Starting A New Club Or Organization

Recognizing the social, academic and developmental benefits of Greek Life, SUNY Oneonta and the Oneonta Inter-Greek Council resolves to provide and adhere to a fair and reasonable expansion policy for all interested full-time undergraduate students at SUNY Oneonta.

For more information on Starting a Chapter please review our Code of Rights and Responsibilities for Greek Social Letter Organizations.

Go Greek!

Procedures

1. Students who wish to register their groups will do so online via Campus Connection/Engage, SUNY Oneonta’s organizational management system. Only currently enrolled SUNY Oneonta students can be members of a registered student group.
2. The application process for first time groups is conducted annually during the fall semester between September 1st to November 1st. Students submitting documentation after the deadline are not eligible until the following year. A group must have a minimum of five enrolled student members to register and three enrolled students to maintain registration. Registered student groups may, if there is continued interest, re- apply annually via SUNY Oneonta’s organizational management system, and will be approved, provided group and roster information is current and correct.
3. All SUNY Oneonta registered student groups must have an advisor. The advisor must be a fulltime faculty or staff member of SUNY Oneonta. Verification will be done via email.
4. Prospective Registered Student Groups who submit incomplete, fraudulent or inaccurate documentation will not be eligible until the following year, or beyond at the discretion of the Director of Student Life and Leadership/Hunt Union. When a group submits a fraudulent registration or goes inactive the Director of Student Life and Leadership will submit a recommendation to the Vice President of Student Affairs to deregister or make these groups ineligible and consider additional sanctions.
5. Application documents will be subject to review and verification prior to approval. Approved registered student groups will have access to university space for meetings and low risk fundraising activities. Access to spaces is based on a first come first serve basis. Request for university spaces must be filed through the on-line reservation system (Event Management System (EMS). SUNY Oneonta reserves the right to bump a reservation for academic and/or public safety/emergency response purposes. SUNY Oneonta is not responsible for holding any monies for approved university registered student groups. The SUNY Oneonta Student Association will provide agency account services for approved and authorized registered student groups at no cost but the group must follow all SA policies and procedures. Registered student groups are not covered by the SA insurance policy or tax exemption. If requested the SA will assist student groups with access to create and update a page on Campus Connection/Engage, SUNY Oneonta’s organizational management system.
6. Applications will be reviewed by the Director of Student Life and Leadership/Hunt Union and they will provide recommendations to the Vice President of Student Affairs for approval or denial. The Director of Student Life and Leadership will send the prospective groups a final decision within two weeks of the submittal.
7. Changes in a student group’s roster or advisor must be reflected each semester and updated in SUNY Oneonta’s organizational management system during the first month of each semester.

See Policy Library for Further Details

Apply here (you may apply at any time but applications are only reviewed between 9/1 and 11/1 of each year).

Please note that the new organization process is only open in the fall semester and must be completed by Thanksgiving break in order for probationary status to be granted and to request budgets for future years.

Steps are outlined here for your information but, please note, it is important to meet with the SA VP of Central Affairs to receive new organization packet and to make sure it is possible to meet deadlines.

1. Meet with the V.P. of Central Affairs to request permission to advertise as an organization seeking recognition from the Student Association. In order to complete all tasks this meeting must occur before the end of October.
2. This meeting must take place at least thirty class days before the organization’s Constitution is recommended by the Central Affairs Committee to the Student Association Senate.
3. Have a petition of 50 Student Association members that support the organization.
4. Write a constitution (see SA Policy Book for details by going to the documents section of the SA Campus Connection page and clicking on Governing Documents) and have it approved by two-thirds of the voting membership of the organization.
5. Submit the organization-approved Constitution to the Central Affairs Committee.
6. Hold at least four meetings with an attendance of at least ten per meeting, with one meeting attended by the V.P. of Central Affairs or a designee.
7. Have at least three student representatives attend a Student Association Senate meeting by the end of the fall semester at which the Constitution will be voted on. If approved, the organization will become a probationary organization for the spring semester.
8. Probationary organizations will be asked to return to the Student Association Senate to give a report at a Senate meeting in April. The report should include a recap of all events and meetings that the organization has held during its probationary period, as well as any other relevant updates.
9. During the following Senate meeting, the Student Association Senate, in executive session, will vote to approve or deny each probationary organization as a fully recognized organization.

Visit the Student Association Campus Connection page.