How To Start An Organization

It is easy to start a student organization at Grand Valley. If you don’t see a group that you would like to be active with then help get one started.
Complete information is available at the Register a Student Organization web page.

Starting a Registered Student Organization
An organization MUST have the following for approval:
1.) A minimum of four students, each serving as an officer to the organization
2.) A current full-time faculty/staff member to serve as an advisor or a Division of Student Services graduate student at GVSU.
3.) A constitution* that must be uploaded to Stuey. Must include the following clauses: Purpose - describes the organization's mission and intent on campus; Anti-discrimination policy - must be at least compliant with GVSU's policy; Dissolution - Disbursement of organization resources upon disbandment of organization. Must be given to a non-profit organization or an on-campus fund such as the Student Legacy Scholarship. Organization's funds CANNOT be given to members.
* A blank constitution is available for reference under the 'Resources and Forms' section.

A more comprehensive outline is available in the RSO Handbook.

The Student Organization Review Board (SORB)
SORB is a board of staff and students who are charged with reviewing applications for new student organizations.

The board meets each month during the academic year to review applications and make a decision.

For assistance in starting a student organization please contact the staff in The Student Organization Center located in Kirkhof Center room 008. Please make a point to come speak with us or call 331-2360.

New organizations can be started at any time during the academic  year. Please do not register a new organization during the summer until the first week of class. There are no SORB meetings held in the summer to review statuses, and Stuey refreshes every academic year. Therefore, all new organization data will be lost. However, new organizations are still able to participate in Campus Life Night and MAX-It Out! without final approval.

Below is a list with descriptions of each classification of student organization.

Classifications
Depending on the scope and mission of the organization, the Student Organization Review Board will assign a classification to the group for the purposes of communication, promotion, and funding.

  • Academic & Professional- Organizations focus on academic disciplines or are related to a specific professional field.
  • Cultural- Organizations educate the campus community about non-dominant cultures in order to enhance students' worldviews. They also provide students with an avenue to explore and celebrate their own cultural heritage and provide programs and services designed to support students of various cultural heritages at the University.
  • Campus Programming- Spotlight Production is the program that plans music, comedy, entertainment, and other events for the campus community.
  • Fraternities and Sororities- Provides life-long opportunities for leadership, service, academic achievement, and social involvement through the association with a national organization (See Fraternity and Sorority Manual in Section 16).
  • Faith Based- Organizations serve to enhance a student's spiritual life while providing fellowship and outreach opportunities. 
  • Graduate Student
  • Honor Society- Have admission standards or special requirements such as grade point average, field of study, leadership, or other areas of achievement.  They serve to recognize students.
  • Media - Organizations include two types of opportunities for students.  Entertainment organizations provide campus with a variety of student sponsored entertainment events and programs. Media organizations provide an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience GVTV, Lanthorn, and WCKS (the GV student-run radio).
  • Performing Arts- Organizations provide opportunities for involvement and exposure to the performing arts.
  • Professional Fraternity
  • Housing & Residence Life Community Councils- This category represents all community councils.
  • Service & Advocacy- Organizations are centered on positive student engagement and social change through community service and educational programming.  These organizations hope to raise awareness on social issues.
  • Special Interest- Organizations serve to enhance student life through the co-curricular involvement of special interests and hobbies.
  • Sports- Organizations provide opportunities for competition, personal fitness, recreational activities, and/or school spirit support. These sports are broken down into competitive and non-competitive.
  • Student Senate- Organization serve as governing bodies in various aspects of campus life.

Page last modified January 4, 2013