The Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement (formerly CfLI) is committed to assisting student organizations in creating a meaningful and supportive advisor-organization relationship.
The position of an RSO advisor will look different from organization to organization. All RSO advisors will offer assistance, answer questions, clarify campus policy and resources, and check on the overall health of involved students and the organization as a whole.
All Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) are required to have an advisor. An advisor can be a faculty or staff member, graduate student, or community member. RSOs that are dual affiliated meet their advisor requirement through their affiliated campus partner.
Advisor Search Process
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Step 1: Organizational Values and Needs
Consider the values and needs that your organization has. RSO leaders should work collaboratively to develop an advisor role that meets the organization’s goals and matches the leadership style of the organization
If your RSO does not have an advisor role defined in your constitution/bylaws, discuss what it would look like for your organization to add that.
Recommended Resource: Advisor Expectations Checklist
Step 2: Review AdvisorPool
To begin your advisor search, we suggest that you checkout the advisor profiles on AdvisorPool.
You could also consider the following places as potential resources:
- In your professional network
- Connected national or regional offices (if your organization is connected to a larger organization)
- Academic faculty and staff or connections they can help you make
- Your academic advisor or connections they can help you make
- Badger Bridge (UW’s Alumni network)
- Campus Offices that have missions that are similar to yours
- These offices may not have capacity to serve as advisors, but may be able to assist with brainstorming
- Center for Pre-Health Advising: healthcare and related careers
- Center for Pre-Law Advising: law, legal advocacy or related careers
- Center for Interfaith Dialogue: religious identities and religious literacy
- Gender and Sexuality Campus Center: gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation
- Disability Cultural Center: disability, advocacy, accessibility, and inclusive education
- Database of all UW-Madison Centers and Institutions or UW-Madison Research Centers and Programs
- Student Org Leadership Alumni (once graduated)
- Community organizations with similar mission
- In your personal network
Additionally, your organization could consider becoming an organization that is dual registered. Dual registration is at the approval of the campus partner, and may not be an option for all organizations. Review the Dual Registration page for more information on becoming dual registered.
Step 3: Potential Advisors Outreach
Reach out to advisors that you feel could be a good fit. During that outreach, it may be helpful to share with them:
- About your organization
- What you are looking for in an advisor
- Why you think they could be a good fit
- UW-Madison advisor expectations and any expectations your organization would have of them
- The expected time commitment, and voluntary capacity or compensation you offer
- How they could meet RSO leadership or learn more about your organization
Recommended Resource: Advisor Outreach Template
Step 4: Confirm Advisor and University Requirements
RSO Advisors are required to complete certain requirements and trainings based on the organization they intend to advise and their relationship to UW-Madison. During the organization’s registration process, RSO student leaders will add their advisor’s information to their WIN registration and can then invite their advisor to affirm their role as the organization’s advisor, which invites them to start working on their required credentials.
As a reminder, advisor information is visible outside the organization in WIN. Confirm the information your advisor would like added before completing this step.
Step 5: Set Advisor Responsibilities & Expectations
It is highly recommended that RSO leaders meet an advisor. If your organization explicitly states the role of an advisor, ensure that you share that with them. If you completed the Advisor Expectations Checklist, that document can help guide this conversation.
Both the advisor and the RSO should establish expectations regarding:
- The advisor’s presence and role at meetings and events
- The advisor’s role, or lack thereof, in suggesting improvements or changes
- What role the advisor will play in mediating conflict
- Communication between the RSO and advisor
Suggested Resource: Organization & Advisor Agreement Guide
Step 6: Consider Legacy
Consider what the term and legacy of your advisor will be, particularly during RSO student leader changes.
- Will they serve as an advisor until they no longer wish to advise the organization or be limited to a certain time frame?
- Will their appointment as an advisor be approved by the RSO leadership or general body each academic year?
- If RSO leadership changes, do they get to appoint a new advisor?
- If the advisor no longer wishes to serve the RSO, how long in advance should they inform the RSO? Do they have a role in finding the RSO a new advisor?
Should your advisor change during the registration year, the advisor and the RSO leader should reach out to SOLI for further guidance.