Starting a New Organization
How to Start a New Student Organization
You should first search the Student Organization Database to see if an organization with a similar focus already exists. If not, you can proceed to form a new one.
Here’s a link to the Student Organization Recognition Policy, http://policy.iastate.edu/policy/sorp/, which may be helpful in understanding the requirements of student organizations. Briefly, organizations should:
· have at least five members
· have a president and treasurer (two distinct persons)
· have an adviser (should be at least a half-time permanent employee of Iowa State University)
You can start the process of forming an organization by taking the following steps:
· On the SAC website click on 'Clubs and Organizations' and then 'Search Student Organizations'
· Select Manage Your Organizations and login.
· Select Add New Organization near the top of the page.
· Complete the screen that comes up. The more detailed information provided, the more likely the group is to be approved on first review. You can always log in again and change or edit any information here. Once you click “create” a new screen will allow you to enter more information. The two most critical sections here are the roster and the officer sections.
o To add members, go to Edit Roster under Membership Information, and select Add Member. Members are added by university net ID, or by any email address, so be sure to have that data at hand when you enter the roster. You need to have at least five acknowledged members in the roster before the new group can be approved. Each person added will receive an email with instructions to acknowledge their membership.
o Also, be sure to designate the required officer positions (president, treasurer, and adviser) to the appropriate people on your roster. You can designate someone as an officer in the same “Add Member” step that adds them to the roster.
o Additional officers may be added, but are not required. Additional officer positions (vice president, webmaster, etc.) are added in the Edit Officer section for your group. A title must be added to your list of officer positions before a person can be designated as holding that officer position.
· Print the Compliance Agreement Form (found in the edit officer section), gather the signatures of all the officers and adviser listed and drop it off at the Student Activities Center in the Memorial Union.
At that point, the new organization will be reviewed by the Student Organization Review Board for approval. Once the organization is approved, you are eligible for the benefits of recognized organizations, which are listed in the Policy.
