Risk Management Officers

A Risk Management officer is a member of your executive team who works with your advisor(s), the Department of Student Activities, and other student leaders to identify risk management issues for your organization and develop appropriate responses. Some of the job functions of this position might include:

• Raising awareness of risk-related issues
• Coordinating training and education on risk management for your members
• Developing policies and procedures to address risk issues
• Producing and/or maintaining an operations manual
• Connecting fellow leaders with risk management resources, such as Event Planning information and the Student Organization Manual

Your organization's Risk Management officer may be a new position that you create, or it could be a responsibility incorporated into an existing officer position. Either way, this officer must be an active participant in your regular meetings and stay in communication with all members. The Department of Student Activities can provide training and other forms of support for this officer, but we suggest that you select someone who has a basic familiarity with all areas, policies, and procedures of the organization; good communication and conflict management skills; experience facilitating discussions or meetings; motivation and creativity; and a willingness and ability to effect positive change for the group.

Your organization might find it effective to create a team to focus on risk management issues, led by the Risk Management officer. Such a team could identify and discuss organizational risk issues, develop action plans to respond to identified issues, seek and obtain resources to assist with risk management, educate all levels of the organization about the action plans, monitor and evaluate the organization's performance, and document your progress to train and transition future leaders of the organization.

Operations Manuals

Operations manuals are strongly suggested for student organizations, and may be required as enhanced expectations for high-risk student organizations during the recognition process.  An operations manual serves as a resource for any member of your organization who is planning an organizational event or activity, or who is making a decision that might impact the organization.  It also serves as an important record of the guidelines, procedures, and expectations set by your organization, making it a very effective tool for training and transitioning new leaders.

Although operations manuals will vary in content based on the unique needs of each student organization, basic components that are standard for an “ops manual” include:

• Governing Documents, such as your mission statement, constitution, and goals.
• Officer Information, such as job descriptions, organizational structure, and procedures for transition.
• Advisor Information, such as expected role and responsibilities and the Advisor Agreement Letter.
• Standard Operating Procedures, such as membership standards, discipline procedures, publicity guidelines, and financial plans.
• Risk Management Plans, such as event planning procedures, safety guidelines, and relevant Texas A&M student rules.
• Organizational History, such as past calendars, event evaluations, and financial records.
• Appendix of Forms, such as travel forms, waivers, membership applications, and event planning forms.

For more information about operations manuals, please refer to the attached document at the bottom of this page.

Resources

The Student Organization Manual provides guidance and suggestions about leadership experiences and situations common to many student organizations:

• Facilitating effective meetings
• Transitioning new officers of the organization
• Assessing and evaluating your programs and events

Effective leaders of student organizations also strive to familiarize themselves with the policies and procedures related to significant problems or negative situations, in order to prevent these risks from being realized. Below we provide information about three of the most commonly recognized problems on college campuses.

Alcohol Policies

• Appendix VIII of the Texas A&M University Student Rules outlines the alcohol rules and laws that apply to student organizations, on-campus residents, and other constituents.
• Information about hosting student organization events involving alcohol or events at a location where alcohol is present/available can be found in the Student Organization Manual and on the Risk Management website.
• The office of Alcohol and Drug Education Programs in the Department of Student Life promotes responsible decision-making regarding alcohol and other drugs through education, assessment, and referral.

Hazing Incidents

• Our department's systematic approach to proactive risk management for student organization events is a good starting-point when planning events that are designed for new members of your group. Hazing is a situation that entails physical, reputational, emotional, financial, and facilities risks all at the same time, so it is imperative that students understand the definition of hazing and how to prevent such incidents.
• Helpful information about planning successful events for new members that will not entail hazing can be found in the Student Organization Manual.
• Appendix VI of the Texas A&M University Student Rules outlines the hazing rules and laws that apply to student organizations and individual students or other campus constituents.
• The university's Stop Hazing initiative includes information about relevant rules, laws, and reporting mechanisms for hazing incidents on campus. Visit the Reporting Hazing site for contact information of the various offices who respond to reports of hazing on or off campus.

Sexual Harassment

• Student Rule 47 provides a definition of sexual harassment, examples of common situations on college campuses, and procedures for reporting incidents and/or filing grievances. This site also explains the process for the university's investigation of reported sexual harassment complaints.
• The office of Student Welfare Services in the Department of Student Life provides information and reporting mechanisms about sexual harassment and sexual assault.
• The Women's Resource Center provides advocacy, support, and referrals related to women's issues on the Texas A&M campus.
• The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Resource Center offers resources, referrals, and support services for GLBT Aggies and their allies.
• Lastly, incidents of hate or bias can be reported through the Stop Hate website for Texas A&M. 

Teaching Effective Decision-Making with Jenga

The popular game of Jenga can be an excellent tool to teach effective decision-making and the value of proactive risk management. The objectives of this activity are for participants to:

• Be able to analyze key components of an event or activity
• Assess the various risks inherent to their activities
• Identify strategies for minimizing to an acceptable level and/or eliminating those risks

This activity is intended for students and/or staff members who are actively engaged in the planning or coordination of student organization events or activities, and works best with between 5 and 30 participants.

Instructions

1. Set up Jenga game for regular play.
2. Explain the rules of standard play: participants can use one hand only, they must pull out the first block they touch, and the removed block must be stacked on top of the tower.
3. Present participants with a hypothetical event (road trip, hosting or attending a conference, etc.). You can also use an actual upcoming event for the organization.
4. Ask participants to describe in detail all activities associated with the event, challenging them to think beyond the major components.
5. Explain the major components physical, reputation, emotional, financial, and facilities risks. (For information and examples of the five categories of risk, visit the Event Planning section of the Student Organization Manual.)
6. As each person plays the game, have him/her identify a single risk associated with the event being planned. Each block removed represents a single risk.
7. Continue playing until (A) the tower falls, or (B) participants cannot identify any other risks.
8. (A) If the tower falls, discuss how an event is impacted by the realization of its risks. Consider the nature of the risk associated with the last block pulled, as it may have represented a major risk or a minor risk. Ask participants how they should assess the probability and scope of potential consequences for each risk when planning an event.
9. (B) If participants run out of risks before the tower falls, discuss how the standing tower represents unrealized risks. Consider the nature of the risks associated with the blocks that were pulled. Ask participants to consider whether the standing tower has to do with effective planning or luck - are we accustomed to pulling off events with unrealized risks?
10. Regardless of the outcome of the Jenga game, each block pulled increased the overall risk of the tower falling. A block pulled for even a minimal risk, when coupled with more complex risks, could cause the tower to fall. Conclude the activity by discussing realistic strategies for minimizing or eliminating the potential and perceived risks associated with this event, and the organization in general.

Developmental Opportunities

The Department of Student Activities offers numerous opportunities for further leadership development throughout the year.  Look for announcements and advertisements for these and other seminars and workshops!

Organizational Development Presentations

The Risk Management & Organizational Development Services team offers regular workshops on specific topics of interest for student leaders and advisors.  Previous topics have included fundraising, travel, motivating members, communication and conflict resolution, officer selection and transition, and planning effective retreats or orientations.  These seminars are tailored to meet the needs of your unique organization and often entail helpful activities that you can use in the context of your specific group.  You can register to attend a presentation in our department, or we can come to your organization's meeting and speak to you there!  Please fill out the presentation request form to set up a workshop for your group.

StrengthsQuest™

The mission of the StrengthsQuest^TM program at Texas A&M is to facilitate participants’ achievement of academic, career, and personal success through identification, development, and utilization of their top 5 strengths.  To that end we facilitate sessions with all sizes and types of groups, including student organizations.

Leading With Your Strengths

Leading with your Strengths is a 4-hour seminar for students who are interested in learning more about their natural strengths in order to become more effective leaders.  Participants will take the Clifton StrengthsFinder inventory to learn their 5 strongest talents.  Knowledge of these talents, processed alongside Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Practices Inventory, will allow students to learn how best to lead themselves in order to be prepared to lead others.  Registration will be available on StuAct Online.

Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for College Students

Attending a “Seven Habits” workshop will help you discover a renewed sense of direction, restore balance to your life, learn to accomplish your goals with greater productivity, learn to work with others and form strong team unity, and increase your influence in key relationships.

LeaderShape

The LeaderShape Institute is an intensive and energizing six-day student program that teaches key leadership issues.  Students can be nominated to attend the LeaderShape Institute through their academic departments or through various departments within the Division of Student Affairs.  Interested students can also apply independently.  Participant applications will be posted in February.  The LeaderShape Institute at Texas A&M is open to freshmen, sophomore, and junior level students who are interested in producing extraordinary results while also developing a commitment to lead with a high level of integrity.

Student Leader Learning Outcomes (SLLO) - Department of Student Life Studies

The Student Leader Learning Outcomes (SLLO) project was created for students and advisors to be able to document a student’s leadership skills and the student’s intentional growth over time.  Using the rubrics allows a student to document leadership skills from one organization to another and to be able to articulate those skills (with examples) when applying for jobs or to graduate school.  The rubrics cover topics including communication, critical thinking, delegation, diversity, effective meetings, fiscal responsibility, membership selection, project management, and risk management.