Hi fellow HEUG members,
Not sure if you read my last blog, but we are looking for four (4) new champions to join us this year and elections open this Wednesday, March 25! So, I wanted to take a moment to walk you through what joining the Connected Campus community of volunteers actually looks like — the role, the time commitment, and [almost] everything in between!
THE ROLE
Becoming a Connected Campus volunteer means stepping into a more strategic role as an active participant and representative of HEUG. You'd be collaborating with key stakeholders to drive meaningful engagement across the community — not just within the Technical, Reporting, Security, and Integrations sub-committees, but more broadly. This includes:
- Leading content initiatives like webinars and blog posts to share with our members
- Representing the Community of Practice (CoP) at HEUG assemblies and events
- Coordinating activities like Birds of a Feather sessions and coffee hours
- Engaging with members on social media
- Attending Alliance
- Engaging and cross-collaborating with our fellow community leaders
TIME COMMITMENT
There's no minimum hours requirement — we're all about quality over quantity. That said, each champion does need to earn 50 engagement points throughout the year to maintain their status. In practice, it's very manageable:
- Webinar → 10 points
- Blog post → 5 points
- New discussion thread → 1 point
- Social media content à 2 points
- ...and so on
On average, expect around 4 hours per month, which includes the required CoP and Community Council meetings (one of each per month, each about an hour). That said, it ebbs and flows:
- eptember (Spotlight Month) and February (Alliance ramp-up) tend to be busier — think content creation, webinars, surveys, and community engagement
- Summer is pretty laid back — more like 2–3 hours a month
One tip I always share: recycle your content! Turn a webinar into a blog post. Working through an interesting problem at work? Make it a discussion thread or Q&A. We're also looking to do more library entries and collaborative webinars, so there are lots of ways to get creative and share the load.
NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS
Each year, there's an open call for nominations sent to all HEUG members. There are up to 15 champion spots total (we currently need to fill 4 seats as members are rolling off). Members can nominate themselves or a fellow member for a specific CoP. To be eligible, nominees must:
- Be an institutional or professional HEUG member
- Be part of the community
- Have a profile photo and biography
The HEUG Nominations & Elections Committee reviews all nominations to confirm eligibility. All community members in good standing then vote, and the nominee(s) with the majority of votes for each CoP are elected.
TENURE
Champions serve three-year terms and are eligible for two terms —"An individual is limited to a maximum of 7 years of service on any one AG or CoP."
I hope this gives you a clear picture of what to expect! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or want to chat more about it. And remember...
"You are capable of much more than you are presently thinking, imagining, doing or being." -Myles Munroe, Purpose for Living
Warm regards,
Anna