Explains the roles and functions of the Alumni Association and how to join.
Progressive U Groups (6)
As a member of the Progressive U Alumni Association, you may create community groups in which you can share and discuss ideas and experiences with other members of Progressive U.
A group provides a home page for people with common interests to share and discuss their ideas and experiences with other members. This is a wonderful way to expand your horizons, learn from other people with similar interests, learn about something new, or create new friendships with other members on Progressive U.
There are virtually no limits to the types of groups to be found on Progressive U.
To see a list of currently active groups, you can visit this page.
Progressive U's mission is to foster an environment in which everyone is comfortable to discuss and share their opinions. With hope, the groups will help to reflect that mission.
Essentially, these groups are not meant to be sophomoric in nature. They are meant as a gathering place for like-minded individuals to discuss their opinions together on progressive issues. Not to bash, harrass, or otherwise degrade other members of the site.
Here is a list of examples regarding many of the groups on Progressive U:
We do realize that there may be interest in groups not currently related to Progressive Values. For example, there may be several members who merely want a place to exchange recipes or craft stories. This is acceptable provided that Progressive U's TOS is adhered to.
If you do not see a group that you are interested in listed in the Groups Directory, or if you would like to see someone create a new group, you may write to any member of the Progressive U Alumni Association with your suggestion.
Currently, the option to create a new group is only open to members of the Progressive U Faculty and members of the Progressive U Alumni Association. However, anyone may join a group.
To create a group, click on the "Create content" link on your navigation menu; then click on "Group".
This will lead you to a page in which you can set up your group and get it ready to launch.
You will need to fill in the following fields:
On the listing of groups directory you'll notice that the managers of each group is listed by username.
The manager of a group is the person who created the group. By creating a group, that person also assumes responsibility for monitoring the groups' activity and content. Additionally, that person also agrees to answer any questions related to the group.
Unlike posting a blog entry to your normal account, groups works more similarly to the discussion forums.
When trying to post a new topic to your group, you may only create Forum Topics. Since forum topics have no word limit, you may post topics as short or as long as you like.
When you decide to create a new forum topic, you must fill in the fields as you would normally post a new forum topic to the main forums. However, you must select the appropriate forum to list your post. Most forum topics are better placed in the "Other Groups" Forum listed about half-way down the page.
Additionally, you will want to decide whether or not your post is to be public or private. To do this, scroll down the page until you see a link reading "Groups". This link will open up to a list of groups you are currently a member of. You may select any number of groups to be able to view this post. By selecting no groups, or selecting public, the post will be viewable by everyone.
For the most part, you will have the option to list your posts as private (only visible my other members of your group) or public (all members of Progressive U will be able to read your post).
Whether you decide to make your post private or public will be up to you. Either option offers advantages and disadvantages depending on what you're trying to post.
By opting to keep your post private, the content of your post will not be viewable by members outside of your group. This also means that your post will not be indexed by Google or other search engines, and will not appear when members of Progressive U search the web site for content. This may be optimal for posting things like stories or sensitive information that you wish to be kept private.
However, if you want a large number of people to be able to access, read, and comment on your post, you might wish to consider allowing the post to remain public. This will allow the post the same privileges and accessibility as any other post on Progressive U.
Please note: Directors of the Alumni Association and some members of the faculty can read all posts in all groups, regardless of their privacy settings. Keep this in mind when you decide to make a post. Content within groups must still adhere to Progressive U's TOS and violations will be dealt with.
The Progressive U Alumni Association, formerly known as the "A-Team", is a group of long-time members of Progressive U who have attained credibility and respect for their work with Progressive U.
Many members of the Progressive U Alumni Association may choose to volunteer to be Faculty members; however the Association was set up primarily to offer a spot where survivors of the Progressive U Blogging for Progress Scholarship contest could relax and recuperate.
Members of the Progressive U Alumni Association can be spotted by the 
badge viewable on their profile page. Regardless if these members have volunteered to join the faculty or not, they have earned the respect of Progressive U and its members; any advice from an Alumni Association member is generally warranted and can help you, as a newer member of Progressive U, to learn the ropes of our site.
Membership to the Progressive U Alumni Association is by invitation only. To receive an invitation to join the Association, you must be recommended by a current member and/or be in the top 1% as far as number of posts and comments. Association members must also have a clean recent record on the site, which mean no one who's spammed other users, violated the Terms of Service, or had valid complaints made about them during the past contest.
Each member of the Alumni Association has a badge denoting this honor. They are also able to form new groups on Progressive U, and help the faculty test out new features for the site.
