Doing more with less

I've been noticing the past few days that several Student Governments are lauding themselves for saving money on their "retreats" and "training" for new officers. Schools like the University of South Alabama are proud of saving money by having their "retreat" on campus. Georgia State University's SGA says it saved 93% on what it spent in 2008 for its annual retreat.

This is great news for their constituents. It's proving that the SGAs are serious about saving money and using it to serve fellow students, even in a "down economy."

Most student government budgets are somewhat protected, as they usually get their funds from activity fees which are tied to enrollment. In a recession, people typically go back to college, which means more activity fees to disburse. This usually is restricted, however, to public universities and colleges, and less often to community colleges and private institutions.

Still, with many universities making cuts to faculty positions, reducing their budgets because of less revenue coming from the state or donors, and cutting back programs, Student Governments should follow that example and also be extra careful in the use of their limited budgets.

Student Government retreats are CRITICAL for the health and effectiveness of any student government. These retreats are typically done in August/September and often are at an off-campus location, so that members can be immersed in SG issues, plans, and goals without the distractions they have on campus.

But a helpful and useful retreat can easily be done on campus-- I just worked with two institutions (one in Illinois and one in Boston), where their trainings were done right on campus before the start of school. Where the retreat is housed is not as important as when. If it's after the start of school, there are myriad of distractions, so SG members and officers are less focused and can give less of their attention.

In a down economy, it's wise for SGs to be cost-conscious on their training and planning retreats. Having it at an off-campus retret locale may sound great, but you can save a lot of money for your constituents by getting your training right there on campus.

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.