Tuesday, March 31st

Greetings Org Leaders, 

We hope you are all adjusting to the remote life of Stout and finding opportunities to connect within your student org.  If you missed last week’s edition of The Loop, make sure to check it out as we provided resources to help you meet virtually with your org.  

Here are a few announcements and resources for the week.

1. Running Effective Virtual Meetings
2. Accessing UW-Stout Agency Accounts
3. Fall Meeting Blanket Reservations

Running Effective Virtual Meetings

It's important to meet with your org in a virtual environment.  Use Microsoft Teams and continue to update your meetings and events in CONNECT with the virtual event link to join in the location field.  Read last week’s email for best practices. 

It can also be helpful to re-think how to host a meeting virtually.  Below are a few tips for running an effective virtual meeting. 

• Test the technology well before the start of the meeting.  Test it with another fellow officer to get familiar so that the meeting can be productive from the get-go. 

• Use the video feature, not just audio. It helps build community in an online environment. Plus, everyone misses seeing your face. 

• Have everyone mute themselves when they’re not talking.  It’s something small that makes a big impact. 

• Start each meeting with an opportunity to connect with everyone. Have everyone share a high of their week -something good that happened. Or use a different icebreaker to get people comfortable and talking from the start.  

• Use the chat feature within the virtual meeting. Integrating the chat feature helps ensure clear communication and gives everyone a chance to respond, share or set up a speaker queue of who’s next in line to speak. 

• Speaking of that, it’s important to ask things like “what do people think of this?” or “does anyone have anything to add?”  Be ok with some silence on the other end as some people may need additional time to think. 

• Start and end on time.  As always, be respectful with people’s time.  Everyone is juggling multiple commitments right now.   Maintaining your regular meeting time you had prior can help when going virtual.    

• Set clear agendas, outcomes, and action items.  Upload these files to your CONNECT page and share them with the members ahead of time.  Microsoft Teams will also allow you to share your screen and display these documents during the call for everyone to see.  

• Meet one-on-one with other e-board members.  This is a great way to maintain connection and keep moving the organization forward.   

Accessing UW-Stout Agency Accounts

As a student organization, you may have an agency account held within Business & Financial Services. To request a check or update approvers while away from campus, please complete the appropriate required form.   

Once completed forward the form to your organization advisor for approval. Your advisor may then forward the email chain to Nancy Brody at brodyn@uwstout.edu to approve the transaction. All requests must come from an approved advisor and the email chain must be between documented organization approvers.  

If you wish to make a deposit, please contact the Involvement Center and we will assist you in making deposit arrangements with Business & Financial Services. The Involvement Center staff is also available to answer any questions you have regarding accessing your organization’s agency account. 

Fall Meeting Blanket Reservations

Blanket reservation requests for FALL SEMESTER 2020 (September 9, 2020 – December 15, 2020) will be accepted starting Tuesday, April 7 at 8:00 AM.  Blanket reservations are student organization’s weekly/reoccurring meetings that reserve the same time and day every week of the semester for organization meetings in the Memorial Student Center or Merle Price Commons.   

Requests will be confirmed on a first come, first served basis only.  

Make your Blanket Reservation Request (Opens Tuesday, April 7th at 8:00 am) 

Direct all reservation questions to Ben Markl, Conferences + Events Coordinator