Each advisor perceives their relation to a student organization differently. Some advisors play very active roles, attending meetings, working with student officers, and assisting in program planning and development. Others maintain a more distant relationship to the organization. The depth of advisor involvement is dependent on the needs of the organization, needs that may change through the year as well as year over year.  An advisor accepts responsibility for keeping informed about activities of the organization and for advising officers of the organization on the appropriateness and general merits of policies and activities. However, advisors are not responsible for the actions or policies of student organizations; students are solely responsible. Advisors should be both accessible and interested and should provide whatever counsel a group or its members might seek.

Following are some of the roles you may assume as an advisor: 



Mentor. You may be approached to review resumes, to connect students with community resources, or to be a sounding board for student’s ideas of what they want to accomplish in their chosen field. At times, students will seek you out to assist with their personal development.

Team Builder. 
When new officers are elected or new members join the organization you may be needed to support the transition of students from individuals with separate goals and expectations into a team working towards a common goal. Taking the time to be intentional about team-building will allow the organization leaders to set expectations for member roles and responsibilities, for students to feel connected to the mission of the organization and each other, and for the group to create a collective identity.

Mediator
. Inevitably, students are going to join the organization with different agendas, goals, and ideas about how things should function and the direction they should be taking. When working with students who have come into conflict, it may be necessary to meet with them and have them discuss their issues with each other. You may serve as a coach to the student leaders, a neutral party to mediation, or the mediator.  

Reflective Agent. 
One of the most essential components to learning is providing time for students to reflect on how and what they are doing. As an advisor, you should create a welcoming environment whereby your students can reflect on their performance, their strengths and their weaknesses, their successes and their failures.

Educator
. One of the most difficult actions to take as an advisor is to do nothing, but sometimes this can be the most important action of all. Allow the students to make their own decisions even if they do not agree with your ideas. Sometimes, students will succeed; other times, they will fail. The key is to return to the role of the reflective agent and give the students a safe place to learn from their experiences. 



Motivator. 
As an advisor, you may have to motivate students to carry out their plans and achieve their goals. Some students are easily discouraged and at the first sign of difficulty they may want to quit. You will need to be their "cheerleader" to keep them excited about all of the potential successes they will experience. You can motivate students through the recognition of their efforts, appealing to their desire to create change, and to connecting their experiences here at the University to the experiences they will have in the community and in their future careers. 



Policy Interpreter. 
Student organizations operate under policies, procedures, and rules. At times, students may not be aware of these policies and they will do things in an inappropriate manner. The more you know about these policies the better equipped you can be to advise them on their plans. 


As an advisor you will assume numerous roles and all possible roles are not mentioned here. A key idea to remember is that you are an advisor not the leader. You provide guidance, insight, and perspective to students as they work on projects, but you should not be doing the work. Students will learn if they are engaged. Be careful about doing the work of the students. The students make the decisions, and they are accountable for those decisions and for the successes and failures of their groups.