WMU introduces GoRSO, helps students find niche

By Jason Koole
Western Herald

Have you considered joining a Registered Student Organization on campus but wasn’t sure which one to join?

Western Michigan University has created a new system called GoRSO to help students solve that problem.

According to Stephen Fountain, a graduate assistant in the Student Activities and Leadership office and an RSO development advisor, there are over 310 Registered Student Organizations at WMU.

To help students find an RSO that caters to their interests and filter through ones that don’t, WMU created the electronic system, which was implemented this past week.

“[GoRSO] is accessed through the GoWMU portal so all students using the portal will know exactly where to go to get involved with an RSO or create their own,” Fountain said.

GoRSO features different tools for students, including the option to create a profile, select their interests and even select which times work best to meet with their RSO. Then, as RSOs register themselves on the system, they select their interests as well and students will get paired with that RSO if their interests match.

GoRSO also has features that let students known when events are happening within the different RSOs.

“The very first page that shows up on GoRSO is the event calendar and flyer board,” Fountain said.

“So you’ll have flyers for different events happening on campus, specifically for new students so they can see the plethora of events that RSOs are constantly holding.  They can then attend those events and learn more about the organization and hopefully join it.”

Although WMU had a program like GoRSO in the past, Fountain said that this new program is a major improvement over the old one.

“In the past, we used a system called SOAP, which was the Student Organization Administration Program,” Fountain said.

“It was limiting because it didn’t have a calendar of events and it didn’t allow a lot of customization for the organizations.”

Kristen Dyball, cultural events coordinator for the Campus Activities Board, agrees with Fountain about the usefulness of the new system, GoRSO.

“I love it,” Dyball said.  “I think it will be so much easier for students to access news and students will be able to see what other organizations are doing so they don’t try to plan an event on the same night.”

Besides introducing students to their peers, RSOs can also help students with learning leadership, according to Dyball.

“Students should join an RSO because it is a great way to help build leadership here on campus, to communicate with students on campus and to help collaborate with other organizations on campus,” Dyball said.

If students are interested in starting their own RSO, they should start by finding three other people interested in starting their own RSO as well and draw up a constitution, which students can find a template for on the SALP website.

Next, the students should visit GoRSO and click on the organization tab where they will be prompted to fill out their name, group description, constitution and names of all functioning members.

“The biggest thing to do [when you are starting an RSO] to be visible on campus is to have events to talk about your organization as much as possible,” Fountain said.

“Also, collaboration is key.  The organizations that have been around for awhile and have a lot more presence on campus are the organizations you want, as a new RSO, to pair up with to get your name out there as well.”

For more info, check out the website: https://wmich.collegiatelink.net

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=19696

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 5 2010. Filed under Breaking, Campus, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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