First Steps

Congratulations! You've been chosen as an undergraduate departmental representative!

Planning and organization are the main keys to success for all UDRs. So we've put together a list of suggested action items for you to take in your first days on the job.

• Identify your primary department/program contact(s) and mutually decide the best ways to communicate with each other, how often you will meet each semester and the best means of communicating with your majors and minors via social media and the student email list.
• Hold an initial planning meeting with your primary contact(s) and fellow UDRs in your program. Identify and begin planning a specific program or initiative for fall semester.
• Ask your academic administrator to post your biography, photo and contact information on a conspicuous place of your department/program website and in the main administrative office.
• Send an introductory email to all majors and minors in your program. Let them know who you are, ways in which you can advise them, what you’re planning to do and how to contact you.
• Draft an email introducing yourself to the faculty of your program/department. Share your plans for the year and ask how you can be of assistance. Ask the academic administrator to email the faculty on your behalf.
• Identify large and/or introductory classes in your major/minor. Ask the professors of those classes for a few minutes at the beginning or end of class to introduce yourself, share your plans and get email addresses from nonmajors and nonminors who wish to receive UDR emails.

Examine Program Needs and Plan Accordingly

• Meet with your academic administrator and/or undergraduate advising head to review plans for the upcoming year. Review past UDR reports and surveys for ideas.
• Think about what you want to accomplish during each semester as a UDR and set one or two goals for yourself and the department/program. What specific information would be most useful to the department/program? What projects might you undertake?
• What programs were well-received in the past? What programs were not successful? Examine why some programs were successful and some were not.