Applications for Student Organization, Graduate and Part-Time Student Council (GPSC), P.U.L.S.E. and Funded Group executive board positions are out now on Cougar Link. Students are encouraged to apply for the plethora of positions available as soon as possible as the application closes Friday, March 1 at 2 p.m. 

There are 65 positions open for Student Organization which include the following:

• President 
• Executive Vice President
• Vice President of Funded Groups
• Vice President of Programming
• Vice President of Kean Ocean
• Treasurer
• Assistant Secretary
• Senior Class President
• Junior Class President
• Sophomore Class President
• One Class Officer for each class 
• Nine Class Senators for each Kean class
• Five Class Senators for Kean Ocean

To be eligible to apply for any one of these Student Organization positions, students must be a full-time undergraduate student. For more specific information regarding each position's eligibility criteria and responsibilities, check out the "2019-2020 Student Organization Executive Board and Senate Application" on Cougar Link. 

Twenty-nine positions for Graduate and Part-Time Student Council are also open, for any student wanting a leadership position that falls under the part-time undergraduate or graduate student category. The open positions are as follows:

• President
• Vice President 
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• 23 Graduate or Part-Time Student Council Senators

More information on any one of these positions can be found on Cougar Link in the "2019-2020 GPSC Executive Board and Senate Application."

The 21 positions for P.U.L.S.E. Programming Board are separated into three separate applications:

• 2019-2020 P.U.L.S.E. Programming Board Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator at the Kean Union Campus
• 2019-2020 P.U.L.S.E. Programming Committee Application at the Kean Union Campus
• 2019-2020 Kean Ocean programming Board Committee Application

P.U.L.S.E. works as a sub-committee whose primary purpose is to help plan and host events for the university. In contrast, Student Organization and Graduate and Part-time Student Council (GPSC) work more within the realm of addressing student body issues. 

All executive board positions for each funded group are also open to apply for. There is a variety of 18 funded groups that fall within the funded group category. These include:

• Accounting Club
• Association for Computing Machinery
• Biotechnology Club
• Catholic Newman Club
• Criminal Justice Club
• Earth Science Club
• International Student Association
• Kean Ocean Criminal Justice Club
• Kean Ocean Forensic Psychology
• Kean Theatre Council
• Kean University Anime Society
• Kean University Hillel
• Muslim Student Association
• Pan-African Student Union
• Physical Therapy Club
• Pre-Medical Pre-Dental Association
• Social Work Club
• Student Occupational Therapy Association 

Each funded group has positions open for a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and director of public relations within their executive board. To apply for any position within any of these groups, check out the "2019-2020 Funded Group Executive Board Application" on Cougar Link.

All of these applications are run through Student Government. For any non-funded group, students need not apply through Cougar Link applications posted by Student Government. Non-funded groups typically run their own separate elections for their executive board.

These positions serve as a great opportunity for students to acquire important life skills for any future career they may aspire toward.

Managing Assistant Director of the Office of Student Government Carli Hench said, "The leadership that comes with [the position], the team work, the collaboration and the communication skills are all important. We talk a lot about 'soft skills.' Employers are not seeing that our graduates are always having the soft skills." 

Hench emphasized the importance of gaining experience, not only for oneself but also in regard to finding employment in the future. Students gain a multitude of critical experience and skills such as the ability to negotiate, team build, plan and more, all of which will be a necessity for graduates to relay to potential employers come time to find a full-time job. 

Hench also encouraged students to campaign for themselves around campus to help in the voting process that takes place on Cougar Link once all applications are processed. Hench has found that students who collaborate with others to help promote each other have a greater likelihood of success in the election although it isn't guaranteed that the whole collaborative group will be elected.

For more information on any of the positions or to apply, check out Cougar Link.