The purpose of this checklist is to assist A&A Faculty Advisors for A&A-affiliated RSOs with establishing the advising relationship and ensuring clear expectations for the departmental relationship for the RSO.
Beginning of the year
RSO officers should meet with the Faculty Advisor and ensure they have clarity around the following topics:
- Check-in schedule-- set up at least a monthly check-in meeting
- Go over expectations for how questions and requests get brought to the advisor and how quickly they will be answered
- Go over gift budget and process for determining usage
- Review general departmental resources that are available as well as the request process
- Review expectations regarding project communications
- Review expectations for health and safety
- Confirm the RSO is trained and in compliance with general RSO requirements and policies as outlined by the Student Activities Office
- Appoint purchasing/facilities liaison
- Ensure RSO communicates officers and liaison contacts to the undergraduate advisor
Where to go for resources requests and questions
It is expected that RSO officers and their Faculty Advisor will review requests from the RSO and approve when necessary. Questions and requests will be sent as indicated below.
| Type of question | Where to go |
|---|---|
| General RSO operations and policy questions | Student Activities Office - Engineering groups are assigned an advisor. |
| Technical questions for projects and competitions | A&A Faculty Advisor |
| Requests for funding or other departmental resources | All requests need to be attached to a project or competition and should start with a conversation with your Faculty Advisor. Once approved by the Faculty Advisor, please follow the procedure for requests for resources. A&A releases an annual request for departmental support. This request goes out at the beginning of October and is due by October 31st. Approvals are sent by November 15th. Additional requests can be made on an ad hoc basis and will be answered within 2 weeks and are subject to funding availability. All funding approvals require an annual plan that has been approved by the Faculty Advisor. |
| Purchasing requests | Once the A&A Faculty Advisor has approved the request, the departmental liaison can send purchasing requests to aerobuy@uw.edu following the departmental process. |
| Facilities requests | Once the A&A Faculty Advisor has approved the request, the departmental liaison can send facilities requests to aafacilities@uw.edu |
| Gift budget questions | Send questions and requests for appointments to the Undergraduate Advisor at aeroadvising@uw.edu. |
| Meeting room requests | Please follow A&A’s room request policy. |
Health and safety
It is the responsibility of RSOs to keep their Faculty Advisor informed of the competitions and projects they are engaged in. It is an expectation that any health and safety requirements will be discussed and an action plan will be created and documented in writing between the RSO and Faculty Advisor prior to engaging in the work.
RSO officers and the advisor should discuss:
- Expectations for this communication and documentation and who is responsible for what.
- Review A&A Departmental Health and Safety Requirements. This includes the following trainings:
It is an expectation that the RSO’s will keep training certificate records for any members engaged in activities and they will ensure all members have completed these trainings prior to engagement in any project or competition activities.
On-going communications
RSOs should be providing at least a monthly update to their Faculty Advisor. This can be completed in-person or via email as agreed between the Faculty Advisor and RSO officers. The update should include the following:
- Update on current projects
- Any needs or questions that need to be addressed
- Details on any upcoming projects or competitions