North Carolina State University Student Senate

88^th Session, 2008-2009

 

 

GOVERNMENT BILL 64

 

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A STUDENT BODY DEPARTMENT FOR

RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES

 

Short Title: Research and Communication Services Act

Sponsors: Senators WEBB (corresponding), ADONIS, DEMANOVICH, ROBIN, JACQUELINE SMITH, SWANSON, PARNELL, COSOLITO, BAUGHMAN, MONK, HERTING, VARNER

Signatories: Senator Emeritus Sevits, Comptroller SAUNDERS

Referred To: TBD

Version: Not Yet Filed – Third Revised Draft

First Reading: TBD

Second Reading: TBD

 

 

RESOLVED, by the North Carolina Student Senate that,

 

Section 1.  Upon enactment, the Student Body Statutes Chapter 3 shall be amended, by the addition of the following Article, with vision statements removed:

 

Article 12.  Department for Research and Communication Services

 

§3-12.1.  Definitions and Conventions.

§3-12.2.  Name and Affiliation.

 

§3-12.3.  Purpose.

§3-12.4.  Duties.

§3-12.5.  Chief Knowledge Officer.

§3-12.6.  Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives.

§3-12.7.  Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment.

§3-12.8.  Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice.

§3-12.9.  Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives.

§3-12.10.  Director for Communication Strategy.

§3-12.11.  Associate Director for Culture.

§3-12.12.  Associate Director for Publicity

§3-12.13.  Oversight.

 

§3-12.1.  Definitions and Conventions.

Within this article, the following definitions and conventions shall apply:

(a) “Department” refers to the Department for Research and Communication Services, inclusive of all subsidiary bodies.

(b) “CKO” refers to the Chief Knowledge Officer.

(c) “Student Government” refers to the North Carolina State University Student Government.

(d) “Student Organizations” refers to the student organizations of North Carolina State University.

 

§3-12.2.  Name and Affiliation.

The name of this organization shall be The North Carolina State University Student Body Department for Research and Communication Services, and shall be considered a Student Body Department.  The Department shall consist of two Divisions; The North Carolina State University Student Body Research Division, and The North Carolina State University Student Body Communications Division.  These bodies may be referred to simply as the Department for Research and Communication Services, the Research Division, and the Communications Division, respectively.

 

 

Part I.  Powers and Duties.

 

§3-12.3.  Purpose.

The Department for Research and Communication Services shall support the mission and goals of Student Government by providing coordination of knowledge management activities, research activities, recruitment for special needs, and communication activities.

 

§3-12.4.  Duties.

The Department shall:

(a) Adapt and apply practices of the field of Knowledge Management to the benefit of the Student Body.

(b) Aid in the administration of the research activities of Student Government including the recruitment of students to meet special needs, such as for focus groups and roles requiring highly-technical or specialized expertise.

(c) Promote and facilitate proactive two-way communication between Student Government and the Student Body.

(d) Generate awareness of Student Government activities and aid campus groups in achieving their publicity goals.

(e) Leverage inter-organizational and inter-institutional knowledge resources for the betterment of the University.

(f) Develop and maintain the long-term strategic visions of the Student Body regarding Knowledge Management, research, and communication strategy.

 

 

Part II.  Officials.

 

§3-12.5.  Chief Knowledge Officer.

The Chief Knowledge Officer shall be considered a Class 1 Presidential Appointee and shall have executive authority over the Department as its Director.  The CKO shall specifically:

(a) Oversee the operations of the Department and its subsidiaries.

(b) Assess the knowledge needs of all units and officials of Student Government and provide guidance to those units and officials in meeting their knowledge needs.

(c) Oversee development and implementation of solutions to meet the identified knowledge needs, with a focus on providing solutions with long-term viability.

(d) Oversee the preservation and continued development of an organizational memory and provide guidance to student organizations to encourage the preservation and continued development of their own.

(e) Develop, manage, and encourage effective use of Student Government’s knowledge systems, including but not limited to a training materials archive, a searchable archive of the Student Body Documents, and reports pertinent the activities of Student Government.

(f) Actively participate in and ensure sufficient student support is provided for development of University email, calendaring, and other information systems and services related to student communication.

(g) Support and aid in establishing where practical,  inter-organizational and inter-institutional communities of practice to build bodies of specialized knowledge applicable to the activities of Student Government and student organizations.

(h) Work to transform expertise of current student leaders into lasting organizational knowledge.

(i) Work to reduce duplication of efforts by Student Government and student organizations through effective knowledge sharing.

(j) Develop, manage, and encourage effective use of communication tools and systems.

 

Vision for the CKO:

The Chief Knowledge Officer as a Director will work closely with the officers of the Executive Branch.  Due to the nature of the duties assigned to this role, the CKO would become a familiar face to those throughout Student Government, to student organization leaders, and to administrators working on information systems and services, such as those in OIT, SORC, the ECE Department and Creative Services.

 

The main functions of this role in the context of Student Government is to be a visionary systems-thinker and strategist, a designer, and a technical communicator.  The CKO will examine what Student Government does and how we can improve, assisting the organization in developing and maintaining a long-term focus, and finding ways to use various technology and practices to assist us in doing so.  This is important as Student Government often is pre-occupied with fulfilling the short-term goals of its members, and no one on a consistent basis is tasked with thinking of how we can transform our short-term successes into empowering the long-term success of the organization.  Because of this, Student Government, like other student organizations with high-turnover, has a very limited organizational memory – even knowledge needed to successfully perform activities that occur on an annual basis is frequently lost or made too difficult for members tasked to roles that would benefit from it to seek it out.  The security and continued development of our organizational memory is also suffering from a lack of attention.  The product of this shows up when training materials vanish from past years, and hundreds of hours of work every year addressing policy and programmatic issues leave no foundation for future leaders to build upon – for example, if one were address issues related to University Transportation as happens every year, what resources available to past leaders are available for them to draw upon?  Many presentations, reports, strategic visions, and other products were created in the process of addressing past issues, but what exists now, and how easy would it be to find and use?  It isn’t just a matter of creating training materials or adding to our records, Student Government and other organizations have tried this and it’s not helping enough, even when done well.  We need to have someone all the time thinking about what we know or have done that would be important for future leaders to know and to build upon, and how we can ensure it can be shared in the forms future leaders can get the greatest use from.  The CKO will do this and help members of the organization take action to preserve their ideas and products of their labor, especially in the areas identified where it is most needed.  Using tools like the SGIMS, surveys, Wikis, communities of practice, OrgSync, Facebook, and compiling resources from SG, University Unit, and internet-based repositories, among other sources, the CKO will work to ensure student leaders, current and future, will always have the timely and appropriate knowledge they need to accomplish their goals.

 

What the CKO will be doing for Student Government will often be easily applicable to the needs of student organizations.  Technology used to serve Knowledge Management functions is often scalable and Knowledge Management practices on an abstract level, transferable.  Often the CKO will give guidance to student organizations to assist in their development.  This will happen in the context of the CKO’s work to help develop and promote use of Knowledge Management systems, as well as information systems and services alongside the Director for Communication Strategy, and when gathering the participation of organizational leaders in relevant communities of practice, among other ways.

 

This position would be provided additional project-based support/guidance by staff within OIT and Creative Services.

 

Ideally, the CKO would be a student seeking to become an information professional within the field of Knowledge Management – which focuses on the creation, identification, storage, sharing, and use of knowledge.  An appropriate background could be found with a student in Computer Science or Industrial Engineering, that has experience in designing systems incorporating both technology and people.

 

 

§3-12.6.  Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives.

The Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives shall be considered a Class 1 Presidential Appointee and shall be a direct report to the CKO.  Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives shall be the Director of the Research Division.  The Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives shall specifically:

(a) Perform an annual assessment of organizational competencies and recommend methods to Student Government, in collaboration with Student Government leadership and advisory staff to develop identified competencies.

(b) Champion visioning, goal-setting, and assessment activities within Student Government.

(c) Assess expertise available to Student Government and work to acquire and maintain access to expertise important for the performance of organizational activities.

(d) Assist the CKO in administration of the Department in recruiting candidates eligible to fill all statutorily defined Departmental positions and proposing candidates to the appropriate appointing official consistent with §3-2.

(e) Establish focus groups both in-person and virtual, and aid in seeking out expertise where needed, to accomplish specific goals of Student Government units and officials.

(f) Provide assistance in conducting assessments of policies and programs that are too specialized or technical in nature for established Student Government units or officials to effectively accomplish.

(g) Develop and aid in administration of research in collaboration with other Student Government units and officials to meet their identified knowledge needs, including exit-polls and constituency-specific surveys.

(h) Facilitate the analysis of research data in collaboration with other Student Government units and officials, with a focus on developing applicable organizational knowledge.

(i) Communicate with peers within the Faculty, University Planning and Analysis, and Student Affairs Planning Assessment Research and Retention, among other locations, to improve the effectiveness of research activities.

(j) Provide productivity and research tools along with training to Student Government units and officials.

 

Vision for the Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives:

The Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives will provide support to Student Government in helping to identify and gather the necessary resources (whether specialized expertise or information) for accomplishing the its strategic goals.

 

Where the Student Body President has its own core of staff to meet the needs of the office, most positions do not have this support, and as a result experience difficulty finding and gathering subject matter experts to address their needs and in conducting research quickly and proficiently.  This is an ongoing problem, where improving training alone or an ad-hoc position would be not be appropriate to fix – there is a need for someone within the organization that will focus on not just meeting needs as they arise, but pro-actively planning to meet the future needs of the members of Student Government for expertise and information.  The Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives will continually be seeking out students, faculty, staff and administrators who are interested in helping Student Government in whatever capacity (from taking on specialist roles, to advising projects, or serving on a focus group, to completing detailed opinion surveys, among other ways).  They will also be pro-actively gathering information resources, so when issues arise, student leaders in all parts of Student Government will be equipped with the information they need to make timely well-informed judgments, which are especially important when time-sensitive actions must be taken for students to have a voice in University decisions.

 

Our failures to act effectively are tragic, yet happen every year.  Many will be adverted, if we are pro-actively identifying sources of expertise and information we realize we may need.  It will help us perform as colleagues to decision-makers, as well-informed judgments are far more respected than quickly cobbled together and minimally-researched opinions – increasing the soft-power we rely on as student leaders in our advocacy.  It will also help us by making learning about the past, ongoing, or the lack of administrative actions in addressing student issues quicker and easier, allowing members of Student Government to become experts in their areas of interest without months of independent effort or a reliance on the limited capacity of Student Government to provide structured in-service training.  This will help members of Student Government to contribute to administrative actions more often during planning-stages rather than review-stages, where their voice is more powerful, and empower them to act expeditiously to address student issues instead of waiting weeks for a committee/commission/etc. or Senate meeting where their concerns can be voiced and the research efforts involved delegated.

 

Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives will be the one in Student Government that will know where our knowledge resources are located and how we can effectively use them, when we need them.  They will work with staff responsible for research and assessment activities in their respective units to gather the work they do and make it easily accessible for student leaders.  Basic reference resources, such as budgets, annual reports, PRR and other guiding documents, will be collected and made as easily accessible as practicable for student leaders.  The Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives will also help gather, preserve, and assist with coordinating the analysis of student opinions and ideas, so at no time will we be without actionable knowledge on what students truly care about.

 

Much of what the Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives would do is currently tied to the efforts of individuals or not being done at all – we need to put someone in a position to focus on these functions, and make their products permanently accessible, so unlike independent efforts, they do not end when an individual leaves Student Government.

 

This position would be provided additional support by the Student Affairs Planning Assessment Research and Retention office, which can assist with in-service training, collection of resources on the administrative-end, and guidance for research activities.

 

Ideally, the Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives would be a student with an interest in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, which focuses on conducting research on policies and programs in organizational settings.  A background in Computer Science or another technical/IT field is very desirable, due to the likely need for this role to assist in recruitment of students to provide feedback on software programs and IT-related policies, as well as the need to efficiently gather and process student feedback provided digitally.

 

§3-12.7.  Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment.

The Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment shall be considered a Class 2 Presidential Appointee and shall be a direct report to the Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives.  The Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment shall be in-residence to the Research Division.  The Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment shall specifically:

(a) Support the policy and program assessment activities of Student Government.

(b) Actively monitor the policy and program assessment activities of the University to identify opportunities where additional student input may be needed, working with members of the Department as well as other Student Government units and officials to best to communicate and utilize those opportunities.

(c) Establish and maintain regular communication with University Standing Committee and Administrative Committee appointees, providing reports to the Student Body President and Student Senate regarding policy and programmatic developments across campus.

(d) Create and maintain a catalog and calendar of opportunities to provide student input, which shall be accessible to all student leaders at the University.

 

Vision for the Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment:

The Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment is the RADAR of Student Government, keeping the Student Government informed of ongoing activity.  This role will take on the work that Carl Hughes performed in 2008-’09, communicating regularly with University Standing Committee and Administrative Committee appointees, in addition to monitoring the policy and program assessment activities of the University.

 

With someone attuned to developments at the University, more opportunities will be recognized for student input.  Currently almost all but the highest office-holding student leaders are aware of the activities of most University Standing Committees, Administrative Committees, and University units.  Student Government has not until recently even tried to track and communicate their activities in a systematic way.  By not tracking opportunities, student leaders are frequently missing opportunities to provide their (and their constituents) ideas at times where they can be given the greatest consideration.  From evaluation of 5-10 year strategic plans, to development of University-wide programs, to discussion of revisions to major PRR, student leaders are left out, often because they are not aware when/where these actions are being taken and how they can become involved.

 

It is not possible nor practical to monitor all activities, but systematically conducting some level of advanced planning will empower student leaders to respond earlier in decision-making processes and a greater time to develop well-informed judgments – increasing the effectiveness of advocacy efforts.  The Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment would be the one pro-actively asking the right questions to administrators, student leaders across Student Government, and those appointed as Student Body representatives, to develop a reasonably complete picture of future opportunities, while everyone else in the organization is enveloped with tasks-at-hand.

 

This position would be provided additional support by the Student Affairs Planning Assessment Research and Retention office, which can assist with in-service training and guidance for research activities.

 

Ideally, the Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment would be a student with excellent project management and communication skills.  This is important since the role would entail regular communication with hundreds of contacts and synthesis of their feedback into forms most useful for the student leader community.

 

§3-12.8.  Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice.

The Associate Directory for Accountable Policy and Practice shall be considered a Class 2 Presidential Appointee and shall be a direct report to the Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives.  The Associate Directory for Accountable Policy and Practice shall be in-residence to the Research Division.  The Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice shall specifically:

(a) Support the policy and program assessment activities of Student Government.

(b) Pro-actively examine and evaluate all University policy, regulations, rules, and practice, to identify opportunities to increase their accountability, transparency, and ease for members of the Student Body to accurately comprehend.

(c) Pro-actively examine and evaluate all University policy, regulations, rules and practice pertaining to student privacy.

(d) Work alongside student leaders, faculty, staff, and University administration to promote student rights to accountable, transparent, and easy to understand University policy, regulations, rules, and practice, consistent with and in addition to requirements prescribed by law.

(e) Act to identify and develop solutions to prevent incidents where University policy, regulations, and rules, are exercised without the informed consent of affected students.

 

Vision for the Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice:

The Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice will be a researcher and students rights advocate.  They will be the one in Student Government that will seek out, maintain, and help communicate to student leaders the collective knowledge of the student leadership community on all University PRR and practices. 

 

This role is needed as this task is impossible outside of a long-term effort, due to the sheer size of this task; performing information gathering, organization, and analysis and in such ways to provide long-term value.  The Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice will be the student responsible for communicating and collaborating with student leaders to develop this resource.

 

Another primary function of this role, served in the process of assembling this resource, is to actively examine PRR and practices and identify cases where the values of accountability, transparency, informed consent, and the privacy rights of students may be strengthened.  Without someone responsible for organizing experienced-eyes to give PRR and practices a close look, they only arise as an issue far beyond the time change is possible to help protect against the problems faced.  Additionally, when they arise, very limited past information is available regarding the PRR and practices, hindering the ability to student leaders to address the issues faced from a well-informed perspective.

 

There is frequently a need to address PRR and practices over the long-term, since identified problems do not go away or become any less important at the end of a single leadership term, yet they are almost always forgotten, or work stalls due to a lack of knowledge to continue advocacy efforts.  With PRR and practice formation and revisions working on a scale of years, Student Government needs to develop an ability to adapt, so that student concerns identified are not lost, and advocacy activities are not severely hindered by changing administrations.

 

This position would be provided additional support by the Annie Antón, Professor of Computer Science, who is a national leader in research on privacy law and how it applies to our increasingly software-centric environments.

 

Ideally, the Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice would be a student in Computer Science, with an interest in public policy / law.  Due to the increasingly technical nature of PRR and practices, this role should not be filled by a student that does not possess a detailed understanding of information technology and related legal considerations.

 

§3-12.9.  Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives.

The Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives shall be considered a Class 2 Presidential Appointee and shall be a direct report to the Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives.  The Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives shall be in-residence to the Research Division.  The Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives shall specifically:

(a) Support the policy and program assessment activities of Student Government.

(b) Assist Student Government units and officials in conducting inter-institutional research quickly and effectively.

(c) Research the activities of peer organizations to identify ideas concerning how Student Government and the University could improve in their service to the Student Body, communicating research findings to all relevant units.

(d) Keep Student Government units and officials informed of past research and promote its use where relevant in developing actionable improvements for the betterment of the University.

(e) Provide day-to-day support for inter-organizational and inter-institutional communities of practice.

 

Vision for the Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives:

The best ideas are often not contained within the boundaries of Student Government – the Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives is focused on looking beyond the boundaries of the organization for ideas, to aid members of Student Government in their research and to create a constant in-flow of ideas for student leaders to apply.

 

Sometimes inter-institutional research is needed to justify opinions/proposals regarding PRR and practices, as it is performed by administrators in their own work and is often expected..  The Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives will work with members of Student Government to aid them in carrying out inter-institutional research quickly and effectively, so it is not a hindrance to their efforts.

 

When not aiding members of Student Government with their research activities, the Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives will seek out ideas by examining the activities of peer organizations at other institutions and facilitate the creation of productive relationships between student leaders within the University and those beyond via communities of practice.  The Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives will work closely with the Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives and CKO to ensure knowledge gathered from research activities and relationships with leaders at other institutions is maintained and organized in forms to provide long-term value.

 

This position would be provided additional support by the Student Affairs Planning Assessment Research and Retention office, which can assist with in-service training and guidance for research activities.

 

Ideally, the Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives would be skilled in research methods and be an excellent communicator and group coordinator.

 

§3-12.10.  Director for Communication Strategy.

The Director for Communication Strategy shall be considered a Class 1 Presidential Appointee and shall be a direct report to the CKO.  Director for Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives shall be the Director of the Communications Division   The Director for Communication Strategy shall specifically:

(a) Examine how communication throughout the University, including that of Student Government and student organizations, could be improved with the Student Body.

(b) Activity participate in and aid in ensuring sufficient student support is provided in the development of University email, calendaring, and other information systems and services related to student communication.

(c) Develop and maintain communication tools for Student Government to maintain contact with and gather input from the Student Body, in coordination with the Division for Web Development.

(d) Assist the Chief Knowledge Officer in management of communication tools and systems.

(e) Assist in the organization of forums when called upon, in service of the activities of any of the branches of Student Government, in both physical and virtual environments.

(f) Examine and develop opportunities for utilizing social networks to communicate with past, current, and incoming students.

(g) Communicate with peers within Student Media, the Libraries, the Office of Information Technology, Communication Services, Transportation, student orientation services, and Student Affairs, among other units, to improve communication technology and practices throughout the University.

 

Vision for the Director for Communication Strategy:

The Director for Communication Strategy is a visionary and a systems-thinker, examining how communication throughout the University can be improved to the benefit of the Student Body.  From helping to develop highly-technical projects requiring long-term focus like the Universal Communication System (as presented Feb. 11, 2009), to designing systems in coordination with other organizations and University units for collecting student feedback, to helping to spread awareness of the activities of Student Government and NC State culture – the Director for Communication Strategy will be a student communication expert, working alongside the CKO among others in helping to improve knowledge sharing throughout the Student Body.

 

This role is needed to help meet the demands of students for ways to find opportunities that exist at the University relevant to their interests.  Students have consistently said they want this in exit-polls, forums, and in a recent study conducted by CSLEPS – yet no student leadership organization is prepared to respond to these demands.  It would be most practical for the student leadership on this issue to come from Student Government, due to the wide scope of administrative interactions that is required to accomplish this (academic-side, Student Affairs, OIT, et al.), and the tendency for student leaders in residence to other organizations to become influenced by administrators pushing technology and practices that work well in their context, without a University-wide perspective.

 

Student Government is also in great need of efficient communication strategies to develop rapport with the Student Body in our ability to address student issues.  From a feedback portal, to forums, to podcasts and other mediums – we need a voice to speak up and suggest the right technology and practices to use at the right times, so that we’re not sending delegates to the Brickyard to collect 50 ideas in a day, when we could spend far less time gather 100 of even greater quality through a virtual meeting or a survey.  A Student Body that knows it has a voice and can recognize opportunities to provide input not just to Student Government but to University units that respond to student concerns via their own feedback gathering, will be a force-multiplier, as with this role we will be opening ourselves to a constant inflow of ideas which currently aren’t being provided by students through traditional means of outreach.  Our exit-polls provide excellent examples of students with opinions that we are not reaching – students on a regular basis willing to give detailed opinions that are not in Student Government do exist in large numbers, and this role will help Student Government engage them.

 

Beyond events and announcements, students also complain about the lack of an NC State culture – citing more frequently in the past than now, that our University has the culture of a giant community college.  Involved students are aware of how this isn’t true, but their reality is different than most students.  The main issue driving these views is a lack of communication – programs put on, even those that use student fees, exist primarily as an oral history and some photos thrown on facebook.  This is a tragedy considering the rate students leave the University – the cultural knowledge and artifacts are often leaving with them and are no longer accessible to the freshmen taking their places.  We need a conscious effort to collect and share our culture – two ways of immediate benefit would be referenceable, searchable, digital archives of the Agromeck and Technician, and developing a collaboratively built resource that is supported by Student Government, such as a wiki that students and alumni can contribute to, keeping our cultural knowledge in places where anyone can contribute and anyone can easily learn from (possibly including prospective students, helping us to attract more of the best and brightest in North Carolina to our University as a side benefit).

 

There are many tasks under this role, from working with the CKO, to publicity, to culture transmission – it is expected that several Assistant Directors would be appointed by the Director for Communication Strategy to cover the full scope of responsibilities.  Fortunately, unlike research roles, this is very interesting work which many students are interested in.

 

This position would be provided additional advisory support from a network of peers within University units, as outlined in its duties, in addition to project-based support/guidance by staff within OIT and Creative Services.

 

Ideally, the Director for Communication Strategy would be a student in Computer Science or Industrial Engineering, that has experience in designing systems incorporating both technology and people.  This role is expected to assist in the development and use of customized software, so a high level of technical expertise is needed.

 

§3-12.11.  Associate Director for Culture.

The Associate Director for Culture shall be considered a Class 2 Presidential Appointee and shall be a direct report to the Director for Communication Strategy.  The Associate Director for Culture shall be in-residence to the Communications Division The Associate Director for Culture shall specifically:

(a) Promote communication of the culture and traditions of the Student Body.

(b) Develop resources, primarily digital, to expand transmission of culture beyond event-based learning experiences, allowing students and alumni to learn and contribute to the Student Body’s cultural knowledge outside of formal training and orientation activities.

(c) Work to improve all student orientation activities.

 

Vision for the Associate Director for Culture:

An enormous amount of information can not be covered during orientation and even well-connected students have few means of gathering a reasonably complete picture of NC State culture. Too frequently students find an appreciation for NC State late in their academic career – NC State could do much more to instill a sense of pride in students to get those students involved earlier and making the most of their extra-curricular opportunities.  The Associate Director for Culture will help the Director for Communication Strategy spread awareness of NC State culture and get resources off of shelves within orientation offices and the Library, placing them online where they will be accessible to all.

 

With the budget crisis, additional counseling/orientation programs such as WolfCamp are being cut.  Not making the most of the resources we have already assembled during this time is not responsible – we need a shift away from event-based learning experiences to convey information and towards empowering students to seek out information they are interested in.  This role would help make that possible.

 

It’s more than developing plans and overseeing the throwing of documents online – the Associate Director for Culture will need to target efforts.  They would reach out to groups like graduates and transfer students, that often feel left behind after their orientations and not part of the NC State community, and RAs to help them share resources undergraduates would care about.

 

Efforts like this are often talked about but not followed through with – this role would provide a concentrated effort to see that we make progress in improving our culture sharing.

 

Ideally, the Associate Director for Culture would be a student studying Digital Communications with an ability to work with many administrators and student leaders.  Planning and project management skills are a plus, as efforts in this role have a long-term focus.

 

§3-12.12.  Associate Director for Publicity.

The Associate Director for Publicity shall be considered a Class 2 Presidential Appointee and shall be a direct report to the Director for Communication Strategy.  The Associate Director for Publicity shall be in-residence to the Communications Division.  The Associate Director for Publicity shall specifically:

(a) Generate awareness of Student Government activities and aid campus groups in achieving their publicity goals.

(b) Provide frequent updates to the Student Government information kiosk in the Brickyard, to improve the transparency, accountability, and accessibility of Student Government to the Student Body.

(c) Actively examine opportunities for utilizing social networks to promote the activities of Student Government and the University to current as well as incoming students.

 

Vision for the Associate Director for Publicity:

The Associate Director for Publicity would assume the traditional responsibilities of the Chair of the Select Commission on Publicity.  Added to the role is ensuring a constant presence of Student Government on the Brickyard via the Student Government information kiosk and the ongoing examination of the use of social networks.

 

The Publicity Commissioner role has been important to the success of Student Government and continuing it on a permanent basis as the Associate Director for Publicity, within a Department actively aware of the broader importance that publicity plays in life at NC State, will help connect our publicity efforts to our long-term goals instead of the role being strictly transactional in nature.

 

 

Part III.

 

§3-12.13.  Oversight.

Oversight of the Department may be exercised by the Committee on Government Operations, which shall have the power to review the records of the Department, compel report of its members, and to make recommendations to the CKO, President, or Senate regarding its improvement.  Additional oversight may be exercised by the Committee on University Affairs and the Committee on Campus Community, which shall have the power to review the records of the Research Division and Communications Division, respectively, compel report of its members, and to make recommendations to the Directors of the respective Division, the President, or Senate regarding improvements.

 

 

 

Section 2.  Upon enactment, the Student Body Statutes Chapter 3, Article 2, Section 13, shall be amended as follows:

 

§3-12.13. Schedule of Appointments.

This section shall be automatically updated to reference each position appointed in the four classes of §3-2.8.  Positions defined elsewhere in such classes include:

(a) Class 1. Executive Chief of Staff (note exceptions), Director of Government Relations, Director of Community Service, Student Government Webmaster, Diversity Commission Chair, Special Commission Chairs, Executive Secretary, Chief Knowledge Officer, Director of Advanced Projects and Research Initiatives, Director of Communication Strategy

(b) Class 2. Associate Directors of Government Operations (two), Associate Directors of Community Service (three), Associate Webmasters (two), Associate Director of Executive Management, Special Commission Officers, Elections Commissioners (four), Associate Director for Policy and Program Assessment, Associate Director for Accountable Policy and Practice, Associate Director for Inter-Institutional Research Initiatives, Associate Director for Culture, Associate Director for Publicity

(c) Class 3. Elections Commissioners (four)

(d) Class 4. Wolf Aides Director, Wolf Aides Associate Directors (two), WSI Director, WSI Treasurer

(e) Class 5. All students appointed to serve on University Standing Committees that address tuition and/or fee-related issues

 

Section 3.  In accordance with statutory duties of the Department for Research and Communication, it shall be responsible for carrying out the development and implementation of the Universal Communication System, continuing work initiated by the Student Body President’s Ad-Hoc Committee on University Communication and outlined by its final report, presented to the Student Senate February 11, 2009.  The Chief Knowledge Officer shall provide a progress report to the Student Senate on a monthly basis until completion of the outlined system.