Students in Service and Leadership at Harvard

Arjun Prasad - Blueprint of Action

Final Deliverables:
  1. List of Suggestions to the Ed Secondary Student Advisory Council
  2. Broader List of Best Practices for other Student Advisory Boards in other concentrations
  3. Start-up Guide and 1-Year Plan
    1. Start-up Guide: Actionable steps for any department to create their own SAC
    2. 1-Year Plan: List of events for the new SAC to implement their first year
The format for each of these lists is fairly similar, in that there is the base suggestion followed by a description/explanation of why that particular suggestion is being made (based on what I have heard or understood from my interviews and research).
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List of Suggestions to the Ed SAC:
  1. Update Job Description/Normalize Recruitment Materials
A common thought shared in my interviews with other SAC members was that while marketed as an advisory board, the SAC often functions more like a fully-fledged student organization, in that we are in charge of not only liaising between the student body and the Ed Secondary administration, but also putting on community events and building comradery within the secondary. As such, being clearer about the actual role, the perspective time commitment (i.e. monthly full SAC meetings as well as subcommittee meetings a little bit more frequently), as well as expanding the role will be helpful to get a more consistent involvement across the SAC during the entirety of the school year.
 
  1. Institute Point People within each Subcommittee
When it comes to the structure of the Ed SAC, the institution of the subcommittees was a big step forward in creating a more organized body that can work more efficiently throughout the year. One next step forward that was raised in a number of interviews was the idea that it can sometimes become confusing as to who is responsible for what within the subcommittee (i.e. who signs up for what role at which point in the term). A way to combat this is to select a “point person” for each subcommittee at the beginning of the year. This person can be in charge of staying on top of all action items for the group at any given point, ensuring that everything is getting done. Likewise, this person can serve as the primary point of contact for the Ed Secondary administration to make that information transfer more seamless.
 
  1. Formalize the Different Subcommittees
    1. Social Media
    2. OCS
    3. TTL
    4. Alumni
    5. Event Planning
Formalizing which subcommittees are consistent from year to year in the role description can help get students excited about getting started working with the Ed SAC. That said, in order to not stifle student agency, other subcommittees can be created or removed on an ad hoc basis from year to year.
 
  1. Goals Suggestions for the next year
    1. Revamping/Formalizing the Peer Advising Structure
    2. Publishing the Alumni Directory
+ Peer advising is such an integral part of how we market the Ed Secondary when we host information sessions, yet because it is all based on people doing what they choose when they choose, it is a very underutilized tool at the program’s disposal. One potential suggestion is to develop a system wherein as soon as students declare the Secondary, they are assigned a peer advisor (who would still be an upperclassman on the SAC). This would kickstart the mentor/mentee relationship and would allow for less hesitation when it comes to asking questions about the program
+ Due to the inherently multidisciplinary nature of the Ed Secondary, we have such a vast alumni network, one which can serve as a great resource to current undergrads looking to pursue different career paths. Building out this database and making it accessible to students will be a great step towards expanding our community to the alumni who have help shaped the program to what it is today.
 
  1. Event Goals
    1. Information Session/Meet & Greet (1/term)
    2. Social Event/Study Break (1/term)
    3. Faculty Facing Event (i.e.: Professors and Pastries, Faculty Club Dinner) (1/term)
    4. Senior Graduation Ceremony (end of Spring semester)
Striving to put on this list of events can be a great way to continue showing the true presence of the Ed Secondary on this campus and will be a great step towards building an even stronger Education community on campus.


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List of Best Practices for Student Advisory Boards:
  1. Making sure to have a very clear set of roles and expectations
As an expansion of the above explanation, every SAC should make sure to consistently update and refine their job description as the role expands and changes from year to year. This will allow students to have a more accurate understanding of what they are getting into and what they can be excited to become a part of once they join.
 
  1. Getting a wide range of representations on your SAC
In terms of ethnic and racial diversity, Harvard College does a great job for making sure student groups become diverse bodies in the traditional sense. When it comes to advisory committees however, this is not the only type of diversity that is important. It becomes integral to the success of the organization to make sure that there is diversity of age, year and House on the student advisory board. This will make sure administration gets advice from people of all stages in their college career, as well as when it comes time to advertise events, the SAC gets the widest reach possible.
 
  1. Having a segmented, yet fluid, internal structure
As was the case when the Ed SAC instituted subcommittees, having that internal structure allows for more efficiency when getting work done because there are a specified set of people in charge of each event/task at hand. I would suggest following a similar subcommittee structure (with point people – explained above) for other SACs. That said, the specific subcommittees that each SAC institutes may be different based on the individual needs of each department.
 
  1. Having clear goals for the term/year
Starting the term with both specific event goals and actionable steps you hope to take (i.e.: the list of events above, increasing event participation, etc.) as well as more theoretical goals (i.e.: becoming more inclusive) can be a great way to mark out points of growth throughout the year. Taking the first SAC meeting of each semester to develop and re-evaluate these goals can be a great way to ensure everyone stays on the same page as you move through the year.

 

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