab in the path of slow-moving Tropical Storm Fay. While the storm didn't have hurricane-force winds, it did pack a punch. It dumped inches and inches of rain on our area, waterlogging everyone and everything. One of my relatives had 30 inches of rain! We're drying out now, thankfully.

As the storm churned toward us, the ASGA team all made plans for our homes and families. We turned off equipment at our offices. We cleaned gutters and picked up anything that could get thrown by the winds into windows. We filled gas tanks for the generator and stocked up on canned goods and water.

It was a reminder to me about the value of preparation. In Student Governments, there are times that we take on an issue or problem and we can predict there will be a storm ahead-- a storm of protests or negative reaction or criticism.

Just like preparing for a natural disaster is wise, it's wisdom to think ahead and play devil's advocate and be ready for what may come as a campus leader. By doing so, you are preparing for the storm ahead. Hopefully, like Tropical Storm Fay, it will pass you by relatively unscathed.

Getting ready

The whole ASGA team is starting to get into our "national conference" mode. With ASGA's National Student Government Summit about five weeks away, we're already planning, getting materials ready, working on handouts and presentations, and confirming speakers. It might be the largest Student Government conference in the history of the nation.

It's a ton of work and planning to create an event that "looks" well-organized. There is so much planning and work that goes into creating an event that is enjoyable to attendees.

We also want to make it better for returning attendees. We always are incorporating new workshops and new ideas to make the experience better for everyone. ASGA is an organization that is constantly working to improve, with the goal of better-serving our members.

Hope you can make it to this year's national conference. It's not too late to register, although our hotel block is nearly sold out again (we have already added to the block three times). Register at www.asgaonline.com/conferences/national.

Connecting with your constituents

Most students don't care about Student Government, even if the SG is a powerhouse and is influential. Most students don't think SG does anything for them personally.

We have to show students that we're involved in their lives and that we matter throughout the year. SGs can't just be visible during election season (when they bombard everyone with fliers and buttons and freebies and accost passersby to vote).

One of ASGA's goals this year is to make sure we communicate with our members throughout the year in many ways. We developed a plan yesterday to call each member institution four times a year, to try to answer questions and remind them of what we offer and the resources we have. We also will e-mail them monthly with the ASGA newsletter, fax periodically, and mail them with updates. It's our hope that we teach our members how ASGA can serve them.

Your SG can do the same. You should develop a strategic plan of how to interact with your constituents regularly, to solicit feedback, share news, get ideas, and show you care.

Connecting with our constituents makes us relevant in their lives and then we become indispensible to them.

How to connect...

Was looking at the SGA web site at Colgate University last night and noticed that the president and vice president both include links to their Facebook profiles. They have graphics next to their photos that encourage students to "friend" them.

This is the first time I've seen this used at an SGA web site, and I think it's a great idea.

Being a better leader is all about connecting with others who may know more than you or who can help you learn and improve. In this case, connecting with their peers is both wise and politically astute.

I encourage you to make sure your constituents can find you, can connect with you, and to make sure you have many ways of reaching out to them (phone, fax, e-mail, web, Facebook, MySpace, and more).

Take a risk to create

When you create something that has never existed, there is risk and a lot of unknowns. When we founded ASGA, no one had ever developed a national resources specifically for student governments. There was no "blueprint" to use, no roadmap to follow. With constant input from our members, surveys, and research, we continue to hone and enhance our resources and change and improve to better serve our members.

The risk I spoke of shows up in lots of places. When we produce our national conference, for example, we sign a contract with a hotel that can handle 600 students and advisors. In return for waiving the fees on meeting space, the hotel requires to guarantee that they will generate 700 room nights. If the conference doesn't happen, for whatever reason, ASGA is then obligated to pay for the rooms that students/administrators would have used to come to the conference. Yesterday, the hotel's room "pick-up" report showed that conference attendees have now reserved enough rooms that ASGA has fulfilled its end of the contract. Whew!

There are risks when you start a new program or new initiative in your SG. There may not be financial risks like this, but there are risking to your reputation and that of your SG. But creating something from nothing is exciting and invigorating and can really serve the needs of your students. Take a risk this year to create!

The first, the best, and the most

Student Governments are pretty quick to say things like "we have the largest budget in the nation," or "we have the most members" or "we were the first to do...whatever."

With 5,100 student governments nationwide, nearly everything has been done before or tried before.

For example, Wesleyan University's WSA representatives bragged in their campus newspaper that they're the first student government to create an "endowment" using unused funds from their annual budget. This is hardly true. There are several examples of fiscally conservative student governments (Eastern Connecticut State University, the University of Wyoming, and several of the public institutions in California come to mind immediately) that have roll-over monies that they hold close each year.

One of ASGA's many strengths is our vast database that includes information like this on every student governnment in America. Our members can search this. They also can communicate with thousands of their peers using our list-servs.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, they can save time by using ASGA's resources.

Wesleyan's WSA does something, however, that is worthy of mention. They produce a mid-year progress report that is circulated to the campus press, students, and staff. This reminds WSA members about the progress that has been made on specific projects, and it always reminds them of what it left to be done. It can help them focus on marshalling their resources to focus on completing specific projects before their terms of office conclude.

Devoting our lives to improving student government

The team that runs ASGA is made up of full-time professionals who specialize in student governance and student leadership. What makes ASGA so unique as a resource is our total focus on helping student governments improve. We live and breath student government every day and that simply makes us the best there is in the world at student government training. We're immersed in the research, data we gather on every school in America, and hundreds of e-mails we get daily. We also subscribe to campus newspaper newsfeeds and are constantly searching the web for new trends, hot issues, and solutions to problems.

Our members know that this is our mission. For me, as executive director, there is nothing more important to me (aside from my wife and children). It is my full-time mission in life: to improve America's government by training student leaders to be effective and ethical future public servants.

Join ASGA to improve your SG!

ASGA is the national professional association serving and supporting collegiate student governments. Please see http://www.asgaonline.com/ for details.

ASGA has nearly 1,000 member institutions of all types and sizes nationwide.