Prssa chapter handbook

Discussion The current study provides a multidimensional perspective about the shared concerns and challenges of PRSSA faculty advisers. Through the theoretical lens of CARE—competence, autonomy, relatedness, and equity—the authors advocate for the following recommendations to benefit the advisers and members of the PRSSA organization.

In examining the impact of faculty status on confidence in meeting expectations of administration, lecturers expressed the greatest confidence. Chapter size also demonstrated a smaller, yet significant, correlation with meeting the expectations of colleagues and administrators.

As membership recruitment can be a strong indicator of success, additional training resources, support services, and adviser mentorship programs should be proactively implemented for PRSSA faculty advisers who do not have previous experience with PRSA or PRSSA. Often feel like I am on my own to figure it all out.

Recommendations Four key initiatives should be implemented by the PRSSA national office to improve the feeling of competence among PRSSA faculty advisers, which is positively correlated with job satisfaction. First, the PRSSA national office should empower faculty advisers to manage their chapter directory listing on the organizational website and add a feature to the chapter information page that notes when it was last updated.

By maintaining a current directory, the national office can ensure communication is reaching the correct individuals. Second, more video training or synchronous training sessions should be offered by the PRSSA national office to ensure effective orientation of new faculty advisers and improve the understanding of the PRSSA mission, minimum chapter standards, and best practices of chapter management.

Those materials should be clearly identified on the PRSSA national website and distributed as an electronic orientation package to new faculty advisers.

Fourth, a faculty adviser mentorship program should be established by the PRSSA national office to pair veteran advisers with new advisers at different universities. While informal mentorships within universities might pair outgoing and incoming PRSSA faculty advisers, these relationships might not be an option when a current faculty adviser leaves the university.

Through offering cross-university mentorship programs, the PRSSA national office can start new advisers on the right foot with community support and guidance. Finally, the authors recommend that first-year faculty should not advise PRSSA in a sole capacity but in a co-adviser capacity, when possible.

As first-year faculty are often acclimating to the expectations of a new university and possibly a new city, a one-year transition period of co-advising will offer new faculty the time to become acquainted with PRSSA members, understand chapter expectations, and build vital networks in the professional community.

In contrast, more than half of the advisers have the role written into their job descriptions or were appointed by department supervisors. An appointment process circumvents the input of chapter members to select an adviser who understands the needs of the organization and an ability to provide effective counsel for successful chapter management.

A common challenge for smaller universities is that there might only be one or two faculty who are qualified to assume the role of adviser. The authors recommend the elimination of the faculty adviser election requirement or engage in stronger educational efforts that explain why yearly elections of PRSSA faculty advisers are necessary to the health of individual chapters.

As the results of this study demonstrated, greater understanding is needed from colleagues and administration about the mission and minimum standards of PRSSA. It is really hard to get other faculty members excited about what PRSSA is doing or encourage their students to get involved. While the PRSSA chapter might meet the university standards for a student organization, administrators might not understand that the chapter does not meet the minimum standards of the national PRSSA organization and, thus, runs the risk of having its status revoked.

Recommendations While the PRSSA national board does include representation of one national faculty adviser, there is a missed opportunity to implement shared governance that is representative of a diverse community of PRSSA faculty advisers. The PRSSA national office should adopt an organizational philosophy that prioritizes stakeholder democracy Deetz, where organization management, faculty advisers, student leaders, and university administration are working in consort to address common concerns and find mutually beneficial solutions.

The authors recommend the establishment of an advisory board comprised of current PRSSA faculty advisers that includes a broad representation based on chapter size, geographic location, faculty status, and university Carnegie classification. The advisory board should meet, at minimum, once per semester to address ongoing issues and to identify emerging issues that impact the PRSSA organization.

In addition to the establishment of the advisory board of PRSSA faculty advisers, the PRSSA national office should implement a yearly stakeholder summit that includes representation of the national student executive board, university administration, college relations committees of PRSA local chapters, professional advisers, and faculty advisers.

That workload can create a physical and emotional strain on advisers who feel like they are asked to do more than their colleagues. PRSSA faculty advisers face specific challenges regarding their workload, time commitment, and financial obligations related to their role. In examining the breakdown of workload along the context of teaching, research, and service, survey respondents indicated their expected workload as described in their faculty handbook and actual workload.

There was minimal difference between expected and actual workload for teaching. In contrast, there was an inversion when examining the expected and actual workloads for research and service. This is important to note because PRSSA faculty advising increases the service workload for faculty, which is taking away from time that would be dedicated to research.

This time imbalance includes the spontaneous demands of extra-role labor such as student recommendation letters and award applications that Brown and Roloff warned contribute to teacher stress and burnout. My other duties and workload is considered a higher priority by the university. In terms of actual time commitment, the vast majority of PRSSA faculty advisers spend between one and three hours per week on advising duties.

When put into the context of a hour week, that compromises between 2. Yet, A male associate professor stated,. When you focus on the PRSSA Chapter, in building it and sustaining it, it becomes a part-time job that can easily consume 20 hours a week in peak periods of work. This has actually been an unhealthy tension that negatively impacts [the] service load, which puts the total workload out of balance.

In addition to the issue of time commitment, it is important to note the financial obligation required of PRSSA faculty advisers. Additional survey comments suggest that advisers are also active in local PRSA chapter, district, or national-level service commitments. Nearly one-third of faculty advisers who participated in this study indicated their university did not cover the cost of PRSA membership fees.

Given the research findings that the vast majority of advisers are lecturers or junior faculty, the expense of PRSA membership might be a financial hardship to those who can least likely to afford it. The issue of financial compensation, minimally for dues, should be addressed by both the PRSSA national organization and university administrations to ensure PRSSA faculty advisers do not experience a financial burden as a result of their service.

As research is often prioritized over service in tenure-and-promotion review, PRSSA faculty advising poses a potential threat to maintaining an active research agenda. This study found the actual service load was significantly increased, and actual research load was decreased, in comparison to the stated expectations of the university faculty handbook.

That inconsistency can lead to feelings of inequality and frustration among advisers because there is no consistency in how their role applies in the annual review or tenure-and-promotion process.

Frankly, if the strategic aim is to build a chapter that achieves Star status, regularly attends nationals, and generates teams for Bateman competitions, the faculty likely needs a course release to facilitate it, and the department needs to incorporate PRSSA into the annual budget to support the chapter.

Adding service assignments to advising can push PRSSA faculty advisers well beyond the expected service requirements, causing a situation where a less time is given to research, b there is a diminished work-life balance, or c the PRSSA faculty adviser is not able to provide substantial counsel to maintain chapter success.

The added stress of having to intentionally forego some PRSSA chapter advising standards to maintain career equilibrium ties to the emotional toll of not keeping promises in this case, to the PRSSA chapter and stakeholders expecting chapter success that Brown and Roloff warn contribute to burnout.

Administrators need to communicate with PRSSA faculty advisers to understand how much time is spent advising and assign other service duties only in proportion to the overall expected service workload as determined by the university faculty handbook. An unexpected finding that emerged in this study was the impact of emotional labor on role satisfaction of PRSSA faculty advisers.

Emotional labor is another possible concern for advising. Recommendations As the issue of equity emerged as the primary concern among PRSSA faculty advisers, the authors offer several recommendations to address this issue. The waiving of those fees relieves the financial burden many faculty advisers personally shoulder and recognizes the value PRSSA faculty advisers bring in service to their respective chapters.

Second, the PRSSA national office should strongly advocate for time compensation for faculty advisers. As this study has demonstrated, PRSSA faculty advisers who receive little-to-no compensation in regard to time commitment often struggle to balance advising duties with other faculty job expectations.

As a result, faculty advising might become a low-level priority that can be detrimental to growth of individual chapters. To manage a successful chapter might be compared to teaching a year-long campaigns class that can be aligned to specific learning outcomes in the public relations curriculum. By advocating for equitable time compensation, the PRSSA national office will provide necessary resources to faculty advisers to provide effective counsel to their chapters that support membership growth, improved programming, and greater participation in national initiatives and events.

Finally, the PRSSA national office should issue an informational document that can be distributed to university administration as an educational tool about the PRSSA organization and its expectations for university chapters. The document should be developed with the input of the PRSSA faculty advisor board previously recommended in this paper.

Conclusion This study represents a first wave of research by the authors about the opportunities and challenges of PRSSA faculty advising. As this study illustrates, PRSSA advising is an experience from which most faculty gain a strong sense of satisfaction. Yet, there are specific challenges that must be addressed to ensure that faculty are supported and compensated fairly. The confidence in meeting the expectations has a direct impact on role satisfaction of PRSSA faculty advisers.

Greater efforts should be implemented to provide advisors with the tools, resources, and support—at both the university level and via the PRSSA national office—to help faculty advisers, especially those new to the role, succeed in their efforts. This paper serves as a collaborative tool for current and future advisers, university administrators, and PRSSA national leadership to understand the common challenges PRSSA faculty advisers experience.

Likewise, this study allows for faculty members to create strategies for chapter and student-level improvements based on the reported experiences of other advisers based on their chapters.

Certain limitations existed in this study. In addition, a parallel faculty adviser study was launched by the PRSSA national office during the same timeline of phase two of this study, which might have limited participation in the qualitative questionnaire. While the PRSSA national office did launch new initiatives in in an effort to address concerns expressed by faculty advisers through its own research, the results of this research were not made public.

There are key issues found in this study related to role satisfaction, as well as work and life balance, that remained unaddressed by PRSSA national. Finally, information requests by the authors to provide organization membership data were denied by the PRSA national offices.

Future research by the authors will focus on solutions to address the challenges identified in the current study. Specifically, the issues of emotional and extra-role labor appear to hold importance to many PRSSA faculty advisers, and the authors will pursue additional research to explore those issues in more depth.

In addition, further research should explore the role of the professional adviser as a partner who helps shoulder the load of advising duties. Through collaborative participation between PRSSA national leadership, university administration, current and present faculty advisers, and chapter leadership, future research holds the potential to create a more rewarding and successful experience for PRSSA faculty advisers and their chapters. Andrews, L. Ohio Link.

Boyer, E. Brown, E. Brown, L. Extra-role time, burnout, and commitment: The power of promises kept. Business Communication Quarterly , 74 4 , — Commission on Public Relations Education. Deci, E. Self-determination in a work organization.

Journal of Applied Psychology, 74 4 , — Intrinsic motivation and self-determinism in human behavior. Deetz, S. Transforming communication, transforming business: Stimulating value negotiation for more responsive and responsible workplaces. International Journal of Value-Based Management, 8 3 , Filak, V. Student psychological-need satisfaction and college teacher evaluations. Educational Psychology, 23 3 , The effects of self-determined motivation and autonomy support on advisers and members of a journalism student organization.

Nadler, M. The value of student organizations and the role of faculty advisers. Pohl, G. Public relations in action: A view of the benefits of student membership in pre-professional organizations ED Public Relations Society of America n. Public Relations Society of America Foundation. Public Relations Student Society of America. March, PRSSA chapter requirements. National initiatives. PRSSA chapter handbook Whether you are a pro or planning an event for the first time, the handbook will help you through the planning, promotion and evaluation of your Conference.

Also included are templates you can replicate for your Chapter. Published by the National Committee, the Situation Analysis describes the history and current status of National initiatives.

As a Chapter leader, you should use it as a template for maintaining your own individual records. An effective transition helps new leaders make good choices about programs to start, stop or continue; prevents leaders from repeating past mistakes; and helps maintain relationships with professionals and organizations. Further questions about officer transitions? Contact the vice president of Chapter development. Fundraising is a great way to benefit your Chapter or another organization.

Through fundraising you can send members to Regional Conferences and National events, bring speakers to your school, purchase access to PRSA webinars and support causes. Chapter meetings and events are among the most important tools you have for recruiting and motivating members.

The ideas below can help you address the different interests of your members while also giving them a range of opportunities to learn. If possible, meet at a consistent time and location so members can always have it in their schedules. Here are our tips:. Learn More. Every Chapter needs effective recruiting techniques to attract enthusiastic new members. Remember, you do not have to be in public relations to join our Society. PRSSA includes students with diverse majors such as communications, marketing, political science, journalism, digital media, graphic design and more.

As future communications professionals, we are uniquely equipped to design strategic campaigns that will educate and motivate our target audiences. Apply those skills to your recruiting efforts. Read below to learn about some creative approaches other Chapters have used to recruit new members. Need more ideas? Contact the vice president of chapter development , vice president of member services , or start a conversation through PRSSA social media.

You also can see the best recruitment ideas generated at the Leadership Assembly in the Chapter Handbook. They can offer you networking, career mentoring, speakers for Chapter meetings and countless other opportunities.

In return, you can offer them reverse mentoring, volunteers and assistance with social media or other activities. Use it to guide you as you design business cards, letterheads or other communication materials.

The Franklin Gothic family is used on letterheads, envelopes, business cards, mailing labels and fax cover sheets. PRSSA offers leadership training sessions that allow you to learn from past Chapter leaders and share ideas with current Chapter leaders at International Conference. Each spring, we also offer the Leadership Assembly , where Chapter leaders get to vote on National bylaws as well as the incoming National Committee and learn how to better their Chapters.

When you need someone to share an idea with or to discuss a challenge, you can connect with other Chapter leaders through PRSSA social media. Send out your questions and start a discussion. We hope retrieving these documents will be more useful since they can be accessed readily and included in online profiles and portfolios.

Please note: This means Chapters will no longer receive individual membership cards and certificates via mail. Dues Info Learn how to submit dues.

Option 1 PRSSA Headquarters will collect both Chapter if applicable and National dues for each member of your Chapter by directing your members to pay, register and renew individually online. Chapter Handbook The Chapter Handbook describes the programs and tools you will need to serve your members and have a successful term.

District Conference Execution Handbook The District Conference Execution Handbook provides you with strategies and tactics that will help with the event planning process. Situation Analysis Published by the National Committee, the Situation Analysis describes the history and current status of National initiatives. Leadership Transition Tips for how to transition smoothly.

Tips for a Successful Transition Emerging Leaders - Identify emerging leaders early in the year and encourage them to run for office by contacting them personally.

Information on a USB - Have each executive board member create a USB that outlines everything the next officer will need to know about the position.

Shadowing - After elections are held, allow the incoming officers to shadow the outgoing executive board officer. Orientation or Retreat - Plan time for bonding and discussion between the incoming and outgoing board members through an event such as an orientation or officer retreat. Fundraising Learn how to unify your Chapter, earn money and support causes through fundraising.

Meetings and Events Browse a list of ways to make meetings exciting and better attended. Establish Basics If possible, meet at a consistent time and location so members can always have it in their schedules.

Adequately Publicize Chapter Meetings There are many media you can use to properly promote your Chapter meetings such as: Mass Chapter emails. Social media. Campus newspaper. College bulletin boards, message boards, broadcast emails, etc. Professors and classroom presentations. Magnets for dormitory refrigerators. Bookmarks for the campus textbook store. Planning Tips Create an agenda with specific objectives and goals for your meeting. See a sample in the Chapter Handbook. Avoid group discussion of matters that only pertain to a small portion of those in attendance.

Be punctual regarding start and end times. Have one person lead the meeting. At the end of each agenda item, briefly summarize what has been accomplished and decided, emphasizing due dates and action items. Here are our tips: Survey members or have a Chapter brainstorming session at the beginning of the planning year to find out what they are interested in learning at meetings and what they expect to get out of their membership.

Invite a professor or local professional to speak. Agency vs. Create teams with members or invite nearby Chapters to join.