MACURH iiiiiiii Website Updates
If you see any information outdated or find any broken links please contact the webmaster at macurh.sp@gmail.com so the problem may be fixed.
----------------------------------------
Updating School info & Contacts
Follow the link provided to update or change your NCC, PCC, NRHH Rep. and RHA President's Contact information for your school.
----------------------------------------
Listservs
A listserv is an email list that is used for discussion and to disseminate all information related to its topic. This MACURH listserv will send out periodic emails. All listservs are hosted on Google Groups.
To join the MACURH listserv please email the RCC-SP.
ADVisor Resources
1. New to Advising RHA?
Explore this website, it is a great resource! There is plenty of great information for you to utilize. Another very important resource is the NACURH website. First you must register on the NACURH forum and then you can request a NACURH.org login. Once you are able to login, you can see important affiliation information, including your school's invoice which may be needed to write a check to NACURH. You can also find valuable contact information for other schools, submit your end-of-the-year report (NCCs usually take care of this), and update your own contact information.
Important Advisor Documents:
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNACURH Advisor Manual iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiGuide to Building an RHA
2. New to Advising a Conference Delegation?
Conferences are the only times of the year when schools physically interact and exchange information face-to-face. Because of this, attending conferences is crucial. It is important to be well prepared for each of the three conferences during the year. Regionals are held every fall (late Oct, early Nov), No Frills is held every spring (some time in Feb), and nationals is held at the end of the schools year (late May, early June). For information about these conferences, check out the links under the conferences section on the left and the specific conference webpages at the top of the page. Also, download this Conference Delegation Packet, which will give you more information on how to select an effective delegation and prepare for conferences.
3. Do You Want to Communicate With Other Advisors?
There is an advisor listserv for the MACURH region! If you contact Regional Advisor Adam Foley at adamf@iastate.edu, just send your contact information and you can join the listserv and start receiving emails immediately! You can also join the MACURH listserv if you want important information regarding conferences and announcements. The cool thing about being on the MACURH listserv is that you will get emails with monthly reports from other affiliated schools in the region. It is very helpful to see what other RHAs are up to and it is a great place to borrow ideas and be familiar with what is happening in the region. As the advisor, it also helps immensely with assisting your executive board in succeeding with their position.
Last on the list is the NACURH Forum Advisors Section. Here you can interact with other advisors and see what they're up to. There is also a private section if you have any issues that you'd like only other advisors to see.
And don't forget to contact the Regional Board of Directors and/or the Regional Advisor if you have more questions!
4. Other Things About This Website
There are conference and MACURH newsletters which you can access on the main page of this website. These will give you more information concerning the conferences and the region that could be helpful.
5. If You Want To Know More
Check out the MACURH Policy Book. It has important information regarding bidding for awards, conference procedures, and regional policies.
What Does A Conference Advisor Do?
Pre-Conference
1. Learn as much as you can about the conference; visit the conference website to get specifics.
2. Typically, it is the NCC from your school that will lead the process of recruiting and preparing a delegation for the conference. It will be your job to work closely with this person to help them do well with this endeavor.
3. Know that your NCC will be in meetings for a lot of the conference - NCCs meet to discuss legislation, bids, and more. They will attend few, if any, program sessions.
4. Assist the NCC in preparing for the conference (transportation, payment, building delegation relationships, and more).
5. Connect with your NCC about bids; what is going to be bid at the conference, who is bidding, have they started reading the bids, etc.
6. Work with the delegation about what to bring and what not to bring. The closing ceremony is a semi-formal event so ask your delegates to bring clothing to fit the event.
During the Conference
1. Check in with NCC and rest of the delegation regularly - it is good to set up a delegation meeting after checking in to the conference to talk about who is interested in which sessions, setting times/places to meet and eat as a delegation, etc.
2. Attend Advisor track and/or other programs.
3. Visit with your NCC as the conference timeline allows to talk about legislation discussed, how they are doing, etc.
4. Spend time in the NCC meeting room; get a feel for what your NCC is doing.
5. Bids for the next MACURH conference will be presented. A "bid" is the information collected that is presented to the NCCs in the effort to be awarded host of the conference. It is a good idea to take time and attend some of the conference bids. A person learns a lot about what goes into preparing a bid and more.
6. Have fun and network with other cool professionals in your region!
Post-Conference
1. It is a good idea to visit with your NCC about having a post-conference wrap up delegation meeting. This is a time where delegation members can share what they got out of the conference, program handouts, and more.
2. Follow up with anything that presented itself during the conference.
General things to learn about as the Conference Advisor
The following lists things to be aware of or that you may want to ask about at your school:
1. Who sets up the transportation?
2. How do you pay for gas on the trip (fleet card, out of pocket - reimbursed)?
3. Who pays for the transportation (RHA, school, combination)?
4. Who is driving (some schools only allow employees to drive)?
5. Does your school require some kind of trip permit to attend conferences?
6. Are you (as a professional staff member) reimbursed by your school for out of pocket expenses (meals to and from the conference for example)?
7. Registration costs - who pays for the advisor?
8. Expectations of delegates - does your school or RHA have specific expectations of the delegation? Some schools ask delegates to sign an agreement that talks about attending all sessions, or presenting a program from something learned while at the conference, etc.
9. Will your delegation be doing delegation t-shirts? If so, who will make them, how, when, who pays for them, etc.
What are the MACURH Conferences Like?
To quote a former delegate, "it is like a cheerleader camp on acid," or it can be simply described as a bunch of motivated student leaders getting together to learn and have fun. There is cheering, program sessions to attend, entertainment, time to socialize, and a whole lot more. Now, please understand that cheering at MACURH means a lot more than clapping for something well done - it actually means cheers! Schools will join in cheers, have cheering contests and join together in an uplifting time with "ride the pony." When you are in the NCC meeting room and hear a bunch of people snapping their fingers after something has been said it means they agree and like it; a rather odd thing to see and hear for the first time but very effective as a means of communication. When you see people standing up with their arms above their head to make a circle screaming the letter "O" it is a standing ovation. Cheers, learning, connecting with others, snapping of fingers and riding the pony is what helps to make up the spirit of MACURH!
The conference is also the time for the Regional Board of Directors and NCCs to meet. Their conference schedule is very different than other conference participants. The conference flow includes checking in at the hotel you and your delegation are staying at. Opening ceremonies will follow - at past conferences each delegation has been part of the opening ceremonies by creating a cheer that your delegation would use to introduce your delegation to the rest of the conference. Opening ceremonies also includes a welcome from several people and keynote. After opening ceremonies our RBD and NCCs typically go into meetings and there are socials for various participants. Not every participant has a social to go to. There will be an advisor social for you to attend. There will be hospitality rooms at the hotels with free food and beverage until a late hour. On Saturday of the conference: starts with breakfast, bids will be presented to NCCs, program sessions will happen, and then we go to lunch. After lunch the top 10 programs, as feedback determine, are presented again for others to learn from. After program sessions are complete there is some down time. The down time is to get ready for the closing ceremonies, traditionally a semi-formal event. Closing ceremonies includes dinner, award presentations and more. After closing ceremonies there is entertainment and hospitality rooms will be open. Sunday morning brings packing up and checking out. Conference evaluations will be collected when your delegation checks out - please work with your delegation to have evaluations collected and returned at check out.