Officers have access to group management tools, and are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of their groups' pages. This guide will introduce you to some of the major tools you will need to do this successfully.
If you need assistance, please email embark-help@mtholyoke.edu
Access your officer tools
After logging into Embark, your groups will appear as clickable tiles on the homepage. To access a list of your groups from anywhere in Embark, use the "Groups" dropdown menu.
If you are an officer of a group, you will find an officer toolbar down the left side of your screen. From here, you can access your various officer tools.
Appoint new officers
To add an officer, go to your group's Dashboard tab on your officer toolbar (on the left side of your screen) and then select Officers. Once you've clicked on Officers, click the "Add Officer" button on the top right.
Manage your officers
To edit an officer, go to your group's Dashboard tab on your officer toolbar (on the left side of your screen) and then select Officers. You can click on the "Permissions" button to customize each officer's individual role and their ability to manage certain items on your group's Embark page, and you can edit titles directly on the Officers page.
Alternatively, you can update officer statuses under the Members tab by selecting All Members. From there, you can toggle officer statuses using the checkboxes next to each member of your roster.
Please note: You can have your officers show up automatically on your group's website, in which case their "Role" and "Bio" will be displayed, so make sure you fill those out!
Manage your members
The Members tab holds all of your member management tools. Unless you change your group settings to closed membership (Dashboard-> Settings->Close membership->Yes), anyone can sign up to join your group. However, you will need to validate any new members by checking their Validate checkbox (Members->All Members); otherwise, they will not have access to your group.
Add members
From your group page, Select Members and then Add Members on the top right. You can search for a user by typing their name or email address and add them by clicking on their name and then Add.
How to validate members
By default, people who signed up for groups are not automatically considered as members. They cannot access the group information until an officer has validated their memberships.
To validate members in pending validation:
Manage your group (click on the Groups icon on the top menu and select the Manage icon on the right), then click on Members then Current Members. Retrieve all the members that need to be validated by clicking on the Members pending validation link, and check the Validate checkbox.
Some people who register for a group need to be validated manually by group officers to be considered as a member, but you can also set up the system to validate new members automatically:
When you are managing your group, select Dashboard, and then Settings. Click on the Access & Privacy tab and select the appropriate option under the Auto Validation dropdown. Click Save. Click on the Access & Privacy tab and select the appropriate option under the Auto Validation dropdown. Click Save.
Communicate with your members
Head to the Emails tab to communicate with your group members. You can compose new emails using mailing lists or email templates and check delivery status. Here are some userguides:
The Office of Student Involvement encourages Student Org leaders to send group emails though Embark. Not only do you get more control over who you email (whoever you admit as a member of your group), you also have email builder options to create custom newsletters, announcements, etc. To access your email builder, navigate to your group dashboard and click the Emails widget. In the top right corner of the "Sent Emails" page, click "Compose Email." The email composer will lead you through a series of steps. First, select who in your group will receive the email. Next, choose which builder tool you would like to use: Email Composer, or Email Builder.
Email Composer offers a series of template options to choose from. You can choose your recipients and sender, and populate a template all in one page.
Email Builder is a newer Embark tool that allows you to build your own email template. Choose your recipients and sender, then pick a starter template and customize it to your preference. Email Builder is more time consuming than Email Composer, but includes a broader range of widgets that you can include in your final email. It is ideal for more formal newsletters, announcements, etc.
Embark will send your final email to the @mtholyoke.edu accounts of all of your group members! It will also save them to the "Sent Emails" page.
Additionally, your group will have an open discussion forum known as your "feed" as your main group page. To access the Feed as an officer, click on Group Page under Dashboard in your officer toolbar.
Please note: You can have your officers show up automatically on your group's website, in which case their "Role" and "Bio" will be displayed, so make sure you fill those out!
Create a survey or form
Create surveys and forms under the Surveys & Forms tab. While surveys and forms have the same functionalities, forms are more compact in appearance than surveys. Also under this tab, you can set up elections for your group's officers or polls for quickly gathering information from your members. The different kinds of surveys and forms are:
Change your group's settings
Under Dashboard->Settings, you will be able to manage many of your group's administrative settings. If anything you wish to change is locked, such as changing your group name or category, you can contact Embark support at embark-help@mtholyoke.edu
Change your group's privacy
To change your group privacy settings, navigate to your group dashboard and click on the Settings widget.
At the top of the Group Settings page, click Access & Privacy. In Access & Privacy, you can write signup instructions for prospective members, enable auto-validation for certain account types that request membership, ask for additional information from users that request membership, determine if members can see each other in the group, and determine whether membership is public or not.
To change access to the content in your group, navigate to "Membership" at the top of the group settings page. Click "Access rights" under membership privacy, and choose which users can access your group content.
To change officer permissions (what officers can access and change on your group page), navigate to your group dashboard and click on the Officers widget. In the top right corner, click "Permissions."
The Officer Permissions page will provide you with a list of tasks your officers can perform on your group page. Check the boxes to give permission, and uncheck to remove!
Share and store files
Under the Files tab, you will be able to store files and photos. You can change the access rights to folders so that some folders are only available to officers, while any member can access other folders
Manage your website
Administer, edit, and customize your group's website under the Website tab. You can also create blogs and discussion boards.
For more information, go to the Websites page.
Who can start the Re-Recognition process?
Students who were listed as officers on last year's forms have been tagged as organization officers in Embark (the Primary Contact has been listed as the President, and the Treasurer/Authorized Signers have been listed as Authorized Signers), and will be able to access the Re-Recognition form and training/quizzes.
Anyone listed as an Officer can fill out the Recognition Form, and can change and edit the officer roster as part of this process.
The two (2) Treasurer / Authorized Signers should be the ones to be the ones to complete the financial (Ways & Means and Business Office) trainings and quizzes.
Two (2) Officers should complete the RSO 101 and two (2) should complete the Events trainings and quizzes. The Event training should be taken by social chairs or event planners.
Fill out the Re-Recognition form
Navigate to your group, and then you will see the blue re-registration button.
You should be redirected to a new page where you will be able to modify your group's information (you may first be asked to sign a waiver for joining the group, if this is your first time logging into the group). Fill out all the required information - make sure to click Submit when you are through.
There is a place in the re-recognition form where you can upload your constitution, but the constitution is not due until October 14th. If you are not ready to submit it when you are filling out this form, that's fine - you can submit it through the constitution upload feature in your group's page.
If you started the form and saved it as a draft, go to the left hand menu on your home page (once you log in) and then click "My Surveys/Forms" to find it again. When you have completed the form, make sure to click Submit. You will not find the form if you look for it through your group's Survey section. You need to look in your own.
