The University of Wisconsin-Superior Student Ambassadors are a team of students that link current students with administration, alumni, foundation members, and the community. The student ambassadors work on the following:

• Promoting the campus' educational and leadership opportunities,
• personalizing the campus for prospective students, alumni, foundation members and surrounding community.
• Bring the face of this institution into the surrounding community.
  

Governing Document for Student Ambassadors

Preamble

We, the members of the Student Ambassadors do hereby establish this document in order that our purpose be realized to its fullest extent.

The name of this program shall be the UW-Superior Student Ambassadors, henceforth referred to as Ambassadors. 

Article II.        Mission

The University of Wisconsin-Superior Student Ambassadors are a team of students that link current students with administration, alumni, foundation members, and the community. The student ambassadors work on the following:

Promoting the campus' educational and leadership opportunities, personalizing the campus for prospective students, alumni, foundation members and surrounding community. Ambassadors also bring the face of this institution into the surrounding community.

Article IV.      Membership

Section 1. Members

A. Membership shall be open to any University of Wisconsin-Superior (UW-Superior) student who is in good academic standing and has completed a minimum of one semester at UW-Superior.

B. The ambassador team will include no fewer than 10 UW-Superior students and no more than 20 students.

C. Membership can be terminated only by the individual member's written request or the failure of an individual member to meet the requirements of Ambassadors as stated in this governing document and the Ambassadors Bylaws as determined by the Executive Board in consultation with the Advisors.

Section 2. Selection

A. Selection for membership shall be made during the Spring semester each year. The number of accepted new members is dependant on the number of current members.

B. A special selection process may be implemented at any time due to unexpected departure of Ambassadors as seen fit by the Advisors and Executive Board.

C. Applications for membership shall be made available to interested students in March of the Spring semester at least two weeks prior to the application deadline.

D. Members shall be selected by the Advisors and Executive Board.

Section 3. Attendance & Special Assignments

A. All meetings are required.

B. All members are allowed three (3) unexcused absence per semester before she/he is brought before the Executive Director and Advisors for membership review.

C. Excused absences can be acquired under certain circumstances as outlined in the Ambassadors Bylaws.

D. Any member who agrees to assist with a special assignment and does not report for that assignment shall be given one (1) unexcused absence.

Article V.       Directors and Duties

Ambassador shall select, from among themselves, by the method described in the Bylaws, an Executive Board. Directors shall consist of: Executive Director for Student Ambassador Development, Tours, Preview Days, Special Events, UW-Superior Host Program, and Alumni Relations.

Section 1. Executive Director of Student Ambassador Development

The Executive Director shall be the highest office a student can hold in Ambassadors. The Executive Director will work closely with the Advisors to fulfill all duties as outlined in the Bylaws.

Section 2. Admissions Liaison Director

The Admissions Liaison shall work closely with the Admissions Office.  The Admissions Liaison Director will fulfill all duties as outlined in the Bylaws.

Section 3. Director of Special Events

The Director of Special Events will work closely with an advisor from the Campus Life division. The Director of Special Events will fulfill all duties as outlined in the Bylaws.

Section 4. Director of Alumni Relations

The Director of Alumni Relations will be the liaison between the Ambassadors and the Alumni Association and UW-Superior Foundation. The Director of Alumni Relations will also fulfill all duties as outlines in the Bylaws.

Article VI.      Advisors

Staff members from the UW-Superior Admissions Office and from the Campus Life division will be the advisors for the Ambassadors.

Article VII.     Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings of Ambassadors shall be held on a biweekly basis. The first meeting of Fall and Spring semesters shall be a retreat for the whole team. The subsequent meetings will be held at a reoccurring time convenient for the largest number of members.

Section 2. Special meetings of Ambassadors may be called at the discretion of the Executive Director, Advisors, or upon petition of the membership.

Article VIII.    Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to the Ambassadors governing document shall be presented to the members for review and discussion at least two consecutive meetings prior to voting on proposed amendments.

Section 2. All Amendments must be brought to the Executive Directors' meeting prior to being introduced to the membership as a whole.

Section 3. Any member may propose amendments to the governing document. Amendments must be approved by 2/3 of the membership and, if approved, shall take effect immediately unless otherwise indicated in the approved amendment.

Section 4. Amendments to the Bylaws shall be presented to the members for review and discussion at least one meeting prior to voting on the proposed amendments.

Section 5. Any member may propose amendments to the Bylaws. Amendments must be approved by a simple majority of the organization members and, if approved, shall take effect immediately unless otherwise indicated in the approved amendment.

Article IX.      Ratification

Section 1. The affirmative vote of more than 1/2 of the Ambassador membership will be sufficient for the ratification of the Governing Documents.

Section 2. Voting shall take place during the Spring semester of the current year.

Section 3. Upon ratification, these Documents shall supersede any Documents written before the date of ratification. All rules and regulations, whether written or implied, in use at the date of ratification, shall be null and void.

UW-Superior Student Ambassador Bylaws

Article I.         Ambassador Duties

• Assist with campus recruitment events organized by the Admissions Office (i.e. preview days, high school visits, campus group visits…)
• Represent the University at various functions and community events (i.e. the Chancellor's Ball, Career Fair, Alumni and Foundation events, Graduation, UW System events…)
• Work cooperatively with the Chancellor's Office, University Advancement Office, Admissions Office, and Campus Life.
• Uniforms- Ambassadors are expected to wear their uniform to all events and tours unless told otherwise by an advisor. Uniforms will be chosen each year by the Advisors and Executive Board.
• Nametags- It is important that ambassadors are easily identified at all assignments.  Thus, nametags are required to be worn at all events unless otherwise specified.
• Absences- If an Ambassador misses an assignment that they are scheduled for, or volunteer for, it will count against their three (3) unexcused absences. If a legitimate conflict arises Ambassadors may acquire an excused absence by contacting an Advisor. Legitimate reasons include emergencies and illness.
• Communication- UW-Superior email is the official communication tool of Ambassadors and as such, Ambassadors are expected to read any and all emails sent out by the Executive Board, Advisors, or members of the organization.
• Internet Networking -In order to ensure the safety and integrity of Ambassadors we ask that Facebook pages, Myspace sites, and other online community sites reflect a positive image of the University and of the ambassadors.  Ambassadors are also encouraged to not house personal information (i.e. phone numbers, addresses…) on these sites as well.

Article II.        Training

• Retreats- Each semester a full day retreat will be held. Retreats are mandatory for all Ambassadors. Ambassadors will be informed of the retreat dates in advance in order to make appropriate accommodations to attend. Retreats are required in order for new Ambassadors to be trained on tours and procedures, as well as to familiarize themselves with the Executive Board, Advisors, staff, and organization as a whole. Returning Ambassadors will be required to attend a portion of the retreat, this is to ensure that everyone is on the same page for the semester and to build camaraderie within the organization. Retreats will also be used as a way to update all Ambassadors on changes around the campus. As representatives of the Admissions Office and Campus Life it is essential that Ambassadors are up to date on all campus information.
• New Ambassador Shadowing- At the beginning of a student's tenure as an Ambassador they will be required to shadow at least 2 full tours before becoming integrated in the tour schedule. New Ambassadors will be paired up with a returning Ambassador and will be slowly integrated into taking over the tours and upon completion of their first month as an Ambassador will be expected to give a full tour alone.
• Executive Director/Advisor Shadowing- Throughout the semester the Executive Director as well as the Advisors will shadow tours and interactions through random selection. This will give Ambassadors the opportunity to receive individual feedback about their interactions, creating an environment for constant learning and improvement.

Article III.       Meetings

• Purpose- In order to have consistency in information and procedures, bi-weekly meetings will be held. All Ambassadors are required to attend unless their academic schedule does not allow for it.
• Scheduling- In order to ensure that Ambassadors will be in attendance at the bi-weekly meetings the academic schedules of the Ambassadors will be taken into account. While it is not possible to accommodate all Ambassadors, every effort will be made to accommodate the majority.
• Minutes- Since 100 percent Ambassador attendance to meetings is not feasible; minutes will be taken of all meetings and distributed to the entire ambassador team and the Advisors. The Executive Director, in consultation with the Executive Board, will determine how minutes will be distributed each academic year.
• Semester Long Absences- All meetings are required unless a Ambassador's academic schedule does not allow or special arrangements have been made with an Advisor and the Executive Director before the third week of the semester for semester long excused absences. Legitimate semester long excuses will be left to the discretion of the Executive Director and Advisor. 
• Individual Absences- If an Ambassador misses a meeting it will count against their three (3) unexcused absences. If a legitimate conflict arises Ambassadors may acquire an excused absence by contacting the Executive Director or Advisor. Legitimate reasons include emergencies, illness, class field trips, tests, etc. Individual excused absences will be given at the discretion of the Advisor with the consultation of the Executive Director if the occasion arises.

Article IV.      Events & Special Assignments

• Definitions- Events can be requests from campus and/or community members where student ambassadors are asked to serve.  Assignments are considered events that are required by all student ambassadors (such as graduation, preview days, chancellor's ball…)
• Scheduling- Events and assignments will be announced at bi-weekly meetings.  Volunteers will be asked to sign-up for events as they are announced.  Each ambassador is expected to participate in all events of which their schedule allows.  Directors are expected to have dates to the Executive Director 3 days prior to regular meetings in order to get the events/assignments on the agenda.

Article V.       Directors

• Selection-
• Nominations – An ambassador may be self-nominated or nominated by a fellow ambassador or advisor for any director position in the spring semester after selection of student ambassadors.
• Applications – A nominated ambassador can accept the nomination by filling out an application for the directors' position.
• Interviews/Elections – Elections will be held at a regularly scheduled meeting last in the spring semester. The ambassador team will have the opportunity to interview directors' candidates.  A majority vote will seat the director.
• General Duties-
• LEAD BY EXAMPLE
• Attend bi-weekly Ambassador meetings and assigned events
• Attend Executive Board meetings outside of Ambassador meetings as they arise
• Assist and present at Ambassador retreats
• Assist with Ambassador interviews
• Work with Advisors on projects as they arise
• Be of assistance to any questions/concerns Ambassador may have or provide additional training
• Stay updated on campus information
• Executive Director of Student Ambassador Development-
• Work hand in hand with the Ambassador Advisors
• Create a training schedule and timeline in cooperation with the other Directors
• Facilitate selection of new Ambassadors
• Schedule and co-lead regular Ambassador meetings with the Advisors
• Facilitate team-building exercises within the Ambassador Team
• Admissions Liaison Director-
• Preferably a hired tour guide with the Admissions Office
• Work hand in hand with Admissions
• Assist in scheduling tours for large groups, for Preview days and for other special events in which need tour guides
• Recruit ambassadors to participate in panels and hosting prospective students over night
• Director of Special Events/Assignments
• Attends Superior Chamber Ambassador meetings and coordinates Student Ambassadors for Chamber events
• Work collaboratively with Ambassador Advisor on Special Events such as:
• Commencements
• End of the Year Event
• VIP visits
• Director of Alumni Relations
• Work closely with Alumni Association and UWS Foundation on events such as:
• Donor Luncheon
• Reunions
• Chancellor's Ball
• Attend Alumni Association meetings
• Vacancies- If a vacancy on the Executive Board occurs, one of two actions need to be taken:
• Summer- if the vacancy occurs during the summer the vacancy will be announced and nominations called for via email. Once nominations are received the ambassador team will vote via email.
• Academic Year- if the vacancy occurs during the Academic Year the vacancy will be announced at the Ambassador meeting and nominations asked for. Voting of the full Ambassador membership will take place at the following meeting.
• Advisors-
• Advisors will consist of no less than one (1) staff member from Campus Life and one (1) staff member from Admissions, totaling no more than 4 Advisors.
• Advisors will work with the Ambassadors on all events, projects, and other responsibilities as needed each year.
• Advisors will be able to make exceptions to membership requirements (see Article IV, Section 1, Sub-Section A of the Governing Document) on a case by case basis in consultation with the Executive Director.
• Advisors will hold Ambassadors accountable to "good academic standing" (Article IV, Section 1.A)

Article VI.      Membership Selection

• Applications- Applications will be available for Ambassadors each semester. Applications will be obtained at the student center Information Desk, the Admissions Office reception desk, and online. Applications will be available for a minimum of two (2) weeks. Completed applications will be turned in at the student center Info Desk.
• Interviews- Interviews will take place at a time convenient for the Executive Board and advisors. Interviews will be run in accordance with what is convenient that semester. Interviewers will be given a standard comment sheet to fill out about each applicant with standard interview questions.
• Selection- The Executive Board along with the advisors will discuss each applicant after all interviews are completed. The number of applicants offered a position in Ambassadors depends on the number of Ambassadors leaving the organization in that given semester. Selection will be based on an applicant's interview as well as their academic, extracurricular, and work schedules.
• Contracts- Each new Ambassador will be required to sign a year-long contract indicating their training and responsibilities.
• Returning Ambassadors- Current ambassadors are not required to go through the selection process.  If they chose to return as an ambassador for subsequent years they will be allowed to as long as they are fulfilling their duties.

Article VII.     Year End

• Final Event- An end of year event will take place each Spring semester to show Ambassadors how appreciated they are by the campus and Admissions office.
• Director Change- During the week prior to finals of the Spring semester Director positions will transition during a Executive Board meeting.