By GIRISH SWAMINATH
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
All student-run clubs and organizations are encouraged to utilize OrgSync, an online platform designed to enhance communication among the Fordham student population, student leaders and Office of Student Leadership and Community Development (OSLCD).
OrgSync is supposed to be a tool for student leaders, but many are unsatisfied with the platform
While OSLCD attributes the improvement of campus communication and club management systems to the OrgSync platform, student leaders claim to rarely utilize the platform and do not feel that OrgSync has elicited any improvement in their club operations. According to OSLCD, students can use OrgSync to make room reservations, create events, request and refer to club budgets, reallocate funding and communicate with members of their organizations.
“In regards to the club leader experience on campus, [OrgSync] puts almost everything that the club leaders need in one place,” Shannon Driscoll, assistant director for Student Organizations and Programming at OSLCD, said. “It also allows OSLCD to collect much-needed information about clubs and organizations, which helps the office advise clubs more effectively.”
OrgSync is not limited to club leaders but is also used “in a myriad of ways” by various student groups and the Fordham community. OrgSync is designed to inform students of weekly campus events and help students choose different organizations with which to become involved.
“Students on campus looking to get involved can review the ‘What’s Going On?’ weekly emails sent via OrgSync to all undergraduate students, access club contact information, join clubs or selectively choose which organizations they want information from, review full event calendars and connect with student organizations on campus,” Driscoll said.
OSLCD also utilizes OrgSync as a medium for campus-wide communication for marketing, advertising and delivering information to certain organizations and groups, such as seniors and commuting students.
“OrgSync is vital to the student experience in terms of real-time communication, whether campus-wide from a department, campus-wide elections, information specific to populations, marketing and general advertising,” Driscoll said. “Commuter Student Services sends regular communication ranging from important updates to events, and the Commuter Assistants use it to effectively advertise programs. The senior class is informed about senior programming and class-related information.”
OSLCD believes that the utilization of OrgSync is a large step up from the paper-based system in place at Fordham prior to fall 2011.
“OrgSync has also improved the way that OSLCD advises and supports clubs by helping the department to collect richer information about club and organization activities than it was able to before,” Driscoll said. “For example, thanks to OrgSync, OSLCD can better understand what kind of events student groups are holding and when. Using this information, we will know which dates have a lot of programming and which will not, so that we can plan accordingly and advise clubs more effectively.”
OSLCD also feels that OrgSync serves as a “powerful tool” that has improved the quality of club operations and its department.
“OrgSync provides information about clubs and organizations that OSLCD can share with other entities on campus to demonstrate all the wonderful things our clubs are doing,” Driscoll said. “One of the many benefits of OrgSync is that it has helped standardize processes for clubs, as all clubs fill out the same forms and submit the same information. OrgSync is a great tool that is incredibly flexible in how we are able to utilize it on campus.”
Student leaders are generally not satisfied with the implementation of OrgSync and feel that alternative methods could be utilized to streamline campus communication.
“I try to avoid using [OrgSync] because we can effectively get more work done as a club without it,” Adrian Whiting, FCRH ’14, co-president of Autism Speaks U – Fordham Univ, said. “It has never been fully explained, taught or utilized by the upperclassmen currently on campus, although I know it is being pushed on the freshmen. I think there are better systems out there that can do the same things OrgSync can do in an easier to understand platform.”
Students also believe that the lack of timely response by OSLCD limits the usefulness of OrgSync.
“OrgSync has only been a nuisance in terms of working with OSLCD staff,” Megan Cattel, FCRH ’15, vice president of Asian Cultural Exchange and a staff writer for The Fordham Ram, said. “Often times our room reservations and event approvals are left unanswered, and we are forced to visit the office in McGinley several times before getting feedback on our situation. I think that it is an electronic tool with the potential for being efficient, but right now it is not providing any kind of convenience for student leaders because of [a] lack of follow up by OSLCD.”
“I really hate using it. My club tries to avoid using it because it’s more troublesome and our members never check on it,” Kristal Gonzalez, GSB ’14, lieutenant governor of Fordham Circle K, said. “[The] administration takes forever to approve our events or doesn’t answer them at all.”
Some student leaders utilize OrgSync solely for the purposes of reviewing existing budgets and appealing for new budgets, but they otherwise find the platform not completely effective.
“I personally have never used it and don’t intend on using it,” Nikki de Castro, GSB ’14, chief philanthropic officer of Smart Women Securities said. “Only one person from our organization uses it for budgeting-related matters but other than that, no one from our club uses it.”
“I have never used it myself, and only our treasurer has [used OrgSync] for budgeting reasons,” Sohail Qazi, FCRH ’14, president of Operation Dreamcatchers, said.
Some students frequently utilize OrgSync, but they believe that the poor integration of the platform in club operations negatively impacts the smooth execution of club events.
“We use OrgSync, but we find that our members generally do not respond to the events on the site. Social media advertising has proven far more effective,” Faith Forgione, FCRH ’14, vice president of Fordham Paranormal Society, said. “We have many issues with room reservations and other logistical issues that OrgSync should, in theory, take care of, but instead further complicates and requires us to directly contact OSLCD instead. [OrgSync] is a great concept in theory but in practice has been implemented poorly and has only further complicated our communication with OSLCD. On multiple occasions, it has negatively impacted our ability to run stress-free events that go off without a hitch.”
I object very much to the name. The “synchronization of orgies.” The “sinking of organizations.” Surely I am not the only one to imagine unsettling possibilities when reading or, worse, hearing, the name of this new and alarming tool. Or, perhaps I am, but I am very sensitive, and isn’t that worth something? Please, try say “orgsync,” over and over, very rapidly, and perhaps you’ll understand.