Chapter 2: Branch Administration

Par 1: Chair

Part 2: Vice-Chair

Part 3: Secretary

PArt 4: Treasurer

The Officers of your Student Branch are the Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary.  Each Officer has specific duties, but it is, once again, very important that you work together as a team.  While the Student Branch Chair is the Executive Officer of the Branch, he/she is not the "boss" with the others being his/her subordinates. 

The Branch Counselor is a University or College faculty member, an active IEEE member, who serves as an advisor to the Branch and its student Officers.  As the Officers usually change annually, and sometimes more often, the Counselor lends a very important sense of continuity to Branch affairs.  As such, the Branch Counselor is a key individual whose participation is vital to the success of a Branch. 

The Branch Counselor is appointed by the local Section Chair, upon the recommendation of the Student members of the Branch and the consultation of the Regional Student Activities Chair (RSAC), and serves with the approval of the Department Head.  The appointment (or re-appointment) is normally for two years.  In addition to a vibrant and good working rapport with the Student Officers, the Counselor should be in frequent contact with the Section Student Activities Chair (Section SAC).  He or she should act as a liaison with the Section, the Region, and IEEE Headquarters, and should be familiar with all aspects of Branch operations.

Specific duties:

1. Ensure that information from IEEE Headquarters is transmitted to the student officers.
2. Attend Executive Committee meetings and assist Branch Committees.
3. Participate in regional Student Activities Committee meetings.
4. Consult with Section Student Activities Committee (SAC), Regional SAC Chair or Regional Director about Branch Activities or problems.
5. Promote the online application for all new student applications and the online renewal.
6. Foster good relations with the local section and encourage students to establish regular liaison with the Section SAC Chair.
7. Establish industrial contacts for Branch programs and activities in conjunction with the Branch Mentor.
8. Promote student awareness of awards, contests and benefits of membership.
9. Interest other faculty members in the activities of the Branch.

To maximize the interac­tion between IEEE Student Branches and the local Sections. Student Branch Mentors should be appointed.  Frequent communication between students and Section members is important to help students become an active part of IEEE while a Student member and, as a result, will maintain their membership after graduation.

A Branch Mentor is a Section member not associated with the university who is appointed by the local Section, in consultation with the Student Branch members, to serve a specific IEEE Student Branch.  It is anticipated that each Branch Mentor will be a member of both the Section Student Activities Committee and the Student Branch Executive Committee.  He or she will provide guidance, serve as a liaison between the Student members and the Section, and encourage new graduates from the branch to maintain their membership and stay involved in IEEE activities.

Branch Mentors:

•      Meet with the Student Branch regularly
•      Participate in the Section Student Activities Committee
•      Assist Student Branches in developing programs
•      Provide a bridge between the Student Branch and local Section
•                  Work with the Student Branch officers, the Counselor and the Section Student Activities Committee

Program Benefits:

•      Increase interaction between Student Branches and local Sections
•      Complement the efforts of existing Branch and Section student activities
•      Improve retention of recently graduated members
•                  Provide Student Members an additional view of IEEE and its many activities and benefits
•      Improve student/faculty/industry cooperation
•      Increase young member participation in Section activities

If your Branch would like to participate in this program, and would like some help in finding a Branch Mentor, you should contact your local Section Chair.  Branch Mentor appointments should be registered with IEEE Student Services.

It is quite seldom that any event you plan will attract all the members from your Branch.  Instead, you must plan a varied program, based on a cross-section of interest.  Having different operating committees can help you achieve this goal of a balanced, broad-reaching program of activities.  By hav­ing several subcommittees, you can also involve more of your members in the planning and lead­ership of many activities.  A Branch with many active members is one that will have a successful program of activities; a Branch where only a few are involved will soon find itself tired and unenthusias­tic.

Before you decide to form a new committee, you must determine precisely what function the committee is to serve and what steps must be taken to achieve the prescribed goals.  Since a committee is only as productive as its leadership, it is essential that your committee chair either have the necessary organizational and leadership abilities, or be given the time to develop those abilities.  There are many successful engineers in industry now who will attest to the fact that their IEEE Student Branch was the first place they were given a chance to develop their leadership skills.  Do not worry if your volunteers are unsure of what to do at first.  Guide them along, give them some time, and they will develop the skills they need.

You should keep in mind that not all committees may exist every year.  Some years, you may have an abundance of volunteers and more activities than historically normal.  Other years, you may find students unwilling to volunteer their time.  If you have lots of committees and a large program, that's great.  You should then try to focus your efforts on trying to maintain this new level of participation.  If, however, you find a lack of volunteers and a very small program, don't be too discouraged.  Do the best to run a scaled-down program.  While it may seem to you that your effort is in vain, don't forget that at the same time, you are developing your own organizational and leadership skills.

Once again, depending on the size of your Branch, the number of committees will vary.  In a small Branch, many of the duties may be assumed by the Executive Committee, or you may find that every member is an active member.  Some key committees are:

•            Program Committee – responsible for planning and running your Branch's program of activities for the year.  A program of meaningful activities (both technical and social) can help increase your membership and participation.

•            Publicity Committee – responsible for advertising all Branch activities.  This may also involve public relations with non-engineering faculties and the general public.

•            Membership Committee – responsible for planning, organizing, and carrying out Branch recruitment.  Each member of this committee should have a thorough knowledge of membership benefits, Branch programs, and be able to answer questions such as "Why should I join the IEEE?".

•      Finance Committee – responsible for helping the Treasurer plan fundraising activities.

•            Nominating Committee – responsible for setting the election guidelines and dates prior to the annual election of Officers.  This committee must ensure that all candidates are Student mem­bers in good standing at the time of their declaration, and should pay careful attention to why an individual is running.