Student activities

Student activities or campus activities is a broad term describing most student-focused extracurricular clubs and programs at a college or university. Student activities are generally designed to allow students to get more involved and offer them opportunities in leadership, social responsibility, citizenship, volunteerism, and student employment. [1] These activities are typically overseen by a Director of Student Activities, Student Affairs, or Student Engagement who often holds a master's degree in student development or a comparable field. Program directors often provide guidance for clubs, set standards for student run organizations, and can also help network with other institutions through organizations like the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) or the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA).[2]

Types of Student Activities

Student activities generally fall under one or more of the following categories:

Academic

Academic student activities refer to clubs and programming specifically focusing on scholarly endeavors. This can take the form of major-based or area of study-based clubs or programs and events designed to educate students in any scholarly subject matter.

Some examples of academic student activities would be:

Civic Engagement

Civic engagement generally refer to clubs and programming focusing on creating positive societal change. Some of these activities may also fall under the academic category as these activities may work to educate students about social issues and the importance of getting involved.

Some examples of civic engagement activities would be:

Diversity/Cultural

Diversity or cultural student activities generally refer to clubs and programming focusing on representation of minority groups on campus. These activities may also fall under the academic category as these activities work to educate students on cultural differences.

Some examples of diversity/cultural activities would be:

Honor Societies

Honor societies are organizations that recognize academic excellence among students. These organizations are usually exclusive to students who have excelled academically, based on scholastic ranking and/or grade point average. Honor societies are usually national or even international organizations that have established chapters at certain colleges and universities.

Some examples of honor societies are:

Leisure

Leisure activities refer to clubs and programs that give student opportunities to connect with stunts with similar hobbies and simply to take time pure enjoyment and fun.

Some examples of leisure activities would be:

Recreational

Recreational activities refer to clubs and programming that involve some form of physical activity.

Some examples of recreational activities would be:

Religious/Spiritual

Religious/spiritual activities refer to clubs and programming that allow students to connect with other students of similar faiths, practice their chosen faith, and/or learn about other faiths. Many schools have a faith center where these sorts of programs take place.

Some examples of religious/spiritual activities would be:

Student-Run Event Planning Board

A student-run event planning board is a group of students that work under a faculty advisor to plan events for students, such as concerts, speakers, dances, movie screenings, etc. Generally, this board is also responsible for hosting special tradition-type events. These types of groups are often funded by grants from the college or university.

Student-Run Businesses

Student-run businesses can be any sort of business that has an affiliation with the college or university and is almost completely, if not completely, run by student workers.

Some examples of student-run businesses would be:

Greek Organizations

Greek organizations include fraternities and sororities, which are exclusive social organizations. These groups are referred to as 'Greek' for their names are made up of two or 3 greek letters. These organizations generally focus on the betterment and empowerment of members. Students go through a 'bidding' process in order to be initiated into one of these organizations. Universities and colleges also have Panhellenic and Inter-Fraternity Councils, which act as the governing body over Greek organizations. Some honor societies can also be considered Greek organizations due to their Greek letter affiliation, however these organizations tend to be co-ed, while fraternities are all-male groups and sororities are all-female groups.

Some examples of Greek organizations are:

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Penn State Student Affairs". 2015.
  2. ↑ APCA website
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