Registered Student Organizations are required to have a UW Tacoma faculty or staff member to serve as an advisor. The advisor's main role is to provide support and guidance to the RSO; and if the RSO lasts a long time, the advisor will be a valuable source of knowledge to future officers. The advisor also takes on responsibilities for attending RSO events that occur on campus after business hours. 

Continue reading below for information on finding and using your advisor.

Finding an Advisor

Finding an advisor for an existing club

If you're taking on leadership of an existing club and don't know who your advisor is, the Center for Student Involvement RSO staff can assist you! Write uwtclubs@uw.edu and we'll search our directory. If the RSO's advisor has moved on from the university or no longer wishes to serve, continue reading below.

Finding a new advisor

Finding a new advisor can be daunting, whether you're starting a new club or continuing an existing one. But it's a very achievable goal. Educational institutions are staffed by people who have made it their career to help students learn and grow--many of them are excited to help students do so through a club leadership experience.

First, draft a list of the staff and faculty you know and see day-to-day. Consider whether any of the people on your list have an interest in your topic. If you're forming a group around a career or academic interest that aligns with your area of study, this step may be easy, as you likely have teachers who will be qualified. Officers for identity and interest groups will need to work a little harder. If you're starting an identity group, do you know staff/faculty who share that identity? If you're starting an interest group, such as a video gaming club, consider whether you've heard anyone on your list talk about their after-hours hobbies. 

If no one on your list fits the bill, it's time for research. Search the University website pages for different schools and departments, and their directories. Every University staff and faculty member receives a personal page on the UW Tacoma website, accessible via the directory or through an online search. Most will just contain names and professional contact information, but many staff and faculty add detailed biographies, resumes, or links to independent portfolio websites. Combing through this information may lead you to someone who shares a passion for your group topic. 

If you've performed the above steps and still cannot find an advisor, write to us at uwtclubs@uw.edu. Staff will use their own contacts or reach out through the UWTLine email service to find staff/faculty. In limited cases, the assistant director for student involvement may agree to serve as a temporary advisor for a new group. This will only be pursued with available time and a written plan for finding a permanent advisor.

Using Your Advisor Effectively

So you've found an interested advisor. Great! Now what?

Have a first meeting

Schedule a first meeting with your new advisor. This is an opportunity to get to know each other. Ask them about their background and interest in your RSO's mission, and give them an opportunity to ask the same of you. You should also determine each other's boundaries. Does the advisor prefer to be contacted by a certain method? How often are they willing to meet? Are they willing to stay late or go to campus on weekends if your RSO hosts events? Describe your plan for the club's growth, as well as possible activities, and ask for their feedback.  It will help to prepare your questions beforehand.

Direct them to the RSO Advisor Agreement

Once you've met your advisor, send them a link to the Advisor Resources page and ask them to fill them out the linked Advisor Agreement.

URL: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/involvement/rso-advisor-resources 

Keep in touch

There is no requirement for how often RSO officers meet with their advisors. You can approach them as questions arise, but you may also find it beneficial to reach out regularly in some manner. One method may be to keep a running list of proposed projects and questions that come up at your meetings. After meetings, write an email to your advisor telling them about the items on the list, and ask if they have any suggestions for how to proceed.

What an advisor canNOT help with

Please do not ask your advisor to book meeting or event space on behalf of your RSO. Doing so leads to underreporting of club activity data, which the Center for Student Involvement uses to request budget funding for RSOs. Additionally, relying on a busy University employee to book space can lead to problems, such as the employee forgetting to book the space altogether, or moving on to new employment and leaving the Conference Services office without a contact for a pending booking.

All RSO space bookings must be submitted under the RSO NetID, using the university's RSO Request form in 25Live. If you have questions about how to obtain 25Live access for your RSO, please reach out to uwtclubs@uw.edu or Daniel Nash at nashd@uw.edu.