Navigating turnover in student groups

Types of Student Groups

  The campus ecosystem is made up of four main types of student groups. 

Student Associations	Student Associations operate at the campus, faculty, and department level; and act as the democratic voice of students in their membership. These unions often have permanent funding collected through a fee-levy which allows them to sponsor events, make donations, and offer paid roles, both as elected executives and hired staff.	Elected executive positions (ex. SECMV : unpaid roles, ASFA: paid roles) Hired work-study program of Concordia (ex: Campaigns Researcher, CSU)
Fee-levy Groups	Other campus groups can get funded through fee-levy by gaining the support of the student body. Like Student Associations, these groups have recurring funds. Unlike student associations, they can focus on specific topics or needs, such as campus food security, grants for community projects, etc.	Sustainable Action Fund (SAF Concordia) QPIRG Mcgill
Campus Clubs and Committees	Campus Clubs and Committees are funded by wither the student association of the university. Generally, clubs and committees are small groups of volunteers or participants who are sign-up, are appointed, or apply to participate. They can get their funding through funds allocated each semester by student associations to various projects sur as clubs and committeees, but also grassroots student groupes	McGill Debating Union CSU BIPOC Committee
Grassroots Student Groups	Grassroots Student Groups or Direct Action groups are informal collectives of students organizing within a given campus or a collection of campuses. While some student groups have a long history, many are emergent and exist to give a space for students to organize around a popular issue. These groups apply for funding on a needs basis.	Divest McGill Coalition Étudiante pour un Virage Environnemental et Social (CEVES)

Grassroots student groups face the highest risk of dissolving as a result of an inability to property turnover the group to the next generation of student organizers. This is because they do not have the permanence of structure that is required of other types of student groups. While being informal gives these groups freedom and flexibility, the absence of a formal structure can lead to challenges when it comes time for one generation to hand the reins over to the next. These challenges can be avoided by working strategically before turnover happens to create systems of support and guidance for new members, as well as developing institutional memory within your group.