Faculty Representative Guidelines

Faculty Representatives act as mentors to CPA student affiliates and Student Campus Representatives at the Graduate and Undergraduate level. Our goal is for Faculty Representatives to be available to Campus Representatives to provide advice and act as a resource for students and faculty who are interested in learning more about CPA. If the position is vacant in your department and you would like to be the faculty representative, please contact the Campus Representative Coordinator of the Section for Students to sign up or for more information.

Main Responsibilities:

  1. Serve as a mentor to the CPA student affiliates and CPA campus representatives at their institution.
  2. Collaborate with the campus representative(s) to promote the CPA and Section for Students’ initiatives, activities, deadlines and requests through effective communication with the students and staff at the Psychology Department at the Representative's University, via the internet, information sessions (e.g., brown-bag lunch sessions or be a speaker at a university function, such as a poster session) and posted material.
  3. Be in regular contact with the campus representative.
  4. By providing information, attempt to recruit students for membership in CPA (especially new students to the program) - membership in the Section for Students is free with CPA membership.
  5. Promote the Certificates of Excellence at their institution, and, when possible, aid in the selection process of these awards in conjunction with the review committee in their department
  6. Maintain membership in CPA during one’s term as a Faculty Representative. Please note that is a requirement of the position.

The role of a faculty representative should be flexible, fun, and provide mentorship to students! We would love to hear from you about the activities that you complete as part of your role as a CPA Faculty Representative; please feel free to contact the Campus Representative Coordinator of the Section for Students to tell us about what you have been doing!

Suggested Schedule of Activities

In addition to the suggested activities outlined below, we encourage faculty representatives to do the following throughout the year:

  • Let students in your Department know about the awards that are available through various CPA Sections.
  • Consider writing a short article to appear the CPA newsletter, Psynopsis. If your institution has not been profiled in a Psynopsis Campus Corner, encourage the campus representative(s) to write such an article. Contact the Chair Elect of the Section for Students for more information or if you are interested in submitting an article.
  • Hold an informal brown bag about the role of CPA for students in your department, including benefits of membership and attendance at the annual convention.

 

Month Suggested Activities
SEPTEMBER
  • Establish contact and liase with the Campus Representative(s) and other faculty representatives (if applicable) at your institution. If any of these positions are vacant, help find interested persons to apply for the role.
  • Send an email to the students and faculty in your department outlining the benefits of joining CPA and explaining your role.
  • Find out when your Psychology Student organization meets and plan to attend if possible (to let them know of your role and CPA).
  • Consider symposia that you may want to hold or have as a suggestion for the Section to sponsor at the Annual Convention.
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
  • Submit abstract to the CPA Annual Convention.
  • Hold presentation on how to apply to graduate school (see CPA website at www.cpa.ca/students/studentsinpsychology/resources/ for a powerpoint presentation and notes on this topic, available in both English and French).
DECEMBER
  • Encourage students and faculty members to renew their CPA membership or to join CPA for the upcoming year.
JANUARY
  • Re-establish contact and liase with the Campus Representative(s) and other faculty representatives (if applicable) at your institution. If any of these positions are vacant, help find interested persons to apply for the role.
FEBRUARY
  • Promote and encourage attendance at the upcoming CPA convention.
  • Encourage students (in conjunction with the Campus Representatives) to apply for CPA awards offered by various Sections (see CPA website at www.cpa.ca/students/awards/ for a listing of available student awards).
MARCH
APRIL

 
MAY

 
  • Remind students (in conjunction with the Campus Representative) of the Annual Conference content, including key speakers, information on the student social and student section sponsored events, information on the different sections of CPA.
JUNE
  • Attend CPA’s Annual Conference, and attend Section sponsored events if possible, especially the Student Section Business Meeting and Campus Representative Reception.
JULY
  • If you are planning to leave the position, or if you will be on a sabbatical that will not allow you to be available to students, help find an appropriate replacement.
AUGUST
  • Check the website to ensure that your contact information is correct.