OrgSync links clubs and organizations together

By: Ashley Wislock

A new online program which links all the clubs and organizations on campus together was launched by the Student Senate of Lycoming College in late February.

OrgSync is a club and organization networking community which not only allows organizations and their members to interact in a secure community, but it allows clubs to keep up-to-date with the policies and procedures of the Office of Student Programs and the Student Senate.

“(OrgSync) is going to increase the ability of clubs and orgs to function on campus,” A.J. Francavilla, executive president of the Student Senate, said.

Student Senate was approached by the executives at OrgSync through the American Student Government Association, who were looking to expand their program to smaller schools, as opposed to the mostly large-scale universities they had been servicing. Francavilla said that OrgSync has worked extensively with the Student Senate to create features which are tailored for the Lycoming community.

“They’ve done a lot of customization for us,” Francavilla said.

Francavilla said that in the future, all clubs and organizations on campus will be required to maintain an OrgSync account under Student Programs. This will not only help clubs organize discussions, posts and photos, but it also will help Student Programs keep tabs on the membership rosters of organizations, eliminating the need for club presidents to resubmit the lists every year.

“We can keep current and keep down the amount of work we have to do,” Francavilla said. Francavilla described several other features on OrgSync organizations can use to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. In the future, through OrgSync, clubs will be able to keep alumni updated on their activities, collect dues and donations and maintain Web sites.

“(Club presidents) are going to have the ability to manage (their) organizations better,” Francavilla said.

He said every student on campus can sign up for OrgSync, and that Student Senate is looking into using the online portal for elections and campus-wide polls. However, Francavilla noted that changes will be implemented incrementally, and will be based on the response from the campus community.

“We are making sure that voting is going to be handled in the best way for Lycoming,” he said.

Francavilla said that OrgSync is different from the popular college networking Web site Facebook, due to its specific concessions for clubs and organizations.

“OrgSync is focusing on the ability to enhance student life through organizations and networking,” Francavilla said. “It’s what Facebook was originally meant to do.” Francavilla emphasized that OrgSync is a secure, Lycoming-based community, which clubs can tailor to fit their specific needs, as opposed to Facebook’s status as a public forum which is standard for every user.

The Senate president said that Student Senate is working to provide students with the ability to learn the workings of this new technology through convenient, picture FAQ’s, located on the Student Senate Web site, www.lycoming.edu/orgs/senate.

OrgSync itself also provides twice-daily on-line training sessions through their Web site, www.orgsync.com. Every registered club and organization on campus is eligible to use this free service.

Francavilla encouraged students with further questions to contact OrgSync through their web-site, e-mail senate@lycoming.edu or contact either Larry Mannolini or Sarah Hillis in Student Programs.

Francavilla hopes that in the future, students all over campus will enjoy using the new portal to manage their extra-curricular activities on campus.

“It really is a positive program,” he said. “I hope people are going in with an open mind.” As for himself, Francavilla said he is anxious to see where the new technology is headed in the future.

“There’s a lot of potential in this program,” he said. “I’m really excited to see where it’s going.”