Standard Operating Procedures for Informatics Club Executive Board Officers

Welcome to the Informatics Club Executive Board! These standard operating procedures (SOPs) govern officer responsibilities and have been developed to ensure consistency, professionalism, and the successful management of our organization.

As an officer, your role is integral to shaping the club’s success and fostering a vibrant community for informatics enthusiasts. By adhering to these SOPs, you will contribute to effective decision-making, streamlined processes, and the overall growth of the Informatics Club. This document outlines key procedures and practices, including administrative tasks, communication guidelines, event planning, and member engagement.

We encourage you to review and refer to this document throughout your term. If you have any questions or require clarification, please contact the Executive Board or consult with your fellow officers. Your commitment and dedication to the Informatics Club are greatly appreciated, and we look forward to working together to create an engaging and inclusive environment for all members.

This is a living document. Please make additions and suggestions as needed to improve it.

Please review the onboarding documentation first.

President

  • Different offices/departments will contact the president about involvement opportunities (Recruitment Fairs, Collaborative Events, etc.).
  • The president should contact offices and departments to introduce themselves and seek collaborations as needed.
    • Those groups are listed in the important contacts spreadsheet.
    • Seeking collaborations has been a highly effective way to generate events for the Informatics Club.
  • Always update and discuss with the board regarding participation or collaborations.
  • 🚩 Establish a shared vision and shared goals for the executive board during the summer before the fall semester begins.
  • Create meeting agendas and share with the secretary to add to meeting invitations.
  • 🚩 Attend monthly GSAC meetings.
  • Ensure the organization’s advisor is updated on events.
  • Delegate tasks to the appropriate officer.
  • Ensure that everyone is properly trained on using Engage and other relevant resources.
  • Always consult with the executive board before making big decisions.
  • Plan General Body meetings as needed or desired.
  • Get to know officers personally so that you can understand their strengths and effectively delegate and communicate with them.
  • Always be collaborative and attempt to establish shared governance.
  • 🚩 Have elections in April or May.
  • 🚩 Plan a transition meeting in the summer (June or July).
    • Ensure all outgoing executive board members are removed from platforms by mid-August and after they’ve updated all documentation.
  • 🚩 Plan an event brainstorming and planning meeting prior to the GSG fall planning deadline.
    • It may be best first to hold a brainstorming meeting and then a subsequent planning meeting, allowing everyone an opportunity to contribute well-thought-out ideas.

Vice President

  • Work with the president and complete any tasks they are unable to when needed.
    • Work with the president to complete tasks in general as planning meetings and agendas can be time-consuming.
    • 🚩 You’re the main “go to” person for the president.
  • Help ensure that other officers are completing their tasks.
  • Your role is somewhat as a chief of staff so checking in with officers is an important task.
  • Help the organization wherever it lacks.
    • If someone is struggling with a task or planning an event, step in to help.
  • Attend monthly GSAC meetings if the president is unavailable.

Secretary

  • All previous meeting agendas and event attendance records are documented and uploaded to the Club’s OneDrive or in the Google Docs associated with the organization’s Gmail account (informaticsclubuab@gmail.com).
  • When2Meet is the most commonly used scheduler for planning meeting dates and times.
  • Collaborate with the Social Media Manager on advertising events.
    • This includes posting flyers with the help of the Publicity and Event Planning Committee and advertising via email.
    • Sending emails and especially meeting invitations via Outlook increases event attendance.
  • Add interested students to the roster/mailing list via Engage using their UAB email addresses.
  • Record all meeting minutes for the executive board and general body meetings.
    • Please send these minutes no later than one week after the meeting.
  • Send invitations for meetings using the informaticsclub@uab.edu email.
  • Ensure you have access to all necessary accounts (e.g., Zoom, UAB email, etc.).

Treasurer

  • Use this template to maintain a budget for the organization.
  • Ensure the organization plans a budget before the GSG funding application in August (the first day of classes).
  • Share the proposed budget before submitting it.
  • Attend the funding allocation meeting for GSG and share the funding allocation with the executive board.
  • Provide monthly reports of spending.
  • Work with the event managers to ensure they stay within the budget.
  • 🚩 Work with the event managers to ensure invoices from each event are saved.
    • This is critical for reporting to GSG.

Event Manager

  • Review this event planning guide from GSG.
  • Request flyers at least two weeks prior to the event.
  • All events must be registered on Engage and receive approval from UAB Student Involvement at least one week prior to the event date.
  • It is recommended to submit room reservations for the events as early as possible. With the exception of academic spaces, room reservations for events must be made using UAB’s EMS system. To reserve academic spaces such as Heritage Hall and University Hall, utilize the event registration form on Engage.
    • Please note that Heritage Hall does not permit food in the building.
  • If an event is held at the Hill Student Center without utilizing UAB catering services, a catering exemption form must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the event date, using the designated form.
    • These exemptions are only for foods that Blazer Catering CAN NOT provide (i.e., cultural foods).
  • Order food at least 2 weeks in advance for events.
    • Food can be ordered from any vendor that takes a credit card.
    • We often use EzCater because they deliver and provide utensils/plates/etc.

Social Media Manager

  • The Informatics Club maintains social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Slack, and Canva. All these accounts are associated with the organization’s Gmail account (informaticsclubuab@gmail.com). The social media manager will have access to these accounts.
  • Canva is a handy platform to create flyers quickly. Create the flyers at least 3 weeks prior to the event and share them with the event managers.
  • Each student organization can request up to 25 printed flyers for event promotion through the Student Involvement office. The request must be submitted at least 8 days prior to the event date using this form.
  • The informatics club also has an account on Lnk.bio (it contains some helpful resources for students, like links to Cheaha documentation and office hours for different cores).
  • Mass emails can be sent to all members of the UAB Informatics Club’s roster via Engage.
    • Log in to Engage and click the Informatics Club logo on the sidebar.
    • Go to Roster and click on the messaging button at the top.
    • You can then create a message relay that generates a temporary link that expires in 24 hr. You can send a mass email to all the members by sending an email to the message relay link on Outlook.
  • The Informatics Club also has a UAB Outlook email. To obtain access to this email, please contact the event manager or the president.
  • Advertise events at least two weeks in advance.
  • Advertise events on all social media multiple times before the event date.
  • Collaborate with the social media accounts of different UAB student organizations to promote each other’s events and reach a broader audience.
  • Reaching out to different department chairs via email is a good way to reach more students in different departments while advertising events and increasing engagement.
  • Take pictures during the events and upload them to the social media platforms, as well as the Engage page.
  • Promptly respond to questions/messages received on social media platforms.

Webmaster

  • Communicate small content changes to the website at executive board meetings or via email if they are not highly important.
  • Any major website changes should be reviewed before being published to the main GitHub branch simply to have a set of eyes.
    • This may also be accomplished through a pull request on GitHub.

Information about more student organization resources is available from UAB Student Involvement.