Creating A New Organization

You can create your own on-campus Registered Student Organization through the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership! Use the guides and templates below to preview the steps to registering your new student organization.

How-To Guide & Constitution Template

Unrecognized Student Groups Notice

On occasion, students may form groups or organizations that operate separately from the University’s approved structure for student groups and are therefore unrecognized by the University. These organizations typically choose to operate as an unrecognized student group because they are unwilling to follow University expectations and standards for membership, operation and adherence to the University’s rules of behavior. Unrecognized student organizations are not affiliated with the University and will not be listed anywhere on the University’s list of recognized student organizations or recognized fraternities or sororities. Unrecognized student groups receive no funding from the University and are not permitted to use any University facility for meetings or events, nor are they permitted to participate as an organization in any University events. The University provides no supervision, advising, or support to unrecognized student organizations. Students are strongly discouraged from joining or affiliating with any unrecognized student organization.

Requirements for New Student Organizations

SU students interested in registering a new student organization on campus must submit a registration form through the Involved@SU platform. Requirements for a new organization include having at least 10 SU students interested in joining, assigned Executive Board officer positions, a faculty or staff advisor, and a CSIL-approved constitution.

New organization registration will be open through the end of the second week of the fall and spring semesters. Once the registration process has begun, any new organizations will begin as special interest groups for one full semester. Upon completing a full semester, the interest group would register as an organization and be assigned an organization type (operational, event-based, supply-based, sports clubs, etc.). The requirements for registered student organizations include attending CSIL Training Sessions and monthly SGA Forums, as well as maintaining an active Involved@SU page.

RSO Benefits

Once established as a registered student organization, the group’s members and Executive Board officers are offered tremendous benefits and access to campus resources. The organization will be provided assistance from CSIL staff for event planning and operating, as well as support from departments such as Event Technical Services, Support Services, and the Creative Services and Brand Strategy Office. Additionally, the organization will be granted access to a financial account, aided with funding and travel procedures, added to the Event Management System to request space for events and meetings, and provided new marketing channels, including a table at the fall and spring Involvement Fairs, an Involved@SU page, and advertisements in the CSIL Daily Email.

RSO Advisors

All SU registered student organizations are required to have an advisor who is a full time SU employee. An advisor serves as a resource for the student organization providing guidance to the student leaders. They may have expertise or general interest in the subject area. The advisor’s role in the organization will depend on the development of the organization itself and the leadership skills of the executive board. A newly formed organization may need more direction than a well-established organization. In times of leadership turn over, the advisor provides continuity between the old leadership and new leadership. Newly formed student organizations select their own advisor. This advisor remains in service until they no longer wish to serve, or the organization feels the need to find a new advisor. A decision to change advisors, whether initiated by the students or by the advisors themselves, should involve clear communication between all parties. Updates should be entered in Involved@SU and CSIL must be notified.

RSO Advisor Commitment Form

Role of the Advisor
- Act as a resource for your RSO. Your experience in planning and organizing, as well as your broader knowledge of the University community, gives you an expertise that you can share with the student leaders.
- Be familiar with the purpose and structure of the RSO. The constitution and bylaws can help, but we recommend attending regular meetings from time to time to fully understand what the organization does, and how you can best provide support.
- Understand the RSO’s financial structure. This is an important way you can help your students. Very often advisors can, and do, assist in the development and implementation of their organization’s budget. Some questions to ask: Does this RSO receive University funding? If so, how and how much? Do members pay dues, or do they raise money through fundraisers? How is the money used? Are there spending guidelines?
- Be familiar with the approval process for funding.
- Meet with the organization’s president on a regular basis (at least once per month)
- Remain informed of all activities sponsored and conducted by the student organization and attend events as feasible.
- Attend big events. Advisors are required to attend any event that is considered high risk, expected to have over 100 attendees or might need University Police supervision. Advisors are required to attend events held in the Auditorium, Assembly Hall, Great Hall, Maggs and on Intramural Fields. We encourage the advisor to be a part of the planning process as well, so that on the day of the event the advisor already knows all the details. A member of the CSIL staff may stand in if the advisor is unavailable.
- Accompany travel. CSIL does not require advisors to accompany students traveling unless travel is international or required by the venue.
Tips for Advisors
- Introduce yourself to the new leadership each semester or each year.
- Stay informed of an organization’s plans and problems. This can be accomplished by attending meetings and events, reading the campus paper and electronic news groups, and talking with student leaders.
- Be visible and accessible to students. Eat where they eat, walk where they walk and maintain an open-door policy.
- Arrange regular meetings with student leaders. The meetings may range from informal conversations about how things are going to more formal critiques of leadership skills. However, the form the meetings take is not as important as their frequency and regularity.
- Give feedback. Have informal conversations about programs, advertising, and the planning process. Give constructive criticism and suggestions of how to improve for the next time around.
- Model good leadership. The same requirements apply to the advisor that apply to students when programming: careful planning, budgeting, and collaboration.
- Give recommendations and suggestions, not orders. Present ideas as options rather than requirements. Organizations will be more willing to accept them if they feel they have a choice in the matter.
Organization’s Responsibilities to the Advisor
Advisors should expect the officers of the student group to:
- Keep advisors informed of all the organization’s activities, meeting times, locations, agenda items.
- Meet with advisors regularly. CSIL recommends that officers meet with their advisor every other week to discuss how things are going and check-in.
- Treat advisors with respect.
- Inform advisors of any potential problems that may affect the organization of the University.
- Be considerate of their professional obligations and to not leave important matters to the last minute.
- Be the decision-makers and initiators of the student group’s programming and policy.
- Use advisors as a sounding board for discussing plans and problems.