The formation of character and values of the students in organizations depends largely on the activities they initiate and participate in. The contribution of the Office of Student Affairs is in setting the guidelines and monitoring student organization activities, while also giving recommendations to improve their activities.
A typical start of the school year for student organizations is spent by conducting planning and equipping sessions with the student leaders. These are done during the summer preceding the start of the school year. Student leaders start by reviewing and familiarizing the mission, vision, and purpose of their organizations. Here, they organize revisiting sessions and listen to inputs of past officers and faculty advisers. Student leaders also organize a series of team activities that allow their selves to get to know one another and build support and camaraderie. Once these are achieved, student leaders proceed with project planning sessions where they lay down all their planned initiatives for the school year with the supervision of their respective moderators.
To effectively facilitate the planning sessions of the students and to further equip them with the necessary skills, they undergo a series of workshops during the summer such as mission-vision, strategic planning, project management and gather together in a 5-day leadership summer camp consisting of workshops, lectures, outdoor challenge activities, and focus group discussions. It is designed to prepare them for their leadership roles and equip them with skills necessary to effectively lead their organizations.
After the necessary preparations during the summer, student organizations recruit members when the school year finally starts. This happens during Org Trip, a week-long recruitment drive usually implemented towards the end of June. Here, student leaders implement creative initiatives to attract their prospects.
Consistent with the University Development Goals (UDGs), student organizations are required to reflect the following components in their activities. Student organizations are being evaluated based on these components at the end of the academic year.
- Organizational Development
Students deal with their organization’s internal operations that help increase their efficacy and viability. The planning and equipping sessions done during the summer are part of this component. Students also initiate constitutional reviews/amendments, formulate internal audit measures, define internal reporting functions, and formulate internal policies among others.
- Student Services and Formation
Students implement initiatives that involve strategic and coherent approaches in terms of managing student organization members. These include services that benefit organization members and initiatives that have something to do with their formation and development. Here, students re-echo the leadership training that they receive during the summer to their members. During these sessions, student officers serve as facilitators and/ or speakers which further enrich their leadership experience. Moreover, students come up with other initiatives that facilitate the academic needs of their members, camaraderie building, skills development, and sense of social awareness.
- Community Involvement
Consistent with the university’s goal of forming men and women for others, students are inclined to undertake projects that address a particular community need. Such projects must be relevant to their field of specialization or area of interest. This is to ensure the relevance of their endeavors and the enrichment of their classroom learning. Moreover, students are encouraged to collaborate with other organizations and work with the community for the sustainability of their projects.
In recent years, student leaders have been successful in community projects such as livelihood training programs, benefit runs, play therapies, academic enrichment, leadership programs, fund drives, and trainings on journalism among many others.