Start an Org
Recognition Process
Thinking of starting a student organization?
Every new student organization at EMU is required to go through a formal recognition process to become established as a Recognized Student Organization (RSO) on campus. You will be asked to submit the completed application, which will include:
A constitution and bylaws for your organization. A template is provided for creating constitution and bylaws on the Resource Page.
A minimum of 5 members, all in good academic and judicial standing with Eastern Michigan University. All 5 members will be checked for good standing which can take up to 4 weeks after completing their E-Signature Form. For existing organizations struggling to fulfill the 5 member minimum, a one year grace period may be extended to organizations on a case by case basis.
An EMU faculty/staff advisor. *Graduate Assistants are not permitted to serve as the primary advisor of an RSO
Your group only has to go through this process once, the first time they seek to become recognized on campus, but must update your officers and advisor through the annual update process, outlined on the Resource Page. The process typically takes four to six weeks from the time of submission to confirmation of recognized organization status.
Privileges of Recognized Organizations
- May apply for student activity fee funding for programming through Student Government
- May apply for conference funding through Campus Life
- May use University meeting rooms, auditoriums and other designated campus meeting space, free of charge and/or at substantially reduced rates
- May use authorized event boards and student bulletin boards for posting fliers about organization activities
- Access to and recognition on the student organization web portal, including management and recruiting tools for your organization
- May participate in student organization fairs for recruiting new members
- May apply for office space in the Center for Student Involvement, Student Center
- May access Student Government copy machine (reduced rates), and other resource materials in the Center for Student Involvement
- May attend workshops and training sessions for student organization leaders
- May hold fundraisers on campus