Center for Student Involvement and Leadership

The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership can help your club by:

• Guidance on meeting and event planning
• Guidance on club operations such as running effective meetings, recruitment and retention of members, leadership skills, and conflict resolution
• Guidance on retreat planning, team-building activities, and finding retreat sites
• Resources for ideas on performers, programs, speakers and leadership tools
• Registering your group
• Help with facility request forms and work orders
• Contracts (writing, negotiating and signing) for entertainers, services, or off campus facilities
• Staffing for student events
• Approval for fund-raisers
• Approval for any off-campus vendors
• Approval of ALL publicity materials (banners, posters, flyers, etc.)                        

Vocabulary:

Club - a club is defined as a student group that meets a specific need, interest, or purpose. Participation in all clubs is non-exclusive and open to all students. Club presidents are elected annually.

Charter - a group of students can apply to the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership for a Club charter. If approved, the group is then recognized by the Associated Students and is eligible to apply for student activity fee funding.

Registered - All student groups must be registered with the College in order to be chartered or recognized by the Associated Students. Groups register with the College through the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership (see Starting a Club). If you are not registered with the College, you are not eligible for funding through the Associated Students student activity fee.

Why Become A Club?

There are many advantages to becoming a registered student organization at Holy Names University:

• HNU recognition
• Use of HNU facilities
• Use of equipment and services of campus departments, including Student Involvement and Leadership
• Listing as a registered student organization in official Holy Names University publications
• Assistance in program development, membership recruitment and retention
• Advice and consultation from Student Involvement and Leadership,
• Associated Students, and many other campus departments and programs
• Opportunity for leadership training, education and formation.
• Access to Associated Students funding is only available to organizations chartered through the ASHNU

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HNU students are free to organize and join associations to promote their common interests, subject to the following:

Registration of a student group carries with its certain rights, responsibilities, and privileges. Registered groups, like registered students, are requested to be respectful of the standards and norms of conduct and civility. At the time of a student organization's registration with the College, all student organizations will agree to comply with the policies and procedures promulgated here in as well as those contained in the HNU handbook relating to their activities and conduct on campus.

The College will not register a student organization whose purpose is to, nor in its activities:

Present a clear and present danger of inciting violence or unlawful behavior;
Are not open to all members of the campus community

Advocate the physical harm, coercion, intimidation, or other invasions of personal rights of individual HNU students, faculty, staff, administrators, or guests;

Violate the College's policy on Sexual and other unlawful harassment and the-standards of nonacademic conduct;
Advocate "willful damage, destruction, or seizure of College buildings or other campus property; or
Interfere with College classes or unlawfully interfere with campus events or activities.

The use of the name, logo, or initials of the Holy Names University with any aspect of a student organization's name or promotion or sponsorship of activities is restricted for use by those student groups whose

(a) Stated purpose does not contradict the College's mission or religious charter

(b) Stated purpose or activities do not foster hatred or intolerance of others because of their race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

Registration of student organizations does not in any way suggest or imply that the College endorses positions or points of view espoused privately or publicly by such organizations. Registered student organizations must represent themselves in ways that make this point clear.

Registration is for one-calendar year, groups must re-register with the College each year. Registration must be current in order for student groups to receive institutional privileges, such as the ability to use facilities and resource to sponsor meetings, events, and guest speakers, among other privileges reserved for registered student organizations. If a group wants to invoke any of these privileges at

the beginning of the fall semester, then it must be registered by September 15 of the academic year.

To register, the club or organization must complete the "Request for Registration form and submit it online at http://www.hnutest.net/campuslife/clubs.html. The completed "Request for Registration" form is reviewed and approved by the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership. Information required for registration includes:

(a) A current copy of the organization's bylaws (and/or constitution) with the name of the organization clearly stated as well as a statement of general purpose and any affiliation with an off-campus group;

(d) Names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and student identification numbers of key officers or directors of the organization; and

(e) Any other information about the organization required by the Vice President for Student Affairs, ASHNU, CSIL, or the Dean of Students.

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To Be An Active Club:

You must do mandatory big events (a dance, a speaker, a musician, etc.) for the campus

You must do 10 hours of community service (contact Tom Cunningham in Civic Engagement)

You must attend all club meetings

If you do not follow these procedures, your club may be deemed in-active and will be unable to receive institutional funding, facilities, and rights.

Club Presidents can serve one year terms and then must be re-elected by their members.

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Here are some things to think about when you begin your HNU club…

• How will your organization be defined?
• What are your proposed goals?
• What are you hoping to accomplish?
• How do you fit within the mission of the College?
• Is there a department with whom you can or will be affiliated?
• How will you select an advisor?

Membership:

• How are you going to identify and recruit potential members?
• What will this group have to offer potential members?
• What commitments will members have to make?
• What will make this group unique and attractive to potential members.
• Finding and Working with an Advisor
• What is an advisor? Why do you need one?
• How do you find one?                 

Advisors to student organizations are very important. They give their time and expertise in order to facilitate the growth and development of students through the group process. Each recognized student group is required to have an advisor because of their educational contributions to the group.
An adviser serves many functions for a club or media. Some of these include:
Oversee and advise the club/organization in all activities
Attend the organization’s meetings and activities.
Support the mission and focus of the student organization on campus, which helps the organization, achieve longevity and success by seeing progression from year to year.

Provide positive reinforcement and effective feedback for student organization and its members.

Provide the group with both on and off campus resources and connections. Assist the group with making the appropriate connections to resources and personnel that will enhance the activities and programs the group is hosting or sponsoring.

Counsel and advise officers and members of the group. Serve as a “sounding board” off of which the Club can bounce new ideas and concerns. In turn, officers should be sure that advisers are informed of the group’s meetings and activities.

Take an active part in the development of the organization’s procedures and policies of operation.

Give your advisor the Advisors Guide

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Planning an Event

Events create interaction:
Students can interact on educational topics or through fun activities related to common interests and help build understanding and acceptance within the group.

Event Planning is a valuable part of your education:
Learning is a continuous process that infuses a student’s every waking hour. Students often spend way more time on campus then in class. When you participate in event planning, you are also learning. Events can be great learning tools that allow students to learn more about themselves, to learn about others as equal partners and to learn about being engaged citizens in the College community.

Events provide a healthy outlet.:
Whether a student attends a dance, concert, dinner or sporting event, they are achieving an outlet and opportunity to release stress, anxiety and tension and other college pressures. This gives every student an opportunity to just have FUN!

Your event must be approved by your advisor and open to all members of the HNU community

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Request Funds

All funds must be approved by ASHNU. Click here to get the form. You must submit the form to the ASHNU president at least 2 weeks before you need the funds.

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Please contact the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership with any questions