Office of Student Involvement
& Affiliated Units

Approval Process

What does it mean to be a REGISTERED Student Organization?
Even without the group earning "registered" status with the Office of Student Involvement, please note that all UCF students are allowed to associate as organizations. That being said, only REGISTERED student organizations have certain privileges on campus. Only when a group is approved and registered (and maintains its registration each semester) will it be able to participate in activities such as charging dues, holding fundraisers, reserving rooms, etc. Please familiarize yourself with the privileges and make sure that your organization is not participating in these types of activities unless and until it is approved and registered.

What is the difference between APPROVAL and REGISTRATION?
Approval comes before registration. "Approval" means that the Office of Student Involvement and Student Government Association have reviewed and approved the organization's constitution. After this step, in order to gain "registration," the organization must submit an Update Form and attend a student organization orientation, and continue to fulfill the requirements of these two items on a regular basis.

Eligibility for Organization Approval
In order to be considered eligible for approval, some requirements must be met:

• The organization's objectives must be "consistent with the organizational goals and mission of the University" (UCF Regulation 6C7-5.0021).
• Membership (including quantity) and leadership must meet the criteria as stated in the most recent version of The Golden Rule, Office of Student Involvement Section.
• No student organization may be set up so that any individual benefits monetarily from its existence.

Additionally, proposed student organizations, whose mission/purpose appears to be a duplication of an existing organization, may not be approved.

Note regarding Greek Social groups: In order to be approved as a Greek Social organization, a group must follow the expansion guidelines of its respective Greek governance council (NPHC, PHC, DGC, or IFC). OSI will request a recommendation from Fraternity and Sorority Life regarding the approval of the proposed organization, and will use that as part of the decision to approve/not approve the group.

Note regarding Religious/Spiritual groups: OSI will request a recommendation from Campus Faiths and Ministries regarding the approval of the proposed organization, and will use that as part of the decision to approval/not approve the group.

Approval Process
As a result of consistently having approximately 50 new student organizations to review at any one time, the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) has modified its new organization constitution approval process. To begin the organizational approval process:

1. Complete a New Student Organization Proposal and submit it to OSI, SU 208. Please type your responses within the PDF document.
2. Upon submission of the Proposal, a representative from the Knights of the RoundTable (KoRT) will contact the organization representative to set up a meeting.
3. After the KoRT meeting, the organization representative may submit a New Student Organization Approval Form and a hard copy of the organization's Constitution to OSI, SU 208. In addition, if the organization has an external affiliate (e.g., national body), it must submit a copy of the national constitution/by-laws and a letter of support from the external affiliate, at the same time as the Approval Form and group constitution. OSI will not review an incomplete packet.
   
   NOTE:New organization constitution packets will only be accepted three times per year. In the fall and spring, they will be accepted starting the 4th week of school, for 8 weeks. In the summer, they will be accepted starting the 1st week of school, for 6 weeks.
   
   Each complete review of an organization's constitution takes an average of two hours of staff time. In an effort to expedite the process as much as possible, newly forming organizations are required to follow, verbatim, the Sample Constitution. Very few organizations will be allowed to deviate from the Sample provided, and even then, deviations will be limited. Organizations may only alter the language in blue italics within the Sample Constitution. A constitution that does not follow the Sample will be returned un-read, with a request for resubmission. Using this pre-approved wording will speed up each reading of the organization's constitution.
   
   
4. Within a week of receipt of this packet (i.e., Approval Form and constitution), OSI will send the organization representative a confirmation email explaining the remainder of the approval process. The constitution is then reviewed, using the Sample Constitution Checklist as the rubric. After that (typically within one to three weeks of paperwork submission), a request for a constitution review meeting will be sent to the organization representative.
5. After that meeting, the organization may be asked to submit a new draft of the constitution that reflects any issues that were discussed in the meeting. This new draft must be submitted within 4 weeks of the review meeting, otherwise the organization´s packet will be discarded. OSI will review the new draft of the constitution and will send any needed changes or questions to the organization (this exchange happens an average of five times and is typically done electronically). Any changes or questions sent to the organization must be addressed within 4 weeks of the request from OSI, otherwise the organization´s packet will be discarded and the organization removed from the approval process.
6. Once the constitution is deemed acceptable, the constitution will be sent on a journey for approval or rejection. In order to become officially approved, the Constitution must be reviewed and approved by the following people:
   
   • Graduate Assistant of Student Involvement
   • Assistant Director of Student Involvement
   • Attorney General of Student Government
   • President of Student Government
   • Director of Student Involvement

OSI will be in contact with the organizational representative upon approval/rejection.

NOTE:Organizations that (a) were previously registered and are now dissolved, or (b) who do not meet the resubmission deadlines stated above must wait at least six months prior to beginning the new student organization approval process.

How long does the Approval Process take?
The length of the process is not definite and is dependent upon several factors. The first is the time of the year. There are certain times in the semester that OSI is especially busy (e.g., Homecoming, around the start of the semester), which means that the process may take longer during those times. Another factor is how quickly the organization representative can be reached for meetings with the Office of Student Involvement, as well as how quickly he or she makes any required corrections to the constitution. Third, the number of changes and revisions that have to be made will also affect the length of the process (i.e., the more complicated the constitution is, the more time it will take to review). This is why OSI is now requiring that constitutions follow the Sample Constitution verbatim. Fourth, the number of newly forming organizations in the approval process affects the process length. OSI has consistently had an average of 50 organizations in the process of approval at any one time, and constitutions (initial and subsequent submissions) are read on a first come, first serve basis. As you can see, it is impossible to predict how long it will take, as it is all dependent on a combination of these and other factors. On average, assuming the organization representative responds to questions and change requests in a reasonable amount of time, a constitution should make it through the process (from initial submission through final approval signature) in three to four months.

OSI realizes that all organizations are important to the students trying to start them. No organization is seen as any more important than another. Therefore, OSI cannot "play favorites" and expedite an approval of any one organization. They are reviewed on a first come, first serve basis.

New Student Organization Approval Form
The online form can be complicated. Please read all instructions, on each page, in order to complete the New Student Organization Approval Form. The form is checked for both accuracy and student eligibility (membership and leadership) according to University standards as stated in the most recent version of The Golden Rule, Office of Student Involvement Section. Any errors on the form will be reported to the Contact Person or President. For assistance in selecting an organization classification, click HERE.

Orientation
In addition to submitting a New Student Organization Approval Form and getting a constitution approved, an organization must attend an orientation in order to become registered. Potential organizations should send at least one officer (as indicated on the Approval Form), either while the paperwork is in process or after the group is approved, to this orientation. Attending while the paperwork is being processed will save time. Advisors are encouraged to attend.

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